Leif Brecke

U.S. Intervention

Plan Colombia Under Clinton: 1993-2001

U.S. intervention in Colombia was initially sold to the American public as necessary to

contain the threat of Communism (). Plan Colombian, under Clinton was sold to the American

public under the guise of the “War on Drugs” to curb narcotics flow into the U.S. The hegemonic

discourse is that the American public demanded “strong leadership” in a battle against the

corruption of America's youth. In reality, the Clinton administration heavily financed a

“manufacture of consent” under Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey. I will demonstrate this propaganda

machine and Clinton's crony corporate network that profited from this war.

National Security Interests

General Peter Pace, the Commander in Chief of the USA's Southern Command

(USSOUTHCOM) which oversees Latin American US security assistance programs, outlined the

purpose of his mission:

“As defined in our National Security Strategy, vital national interests are those of
broad, over-riding importance to the survival, safety, and vitality of our nation. I see four U.S.
interests in this theater that meet this criteria. One is continued unhindered access to strategic
natural resources in the USSOUTHCOM AOR. . .our largest single supplier of petroleum is actually
Venezuela – a country that provides from 15% to 19% of our imported oil in any given month.
Another vital interest is continued stability required for access to markets in the USSOUTHCOM
AOR, which is critical to the continued economic expansion and prosperity of the United States.
Today, our trade within the Americas represents approximately 46 percent of all U.S. exports, and
we expect this percentage to increase in the future. The loss of our Caribbean and Latin American
markets would seriously damage the health of the U.S. economy. A third vital interest in this AOR is
freedom of navigation (FON), which is critical to our economy and to the strategic movement of
some of our naval assets. Of particular concern is continued unencumbered access to the Panama
Canal – a strategic choke point and line of communication (LOC) that, if closed, would have a
serious impact on world trade and could create significant challenges for the rapid positioning of
our naval forces. Finally, although not technically defined as a vital national interest, I consider
shielding our shores from the destructive effects of illicit drug trafficking and other forms of
transnational crime a critical concern” (Defense Reforms 2000).

Illicit drug trafficking was the last priority for General Pace1. The most important element

1After his military retirement, Pace became involved in two Behrman Capital company
subsidiaries, as chairman of the board of Pelican Products and director of ILC Industries, Inc., a
flashlight and case manufacturing company with military contracts (Capital IQ Power Moves 2008,
Pelican Products Inc. 2008).
was national security interests. I will illustrate precisely which American interests were at stake in

Colombia. This is not an essay on why the U.S. initially intervened in Colombia, but why did Bill

Clinton not only stay but ramped up the military aid.

Manufacturing Consent

In, Who rules America?: challenges to corporate and class dominance”, sociologist G.

William Domhoff illustrates that, “Although public opinion rarely has any direct impact on policy

debates, members of the power elite are nonetheless very fearful that it mights lead to policies they

do not like. . . they spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year trying to shape public opinion in

order to guarantee the success of the policies they favor” (Domhoff 20102). Not content to use its

own resources, the power elite in the Clinton Administration relies on another method – government

propaganda to stack the deck in its own interests.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey was Clinton's Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

(1996-2001) also known as the Drug Czar in charge of executing the war on (some) drugs. In

January of 2000, Salon broke the story of McCaffrey directing as "as much as $25 million in the

past year and a half, with the promise of even more to come in the future. Under the sway of the

office of President Clinton's drug czar, Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, some of America's most popular

shows -- including "ER," "Beverly Hills 90210," "Chicago Hope," "The Drew Carey Show" and

"7th Heaven" -- have filled their episodes with anti-drug pitches to cash in on a complex

government advertising subsidy" (Forbes 2000). Not only was the U.S. bombarded the public with

anti-drug Public Service Announcements and indoctrinating children into turning on their parents

with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), but now they are paying multinational

media conglomerates to alter their programming around federally tailored “anti-drug” propaganda.

If the U.S. public opinion is rallying the government to wage the war on (some) drugs, then why

does it take millions of government dollars to convince them of its importance?

Powerful business interests with a stake in Colombia have been appointed at the highest

levels of Clinton administration. The story describing the social reality in Colombia and war

2 See Figure 2 The General Network through which the Power Elite try to shape public opinion.
profiteers involvement in making their killing is thoroughly document3. I will examine the social

relationship between the Clinton Administration and four top profiteers of Plan Columbia –

Monsanto, Occidental Petroleum, Lockheed Martin, and Dyncorp.

Monsanto Buys Washington

Monsanto has a nefarious history in developing Agent Orange, aspartame, PCBs, nuclear

weapons components and pesticides. Monsanto's pesticides are used in destroying agriculture in

Colombia.

