Ambassador Myles Frechette
Published: 2007-02-28
Total Pages: 46
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The American-Colombian strategic partnership has made significant progress since the inception of Plan Colombia. The United States has provided a considerable amount of economic, police, judicial, and military assistance. But much work looms ahead to eliminate the threats to state authority-the terrorism and the drug trafficking that nurture so much violence and corruption. Drug production and trafficking continue as the producers have learned how to outwit government counternarcotics efforts. In the past decade, the Strategic Studies Institute has published extensively on the Colombian conflict and American strategy. In this Letort Paper, Myles R. R. Frechette, American Ambassador to Colombia, 1994-97, provides authoritative, eloquent, and impassioned perspectives on both the achievements and failures of American and Colombian efforts. He argues that American policy made analytical errors that need to be rectified; for example, underestimating the long-term complexity and interrelated nature of the problem, while both nations overestimated the amount of support that Colombia would receive from the international community. Moreover, nation-building and the rule of law are strategic imperatives which American policy must take seriously. Finally, it is critical to appreciate that Colombian cultural characteristics sharply influence what Colombians will do on their own behalf. This is a timely contribution to the dialogue on Colombian strategy. Ambassador Frechette asks difficult questions and provides thoughtful recommendations for the elusive endgame in a conflict of long duration.