Research Paper on:
U.S. Involvement in the Columbia Plan

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
This plan was intended to end the war in Columbia and the resulting fallout which concerned neighboring countries. However, in the final analysis, it can be said that, not only  was the Plan Columbia as undemocratic as one can get, but its components will only, in theory, serve to escalate the violence, and not curtail or end it. "The  Plan Colombia was drafted in the U.S. Senate and implemented by [Colombian] President Andres Pastrana, but the people of Colombia were never consulted or included in this important decision," said  Episcopalian priest Monsignor Jaime Prieto during the opening press conference. "[As a result], the Plan is undemocratic...it does not represent a social investment in peace, but a plan for escalating  the war"(Rogers, 2002). When one begins to follow the paper trail and to see where the money was allocated, it becomes evident that this is more than a spurious remark  by a disgruntled priest. Reports show that nearly eighty percent of the United States 1.3 billion dollars investment is going for helicopters and weapons, not social programs such as  health clinics, industrial upgrades, or improved educational services(Rogers, 2002). "A further break-down of the 20 percent earmarked for social programs reveals that 8 percent of the aid is going  to alternative development; 6 percent to human rights programs; four percent to assist the 2 million Colombians who have been displaced by the war during the last 10 years; 2  percent to judicial reform; and less than 1 percent to directly support the ongoing peace process, according to a non-profit publication called the Colombia Report(Rogers, 2002).  Sadly enough, reform through brute strength is not going to be the answer one has to think, simply because the use of force has