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Backing Colombia's fight, money well-spent  By Peter Hakim /
September 30, 1999  On his visit to the UN last week, Colombian
President Andrs Pastrana presented his strategy for dealing with
the punishing problems confronting his country - a vicious
internal war against two guerrilla groups, expanding numbers of
displaced persons, corruption and violence associated with
large-scale illicit drug production and trafficking, and the
nation's worst economic depression in half a century.  Skip to
next paragraph  The core of his strategy is a long-term effort
to strengthen the Army, to give it a fighting chance against
insurgents and drug criminals. That makes good sense. Colombia's
national security is under siege and the armed forces are too
weak to protect either the nation or its people.  The cost is
steep - $7.5 billion over the next three years. About half is
being sought from external sources - including $1.5 billion from
the US. But the cost doesn't