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Biden firmly backs Colombia peace effort

By WTOP Staff

FRANK BAJAK
Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden pledged firm support Wednesday for Colombia’s newly re-elected leader and the peace process on which he has bet his presidency.

After a meeting of more than two hours with President Juan Manuel Santos, Biden also visited a center dedicated to chronicling Colombia’s half-century-old conflict by focusing on its victims, and said true peace can only be secured with a full accounting.

“In war and in peace, Mr. President, we stand with Colombia,” Biden told Santos at the presidential palace in brief remarks in front of reporters. His visit’s timing conveyed that “unmistakable message,” he said.

Santos said he felt “very honored to be a strategic partner of The United States.” Washington has no stronger ally in the region, and Santos called the meeting “very fruitful.”

The two discussed building on a 2-year-old free trade agreement, including expanding energy cooperation. Biden offered full U.S. support once peace is signed but no specifics on Washington’s envisioned post-conflict role.

“I know there’s a lot left to do and I have absolute confidence in your determination,” he told Santos of the 18-month-old negotiations in Cuba with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

The talks have been slow-going, but have covered more than half their agenda, reaching still-secret framework agreements on agrarian reform, ending the illegal drug trade and rebel political participation.

Colombian officials say implementing a peace deal will be far more complicated than reaching one. Peace commissioner Sergio Jaramillo said it will depend heavily on international donors and the outside verification of an eventual accord.

Before Wednesday’s meeting, Santos said a peace deal would seal with “a golden brushstroke” the counter-narcotics and anti-insurgency initiative known as Plan Colombia through which Washington has delivered more than $9 billion in mostly military aid since 2000.

Biden, as a senator, was an architect of the program and it helped Colombia badly weaken the rebels.

Publicly acknowledged U.S. police and military assistance to Colombia has dropped considerably since Santos, who was defense minister from 2006-2009, first won election in 2010. At less than $300 million this year, it is the lowest since 1998.

Biden, who arrived from Brazil on Tuesday night and was bound later Wednesday for the Dominican Republic, was in Colombia for the second time in 13 months after not visiting it for 13 years.

At the National Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation — created through a 2011 Santos-backed law on restitution of victims and restoration of land — he wrote a note to add to an iron-limbed “Tree of Peace” where Colombian schoolchildren have attached tens of thousands of mediations on peace.

Biden said he quoted the 20th-century Irish poet William Butler Yeats: “Too long a suffering makes a stone of the heart.”

He added, “There has never been a country that has overcome the past without coming to grips with exactly what happened.”

Colombia’s bitter, mostly rural conflict has claimed an estimated 220,000 lives, four in five of them civilians, and uprooted an estimated 5 million people.

Biden toured the memorial, which includes more than 2,000 small glass tubes of soil from different conflict zones, with his granddaughter Maisy and nephew Nick, and met briefly with indigenous, LGBT rights and union leaders.

The candidate who Santos defeated on Sunday, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, was hand-picked by his immediate predecessor in office, Alvaro Uribe, who many considered the true challenger.

Uribe has been a fierce foe of Santos’ peace process, claiming his successor is selling out the country to the rebels, offering them too many concessions.

Uribe’s foes say he and his hard-line political allies prefer to evade truth and reconciliation as it could incriminate many of them.

___

Associated Press writer Cesar Garcia contributed to this report.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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