How to Lose an Ally
By Robert Novak


Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe returned to Bogota this week in a state of
shock. His three-day visit to Capitol Hill in Washington to win over
Democrats in Congress was described by one American supporter as
"catastrophic." Colombian sources said Uribe was stunned by the ferocity of
his Democratic opponents, and Vice President Francisco Santos publicly
talked about cutting U.S.-Colombian ties.

Uribe got nothing from his meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other
Democratic leaders. Military aid remains stalled, overall assistance is
reduced, and the vital U.S.-Colombian trade bill looks dead. The first
Colombian president to crack down on his country's corrupt army officer
hierarchy, and to assault both right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing
guerrillas, last week confronted Democrats wedded to out-of-date claims of
civil rights abuses and to rigidly protectionist dogma.

This is remarkable U.S. treatment for a rare friend on the South American
continent, where Venezuela's leftist dictator Hugo Chavez can only exult in
Uribe's embarrassment as he builds an anti-American bloc of nations. A
former congressional staffer, who in 1999 helped author Plan Colombia
against narco-guerrillas, told me: "President Uribe may be the odd man out,
and that's no way to treat our best ally in South America."

Uribe has not given up on the Yankees. When he returned to Colombia, he
issued boilerplate about his visit being "very important in opening a
dialogue with American leaders." This week he publicly urged the sluggish
army to "rescue the hostages" held by narco-guerrillas and "go after the
ringleaders," while privately chewing out the generals for inactivity. At
the same time, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, whose Foreign
Service career includes Latin American duty, was in Bogota Tuesday insisting
that the United States remains a great friend of Colombia.

A truer portent of the Colombian reaction to the rebuff in Washington last
week was Vice President Santos's television interview Tuesday. Santos, a
University of Texas graduate and former editor of the influential El Tiempo
newspaper, said failure to ratify the free-trade agreement would "send a
message to the external enemies of the United States" (meaning Venezuela's
Chavez) that "this is how America treats its allies." He added that Colombia
might "have to re-evaluate its relationship with the United States." A U.S.
diplomat called that "a cream pie in the face" of the visiting Negroponte.

Hopes that the Democratic majority in Congress might perceive the importance
of supporting Colombia were dashed April 20 when Al Gore canceled a joint
appearance with Uribe at an environmental event in Miami. Gore cited
allegations of Uribe's association with paramilitary forces a decade ago,
charges denied by the Colombian president.

Gore's snub legitimized what the new congressional majority is intent on
doing anyway. Democrats follow both left-wing human rights lobbyists and
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney's protectionist campaign against the
Colombian free-trade agreement. Rep. Sander Levin, chairman of the Ways and
Means subcommittee on trade, as usual echoes labor's line against the bill.

In the wake of Uribe's visit to Washington, two prominent House Republicans
-- former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, ranking
minority member of the Foreign Affairs Committee -- made a quick trip to
Colombia. Visiting there for the first time in many years, they were struck
by the progress. They met with Colombian national police who had just
returned from Afghanistan, where they advised NATO forces in techniques for
dealing with narco-terrorists.

Democrats in Congress seem oblivious to such help or such progress. Sen.
Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee dealing with
foreign aid, last month held up $55.2 million in military aid to Colombia
because of "human rights" concerns. While Pelosi and her colleagues could
not find a kind word for Uribe, Leahy insisted that he "supports" the
Colombian president. As Lenin once put it, he supports him as a rope
supports a hanged man.

President George W. Bush at least gave lip service to Uribe last week, but
his concentration is on Iraq as the U.S. position in its own backyard
deteriorates. Passivity is the best description of the administration's
posture, while Democrats follow human rights activists, environmentalists
and labor leaders on the road to losing an important ally.