PEJ News- Mark Vorpahl- The U.S. State Department has just wrapped up a deal with Colombia’s President Uribe that will lead to a massive buildup of U.S. military personnel across seven bases in Colombia. Currently, there are a reported 250 U.S. military operatives in this nation. With the new agreement, this number will jump up to 800 American troops and 600 civilian military contractors. This is the maximum number allowed under previous agreements. Even with this limit, however, many expect the U.S. military buildup to exceed these numbers.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said of the agreement, “This is about bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Colombia.” She included references to “drug traffickers, terrorists, and other illegal armed groups.”
The President of Colombia’s neighbor, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, had a very different interpretation of the agreement. He characterized it has a “threat to Venezuela that could generate a war in South America.”
Source: http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=7809&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 
