Timothy Rieser '76, a senior advisor to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, spoke frankly Friday about the United States' involvement in Colombia, the making of foreign policy and how students and other citizens can influence it.
Leahy, a Democrat, is chairman of the Senate's Appropriation subcommittee on foreign aid, and Rieser is the senior of his two foreign policy advisors. This makes him one of a handful of Senate staffers who work on foreign policy.
Although Rieser praised his job, he said in an interview, "at the same time, it's a very disappointing and frustrating place to work. I'm often disappointed by what the Congress does and wish it would do things differently."
While he was wary of appearing too cynical about the Congress, Rieser presented an often bleak view of how foreign policy is made, using the U.S. policy toward Colombia as an example.
A long civil war in Colombia pits the army and allied paramilitary groups against what Rieser described as "the most well-equipped, well-financed and most ruthless guerillas in this hemisphere in recent history."
Drugs grown in Colombia, sold to the United States and taxed by the guerrillas give them what Rieser often described during the speech as "unlimited funds."
Partly as a result, Rieser said, much of the country is not controlled by the central government and is essentially lawless, with "politicians and businessmen competing for spoils."
Colombia was one of the issues Rieser said Congress tended to avoid.
"That's the nature of the Congress," he said. Due to the many interests involved in most decisions, problems are often avoided until they can't be ignored any longer.
However, a few years ago the U.S. government became involved in Columbia. As Rieser describes it, a few influential Republicans in the House of Representatives were trying to take advantage of the issue by portraying then-President Clinton and the State Department as not concerned about Colombia.
The results came practically overnight. Clinton proposed an $1.5 billion increase in the funds going to the Colombian armed forces, who Rieser described as "ruthless."
Previously, Leahy wrote an amendment that cut funds to any military unit credibly alleged to have committed a gross violation of human rights. Rieser called this "the most significant legislation on human rights since the 1970s."
Rieser and Leahy's strategy was to include conditions for human rights in the funding bill. However, the House of Representatives included an amendment that allowed the President to waive Leahy's conditions, which Clinton did.
However, "you can outmaneuver Congress if you start early," and find someone in another party willing to work with you, Rieser noted. "It's how a lot of stuff works down there."
He added, "it can't be overstated how difficult it is to do this in Congress."
The next year, Leahy was able to include conditions in the Colombian funding. However, in the first year of funding 78 percent of U.S. aid went to the military, and only 22 percent went to economic assistance, where Rieser said the most hope lay.
If Rieser seems to be somewhat cynical about Congress' involvement in foreign affairs, he is something of an idealist on how people can make a difference.
Part of the nature of his job is that he is "not an expert on anything," Rieser said. As a result, he said in an interview, "if someone knows more than I do, that's something I'm going to value."
He added, "Vermont and New Hampshire are small states. If we hear from fifty people about an issue, we pay attention. If we hear from 500, that's extraordinary."
His position involves speaking with who he describes as "anyone with an interest in American foreign policy," including foreign government officials, interest groups from many different countries, other Senators and private citizens, and then advising Leahy.
