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Posted on 07/02/2008 12:28:35 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Colombia says rescues Betancourt, Americans 02 Jul 2008 19:18:25 GMT Source: Reuters BOGOTA, July 2 (Reuters) - Colombia said on Wednesday it rescued three Americans and French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt from leftist guerrillas who had held them for years in secret jungle camps.
(Excerpt) Read more at alertnet.org ...
Was John McCain there?...........
I hope this is true.
This is going to play out in the European press much more than in the US. Betancourt is a cause celeb in France and will be given a heroes welcome if she decides to return to France.
This is really good news - they’ve been held by FARC for years and years now.
FARC is rapidly collapsing. Betancourt was the “justification” used by various bands of Communists Socialists and Marxists in Europe to pillory the USA, Colombia’s government, NATO, OAS, and French politicians over the years.
With FARC losing the Betancourt chip in the game, FARC will lose much of their sympathisers in continental Europe. I hope.
This also opens the French political classes’ options regarding policies in South America.
But first Betancourt will recover and perform the media circus interview circuit. Let’s hope she hasn’t gone Stockholm syndrome or Patty Hearst style.
More:
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121502621773723747.html
Snippet:
But in becoming so famous, the 46-year-old Ms. Betancourt also became more valuable to the FARC, which has suffered a string of major setbacks in the past few months. Only days after he complained about Ms. Betancourt in the email, rebel leader Raúl Reyes, the group’s second-in-command, was killed in an airstrike by the Colombian military on his camp in neighboring Ecuador. Weeks later, the group lost its legendary leader Manuel Marulanda, who apparently died of a heart attack.
After the attack on Mr. Reyes, the Colombian police recovered several of his laptop computers, gaining an unprecedented look inside the secretive rebel group. It was clear from messages, many viewed by The Wall Street Journal, that the hostages — Ms. Betancourt in particular — were pawns in a complex political game played out by the FARC and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez against Colombia’s President Álvaro Uribe.
“Was John McCain there?...........”
No but Kerry was. He just doesn’t want anyone to know :-)
Seared into his memory, eh?.............
What the heck... give him another Silver Star! They are like raisins to him anyways... /s
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