Posted on 07/03/2008 6:15:06 PM PDT by Kaslin
War On Terror: A foreign country puts its men on the line to rescue American hostages and pulls off one of the greatest rescues in history. Might a little gratitude from Congress be in order?
In the wake of the rescue, Democrats' caricature of Colombia as a night-haunted right-wing dictatorship, a la 1976 Guatemala, looks increasingly hollow.
The American contractors were taken hostage during a coca-spraying mission in 2003. Their flimsy aircraft went down in the jungle after their engine failed with no backup. One of their colleagues, Thomas Janis, was shot dead by FARC on the spot as he destroyed classified documents, and Luis Cruz, a Colombian on the same mission, was tortured to death.
In his 2005 book "Imperial Grunts," Robert D. Kaplan writes that the survivors were then lost to the jungle as crucial time was lost in the initial hours of the accident because of Clinton-era restrictions on U.S. engagement.
So Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell spent five years with brutal terrorists tied up in the jungle with little hope. Last week's rescue ended that nightmare, and today the longest-held American hostages are free.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
Go Columbia.. hear hear..
wonder if Pelosi will actually have the cajones to be a stateman about this...naaah...
He said it won't be reported because they don't want to antagonize anyone, but the way they "camoflaged" the Columbian military helicopter was to paint a Venezuelan flag on it.
That and the Che Guavera T-Shirts were all it took to convince them them.
I agree. Some thanks is definitely in order. Bush could do a lot by just telling Pelosi and the anti-Colombia left to flake off and then standing up and thanking Colombia in a very public statement.
I love it! This gets better and better.
I find passion for Columbia extremely suspicious.
They had bought and paid for Bill Klinton.
They had Mark Penn, Hildabeast’s cheif campaign strategist in their pockets.
They now claim long freindship between McCain and Columbian President.
Everything about Columbia is tainted in my mind. They have way too much drug money.
I find passion of our Politicians from either side of the aisle on behalf of Columbia very trouling.
Huh? Maybe you should do a little serious reading about the country named Colombia before you come out with these statements. Unless, of course, you’re thinking about Columbia University. Or are just out trolling around and aren’t really sure which one you’re talking about.
Trolling for typos are we?
I guess ingratitude is one word for it...one of several.
Plan Colombia was what, $1.5 billion.
Thanks enough.
“It’s not only a disadvantage as we compete with free-trade nations like Peru, but also with Chile and Mexico,” Plata said. “These countries compete with Colombia to attract U.S. direct investment. Not having the treaty approved . . . is the equivalent of sanctions. That’s because companies in our countries upgrade factories with investment. They will get it, we won’t.”
Think what you will about what is “owed” to Columbia for this hostage rescue, but above we have a frank statement of what all the free “trade” really means. It means “attract US investment”, we trade jobs and technology for cheap labor in poor nations. There is little to be traded in terms of goods and services Columbia has to offer now. Free “trade” with all these poor nations means: allow the US to transfer jobs and production facilities to Columbia, and then hire cheap labor to produce US brand products to be shipped back to the US for sale with low tariffs or no tariffs at all.
That’s what free “trade” means with all these poor nations. But we will still hear how these agreements open new markets for American products and create all those high paying export jobs. What will really happen is, whatever our trade deficit or surplus is with Columbia now, it would increase by several billion on the deficit side.
Free “trade” with Uncle Sap, but who can blame Columbia for feeling mistreated when most all their SA and CA neighbors mostly already have a free “trade” deal with the US.
Over the last few years I have purchased some goods made in Colombia and they are excellent quality.
Their dishware for example is better than anything made in Italy makes and much cheaper.
I say bring on Colombian goods!!!
The country is our best friend in Latin America. And no, they did not buy Bill Clinton, that report was explicitly denied by Narino palace. President Uribe is a conservative, believes in limited government, has cleaned up the country and cannot stand communists. He’s openly pro-American in international forums, was the only Latin president to defend the US action on Iraq and in every way has been a friend, as are the Colombians themselves.
Trolling for trolls.
I suggest we call the Colombian Embassy in DC on Monday. Leave a brief comment.
Thanks for all you do. I have been pleased to see a rare conservative voice in the media. Long live IBD!
I find your advocacy for terrorists very troubling.
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