Posted on 03/22/2008 4:48:39 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter
Hungry, desperate and afraid for his life, Pedro Pablo Montoya shot the commander he was supposed to protect. He then severed the commander's right hand -- as proof he'd killed one of Colombia's most wanted men -- and deserted the once-powerful rebel group to which he had pledged allegiance.
The slaying this month of Manuel Jesús Muñoz, a member of the ruling directorate of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was a dramatic signal that a rebel group known for its resilience is engulfed in an internal crisis that could lead to its implosion after four decades of armed struggle.
--snip--
Weakened by infiltrators and facing constant combat and aerial bombardment, the insurgency is losing members in record numbers. The FARC, as the group is known, lost 1,583 fighters in combat last year, its columns are plagued by command-and-control problems, and popular support is evaporating, the government of President Álvaro Uribe says.
--snip--
The most serious problem the FARC is facing is not guerrilla deaths or the loss of territory, but mass desertion, according to political analysts, military officials and former guerrillas interviewed this month. Many said desertions have badly hurt morale and provided the military with important strategic information about the hermetic group.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The writer does not seem to understand that the point of war is not neccessarily to kill the enemy but to make him unwilling to fight any longer.
Praise God!
Chavez’s bag money’s going to be missed.
Here’s praying that FARC becomes FARCE soon.
American cocaine users are a big source of money for FARC.
or replace the “C” with a “T” as in “blast from the past.”
Anyhow, I expect Congressman Willaim Delhunt and 99 percent of the Democrats are very sad about these developments.
"If the situation continues like this, the FARC will be finished," said Ivan, 33, who deserted from the group Dec. 27 after serving as the No. 2 commander of a unit in the coffee-growing west.I hope Ivan didn't just withhold his last name but also falsified his first."It won't be tomorrow, and it could take years, but it will happen," said Ivan, who asked that his last name not be used out of fear the FARC might kill him.
After all, if his name really is Ivan, how hard would it be for the FARC to figure who he is?
How many Ivans are running around in the Columbian jungle these days?
(Maybe a lot of Hugos, but I would think not so many Ivans).
No, it’s a common name there.
Really? In the words of the Beav, who would have thunk it?
Say, didn’t Bill Clinton pardon some FARC members?
Why fight as a FARC criminal in the Columbian boondocks when you can glory as a free man in the Marxist reality of Caracas?
It’s pronounced ee-vahn not eye-vun there though.
thanks for the info
“...pardoned members of the Puerto Rican FALN...”
The FALN also did some bombings in NYC, most famously Fraunces Tavern.
I agree mostly with your statement, however what I fear is that once the 'undesirables' are gone you'll have a small group of fanatics that will do considerable damage on their own.
-Traveler
That’s exactly my thought. Demowits everywhere are saddened by this.
"Hello. My name is Pedro Pablo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die"
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