[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6156-S6157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BIRDS THAT DON'T FLY

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to draw the Senate's 
attention to a growing embarrassment in our efforts to support counter-
drug programs in Mexico. The story would be funny if it weren't so 
serious and had not been going on for so long.
  In 1996, the Department of Defense began the process of giving 73 
surplus UH-1H helicopters--Hueys--to Mexico to assist in counter 
smuggling operations. The President approved this transfer in September 
and the helicopters began arriving in December.
  The main justification at the time for this contribution was to stop 
major air smuggling into Mexico. The Colombian and Mexican drug cartels 
were flying large quantities of drugs into Mexico in private airplanes. 
Sometimes these were multiple flights, sometimes single ones. Usually 
they were twin-engine propeller-driven aircraft, but occasionally they 
were larger, commercial-sized cargo jets. Earlier in the 1990's, the 
U.S. State Department had instituted a program with Mexico's Attorney 
General of developing a helicopter-based interdiction force. One can 
only assume that DoD sought to engage Mexico's military in a similar 
way. Somewhere along the way, however, something went wrong.
  Here's one for the books. We have a civilian State Department program 
with the civilian Attorney General's office in Mexico operating an air 
force that works. And we have the U.S. military operating a program 
with the Mexican military to operate an air force that doesn't work.
  It not only doesn't work, it does not have a purpose, so far as I can 
tell. I have asked the GAO to look at this issue twice, and they have 
had a problem in identifying a purpose or results.
  I have asked the Defense Department and it seems to be stumped as 
well. The Mexican Government is puzzled. We ought to be dumbfounded.
  Today, none of the 70-plus helicopters is flying. No one can tell me 
when they might be flying. No one seems to know how many might fly if 
they ever do. No one seems to know what they are to do if they do fly. 
It is unclear how they will be maintained. Or how much it will cost. Or 
who is going to pay. Since no one knows the answer to any of these 
questions, no one can tell me how many helicopters might be needed. Is 
70 too many? No one knows. Is this any way to run a airline?
  I cannot seem to get a straightforward answer from the Administration 
about what the plan for these helicopters is. As one U.S. embassy 
official noted to my staff last year, what to do with and about the 
helicopters is a muddle. It is a muddle all right; but it is one of our 
making.
  When plans were first announced about putting these helicopters in 
Mexico, I began asking about the need for radars. Mexico lacks any 
sustained radar coverage of its southern approaches. If you are 
planning an air interdiction program, it would seem logical to include 
a plan for developing the eyes needed to make the program work. The 
response I got from both U.S. and Mexican officials to questions about 
radars was a deafening silence. Or vague promises. I kept asking. 
Finally, after about six months, the U.S. and Mexican Administrations 
informed me that no radars were necessary. And why? Because there was 
no longer a major air trafficking threat; it was mostly maritime. And 
when did we know there was no longer a major air threat? In 1995. And 
when did we give Mexico the helicopters? In 1996. So far as I can tell, 
we gave Mexico a capability to deal with a problem that both countries 
knew we no longer faced. Today the threat is mostly maritime. So why 
helicopters?
  Well, having taken that on board, the next question is, what are we 
going to have the helicopters do? It turns out that the best idea is to 
have them ferry troops around to chop poppies or marijuana. But this is 
mostly in the mountains and the helos aren't very capable in the 
mountains. And how many helos are needed? It turns out there is no very 
clear answer. But before we got very far down that road, a problem was 
discovered that grounded all Hueys in 1998. This necessitated a 
worldwide assessment of the air worthiness of the equipment. Although 
this was eventually done, the Mexican military refused to fly the 
helicopters until they had more assurances that there were no air 
safety questions. They also wanted more resources to fly the equipment. 
So nothing was done and the helos sit.
  As it happens, Hueys are old, Vietnam War-vintage aircraft. They are 
still serviceable, but they are aging and need a lot of care and 
feeding. It is also harder to get spare parts for them.
  And being old, they are sometimes cranky. We gave Mexico 73 of these 
birds in the spirit of cooperation. So, today, the helos in Mexico have 
been on the ground becoming very expensive museum-quality memorials to 
the United States-Mexican partnership. While they sit, the air crews' 
qualifications for flying the equipment is in doubt. So even if we 
could get the birds up tomorrow, it is not clear that the air crews are 
qualified to fly them. And we still aren't sure what they are supposed 
to do if we did. We are not even sure at this point if the Mexicans 
still want the helos.
  It is in this environment that I have asked the Department of Defense 
to provide me and Congress with a plan. Since no one in the past two to 
three years seems to have a clue about what we are doing, I think it is 
reasonable and prudent to have a plan on the

[[Page S6157]]

record. This is not rocket science. But so far, I have not had much 
luck. Now, you would think that there would already be a plan.
  Given the importance of our drug cooperation with Mexico it would not 
be unreasonable to expect one. We have bilateral agreements. We have 
binational strategies. We have joint measures of effectiveness. We have 
had ``high-level contact group'' meetings at great public expense to 
both countries. But apparently we have no plan. We have had recently 
several Administration visits to Mexico and more discussions. But there 
is no plan. The administration cannot seem to tell the difference 
between ``talking'' and a ``plan.''
  I, for one, do not think that this is a situation we can accept any 
longer. After three years of asking, one has to begin to wonder just 
what it is we think we are doing. I have not mentioned the C-26 
airplanes that we gave to Mexico and other countries for which there 
appears to be just as much lack of thinking. That is for another time. 
But there is one more piece to the helicopter story.
  As of last week, a new problem has developed and all Hueys are 
grounded again. This doesn't affect the helicopters in Mexico since 
they weren't flying anyway, but it leaves us even more in doubt. The 
result is an embarrassment for both countries.
  I yield the floor.

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