COLUMBIA

SCOTT WILSON, Washington Post Foreign Correspondent, May 28, 2002
CZIKOWSKY: What do you see as the obstacles that killed the negotiations between President Pastrana and the FARC? Will a hard line approach eliminate any of these obstacles, might it bring FARC back to the negotiating table, could a hard line approach lead to defeat of FARC, or does it more likely more years of more violence?
WILSON: This, of course, is the key question and I don’t have a good answer to it. I think the obstacles that rendered Pastrana’s peace efforts fruitless were axed in a strategic decision by the guerillas to use the safe haven and the time spent talking to strengthen themselves militaryily. This is rooted in a decision FACR made in 1993 when it essentially turned its back on politics---following the murder of more than 3,000 of its candidates---in favor of a military victory. But whether a force of its size, strength, and skill can be brought back to the pace table through force remains to be seen---and many think that, if it can be, will take years.