In the 1990s, Monsanto only spent $200,000 a year on political candidates. However, in

1997 alone, they spent $4 million on lobbying (St. Clair 1999). One of Monsanto's lobbyists,

Dennis DeConcini, was appointed by Clinton to the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan

Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Clinton second Secretary of Agriculture, Daniel Glickman

(1995-2001), U.S. Trade Rep. Charlene Barshevsky, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and

Secretary of Commerce William Daley all “lobbied their European counterparts on Monsanto's

behalf. Even Bill Clinton and Al Gore got in on the act, engaging in some last minute arm-twisting

of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahren and French President Lionel Jospin. Both the French and the

Irish caved in to the pressure (St. Clair 1999)”. Clinton's first Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Espy a

crony from Arkansas, was disgraced when Tyson Foods plead guilty to bribing him $12,000 in

exchange for immunity from further prosecution (Krebs). Robert J. Stevens, the Lead Director of

Monsanto is the Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation, the

world's largest defense contractor. Elena Kagan, Associate White House Counsel and then Policy

Adviser under Clinton, now Obama's Solicitor General and Supreme Court nominee, sought to

overturn a ban on GE alfalfa by filing a suit on behalf of Monsanto (Frank 2010).

Tipper Gore's second cousin, Michael Taylor, has a long track record of moving between the

FDA and Monsanto. He worked for the FDA before representing Monsanto at the King and

Spaulding law firm, then rejoined the FDA in 1991 as the deputy commissioner for policy, then he

rejoined Monsanto (St. Clair), in 2009 he was appointed as senior adviser to the FDA

3 Stokes, Doug. 2005. America's other war: Terrorizing Colombia. Zed Books: New York.
Commissioner on food safety, and in 2010 he was appointed to the newly created Deputy

Commissioner for Foods at the FDA (USFDA). He insured FDA approval of Monsanto's

controversial rBGH, that milk treated with this chemical would not require labeling, and he also

“authored more than a dozen articles critical of the Delaney Clause, a 1958 federal law prohibiting

the introduction of known carcinogens into processed foods, which had long been opposed by

Monsanto and other chemical and pesticide companies” (St. Clair).

Charles Burson is the General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Monsanto (Monsanto

Press Release). He was the chairman of Al Gore's senatorial campaign in 1984. Burson's father was

a Tennessee Democratic Party politico and his mother was on Albert Gore Sr.'s senatorial campaign.

Burson was Vice-President Al Gore's legal counsel and then Chief of Staff. He is member of

Burson-Marsteller, the world's fifth largest PR firm. Burson-Marsteller represents Monsanto. In this

compacity the firm worked "to cultivate the press, discredit their critics, spy on and co-opt citizens'

groups, and use polls to find out what images and messages will resonate with target audiences"

(Stauber 1999).

The PR firm's CEO, Mark Penn, was the top presidential campaign strategist for U.S.

Senator Hillary Clinton. Penn came under fire when it was discovered that he was strategizing a

self-style "free trade" deal with a representative of the Colombian government. Norman Mineta,

Vice President of Lockheed Martin, served as Clinton and then George W. Bush's Secretary of

Commerce (Mineta 2010). Investigative journalist Jeffrey St. Clair writes, “the company may have

secured its biggest coup in 1997, when it brought onto its board Mickey Kantor, the former

secretary of commerce and one of Bill Clinton's closest advisers. Kantor joined two other

Washington insiders on the Monsanto board--William Ruckleshaus, former director of the EPA, and

Gwendolyn King, former head of the Social Security Administration” (St. Clair).

Monsanto employees have also made it into power positions that are not directly connected

with the Clinton administration. One high ranking example is George H. W. Bush Supreme Court

nominee Clarence Thomas served two years as a corporate attorney for Monsanto (Domhoff 196).
 Monsanto continues to support the Clintons. During Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign,

"Rural Americans for Hillary" was quickly picked up as a front group by bloggers (Cohen-Cole

2008).

Occidental Oil

Between 1996 and 2000, Occidental International Corp. spent 8.67 million dollars on

lobbying for operations in Colombia and another 1.5 million dollars on Federal Elections

campaigns between 1995-2000, the 13th top contributor (Center for Public Integrity). Armond

Hammer donated $3,000 to Al Gore's campaign (Newsmeat Campaign Contribution Search).

Al Gore Sr. was a board member of Occidental and previously represented their coal

interests as an attorney. The CEO of Occidental is Ray R. Irani. Irani's worked for ten years as a

researcher at Monsanto Company. He personally donated $6000 to the campaigns of Bill Clinton,

Al Gore, and Hilary Clinton (Newsmeat Campaign Contribution Search).

