Uncle Sam Desires el País del Sagrado Corazón: Colombia Matters to US by Plan Colombia.

Colombia, the gateway to the continent of South America, plays a pivotal role in the world politics, insofar as natural resources, geopolitics and national conflicts. In this sense, not only does the world need to pay more attentions to Colombia, but is Colombia at the starting point to request active support to its neighbors on the globe. As will be seen, this paper indicates that how U.S. government recognizes Colombia as a strategic partner, hence, what kind of means and schemes are provided to Colombia by U.S. government, through the analysis of U.S. foreign policy towards Colombia. On top of that, this study gives answers to the questions that why US greatly concerns the Colombia issue and how US government formulates "Plan Colombia" strategies according to the background of US policy to Colombia. In details, this research analyzes that US shows four perceptions about Colombia when it comes to appropriation from 2000 to 2008 reported in "Plan Colombia: Drug Reduction Goals Were Not Fully Met, but Security Has Improved; U.S. Agencies Need More Detailed Plans for Reducing Assistance", US Government Accountability Office, October 2008. To this end, I will observe that how US appropriation 2000 through 2008 is allocated to Plan Colombia operations, moreover, explain that what plans US government agencies carry out under Plan Colombia. In addition, this paper goes on to say that each perception leads US government to set proper operations up with goals by presenting the political significance of Colombia in the American international relations. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]