Al Gore engineered the privatization of Elk Hills Naval Pretroleum Reserve and sale to

Occidental (Mesler 2000). Occidental turned it the seventh largest oil production field in the U.S.

(California Department of Conservation 2). ICF Kaiser International was contracted to asses the

environmental impact of the sale. Democratic Party star fundraiser, Tony Coelho, who became

Gore's campaign manager, was a member of the board of directors. Drilling destroyed the sacred

Kitanemuk burial grounds and the archaeological treasury of the region. Before the sale, Al Gore

disclosed that he held $250,000-$500,000 of Occidental stock. This disclosure doubled after the sale

(Mesler 2000).

Lockheed Martin

During Clinton's tenure, Lockheed Martin benefited from the 519.2 million dollars in military

aid for Colombia with the military's purchase of a P-3 “Orion” radar surveillance airplane (Human

Rights Watch). Clinton's Secretary of Commerce left his job as Lockheed's Vice-President to fulfill the

position. Between June of 1996 and June of 2000 Lockheed Martin Corp spent 8.5 million dollars on

lobbying and another 5.25 million dollars on Federal Elections Campaigns between the years 1995-

2000. They outspent all other entities except the United Parcel Service (Center for Public Integrity).
Lockheed Martin board member Joseph Ralston was appointed Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Joint

Chiefs of Staff by Clinton after Myers left.” Robert J. Stevens is the Lead Director of Monsanto and

Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation, the world's largest

defense contractor.

Dyncorp

In 2000, Dyncorp spend $40,000 lobbying on "Anti-Drug Issues" (Center for Public

Integrity). One of Dyncorp's current Board members, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, was Clinton's Director

of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (1996-2001) also known as the Drug Czar. In 2008

the New York Times broke a story, “One Man’s Military-Industrial-Media Complex" describing

McCaffrey's conflict of interest as a Dyncorp board member. McCaffrey and his consulting firm

McCaffrey Associates were on the government payroll as consultants in which he controversially

recommended contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq for Dyncorp (Barstow 2008). For the last fifteen

years, Dyncorp has been embroiled in child sex slavery scandals (O'Meara 2002). In a shocking

display of inhumanity, in 2005 Dyncorp joined forces with other military contractors in stalling a

Defense Department proposal to ban defense contractors from engaging child sex slavery (Simpson

2005). James Woolsey was Clinton's first appointee as Director of the CIA. He was previously a

member of the board of Dynacorp (Lehrer). From 1995-2001, received $1 Billion in defense contracts

(O'Meara 2002).

Other Military Contractors

United Technologies made $234 million for building 18 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters that

were used in Colombia (Center for Public Integrity). Jamie S. Gorelick was Deputy Attorney General of

the United States during the Clinton administration and is a board member of United Technologies.

Richard B. Myers was appointed Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff by Clinton. He later

became a United Technologies board member.

Between 1997 and 1998, United Technologies Corp. spent 8.4 million dollars lobbying for

Colombian operations and another 1.95 million dollars on Federal Elections campaigns between
1995-2000, the 11th top contributor (Center for Public Integrity).

Textron was awarded a $84 million contract to upgrade Vietnam-era Huey helicopters. Textron,

Inc spent 1.8 million dollars on Federal Elections campaigns between 1995-2000, the 12 th top

contributor (Center for Public Integrity).

Conclusion

Through a concerted propaganda effort, Bill Clinton' administration distracted the real purpose for

accelerating U.S. military intervention in Colombia. Through his well-connected network of power

elite members, Al Gore and Bill Clinton's administration made a fortune on the misery of Colombia.
 Bibliography
For ease of reference, all sources available online on June 10, 2010 are cited.

Barstow, David. November 29, 2008. “One Man’s Military-Industrial-Media Complex". New York
Times. Source. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/washington/30general.htm?
pagewanted=all

California Department of Conservation, Oil and Gas Statistics, Annual Report, December 31, 2006

Capital IQ Power Moves. April 3, 2008."Behrman Capital Names General Peter Pace as Operating
Partner". Source: http://powermoves.capitaliq.com/index.php/2008/04/03/behrman-capital
-names-general-peter-pace-as-operating-partner/

Center for Public Integrity. 2008. “Tables". Source: http://projects.publicintegrity.org/report.aspx?

aid=259

Cohen-Cole, Linn. February 8th/10th, 2008. “Hillary, Will You Renounce Your Terrible Ties to
Monsanto, Please? An Open Letter to from Another Wellesley Alum”. Counterpunch.
Source: http://www.counterpunch.org/cole02082008.html

Defense Reforms, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. 2000. “Advance Questions
for Lieutenant General Peter Pace”. Source:
http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/statemnt/2000/000906pp.pdf

Domhoff, G. William. 2010. Who rules America?: challenges to corporate and class dominance.
Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education.

Forbes, Daniel. Thursday, Jan 13, 2000. "Prime-time propaganda: How the White House secretly
hooked network TV on its anti-drug message: A Salon special report". Salon. Source:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/13/drugs/index.html

Frank, Joshua. May 19, 2010. "Going to Bat for GE Foods: Elena Kagan and Monsanto".
Counterpunch. Source: http://www.counterpunch.org/frank05192010.html

Human Rights Watch, World Report, “Role of the International Community”,

Source: http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/americas/colombia3.html

Krebs, A. V. August 31st, 1998. “Monitoring corporate agribusiness from a public interest
perspective ". The Agribusiness Examiner. Source:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Corp/monAgriBus.htm

Lehrer, Jim. 1997 “Mr. James Woolsey: Biography”. The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/bio/woolsey_bio.html

Mesler, Bill. August 29th, 2000. “Al Gore: The Other Oil Candidate” Special to CorpWatch.
Source: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=468

Monsanto Press Release. "Monsanto Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel
Charles W. Burson to Retire". Source: http://monsanto.mediaroom.com/index.php?
s=43&item=223
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http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/contributors/norman-mineta.php

Newsmeat Campaign Contribution Search. Source:

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=CA&last=Hammer&first=Armand
http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/Ray_Irani.php

O'Meara, Kelly Patricia. January 14th, 2002. "US: DynCorp Disgrace". Insight Magazine.
Source: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11119

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Appendix 1: U.S. Military Assistance to Colombia

This list was taken from The Center for Public Integrity website:
http://projects.publicintegrity.org/report.aspx?aid=259

Note: Figures are from most recent year available. Grant Aid

Program Amount
International Narcotics Control U.S. $1,240,739,000 with $ 1,026,590,000 for
Police/military aid (from 1996 to 2001)
Plan Colombia U.S. $860,300,000 (Police and military aid $642,300,000)
International Military Education and U.S. $3,889,000; Students – 2580 (1996-2001)
Training (IMET)
Expanded IMET Total E-IMET: U.S. $367,493 (1996-1998)
Approximately 23.3% of IMET budget per year from 1996-
1998
166 students and 0 civilians from 1996-1998
Emergency Drawdowns U.S. $153,800,000 (1996-2000)-Counternarcotics
Section 1004 Counterdrug U.S. $193,683,000 (from 1997-2001)
Section 124 U.S. $100,732,000 (1997-2000)
Section 1004/124 U.S. $12,442,000 (1999-2000)
Section 1033 Counterdrug U.S. $47,525,000 (1998 and 2001)
Foreign Military Financing ‘in the A special presidential waiver in August 1997 released
pipeline' from previous years unspent FMF valued at up to $30,000,000. $465,312
(1998-2000)
Approximate total police and military U.S. $1,300,457,262(1997-2000)
aid
Approximate number of trainees At least 3,690 (1998-1999)
International Criminal Investigative Unify training curricula and structures of three
Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) investigative police organizations
($750,000 estimated for 2000)
Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA for the U.S. $9,798,000 (1998-2000)
entire Western Hemisphere)
ONDCP discretionary funds For aviation supply – helicopter/spray plane spare parts
and fuel - $500,000 in 1997
Sales
Program Amount
Foreign Military sales (FMS) U.S. $153,305,000 in deliveries (1996-1999)
Foreign Military Sales for International Narcotics U.S. $40,410,000 in deliveries (1996-1999)
Direct Commercial Sales(DCS) U.S. $62,127,000 in deliveries (1996-1999)
Training Institutions
Program 1996-1998
School of the Americas Total of 557 students
Navy Small Craft and Technical Training School 13 students (1998)
Inter-American Air Forces Academy 318 students
Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies Total of 29 (1998-2000)
Training Deployments
Program 1996-1998
Exercises 1997: UNITAS 97, Fuerzas Unidas Counterdrug 97
1998: United Counterdrug, UNITAS, Peru Disease Intervention
1999: Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarian 99, UNITAS, Fuerzas Unidas
Peacekeeping South, UNITED Counterdrug, Fuerzaz Aliadas Chile 99
2000: Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarian, UNITAS, Fuerzas Unidas
Peacekeeping South, UNITED Counterdrug
Special Operations 1997: 6 to 29 (JCET or other deployments - 6 deployments; Counter-
Forces deployments drug – 0 to 23)

1998: 10 to 25 (JCET – 0 to 1; Counter-drug – 9 to17; other deployments

– 1-7 )

1999: 16(JCET – 0; Counter-drug and other SOF - 34)

Sources: Center for International Policy, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Department of
State, The Federation of American Scientists, School of Americas Watch.