the STING!!!
Posted on 07/06/2008 2:45:12 AM PDT by CutePuppy
BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- New details have emerged about an important supporting role for the U.S. in Colombia's daring rescue of 15 hostages held by the country's Marxist guerrillas. One area where the Americans were directly involved: Giving Hollywood-style acting classes to the Colombian undercover military officers who duped the guerrillas into handing over the hostages.
Preparation for the rescue mission, which freed three Americans and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, involved mounting a makeshift studio on an army base and drilling the undercover military officers in their acting roles, according to senior Colombian military officials.
One Colombian officer played the role of an Australian leftist who supposedly belonged to a nongovernmental group sympathetic to the rebels.
"I swear, he was right out of 'Crocodile Dundee,'" said Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia's defense minister, in an interview late on Thursday.
Washington helped in other ways, too. The U.S. military also signed off on every aspect of the plan before it was carried out, Mr. Santos said. That was important for Colombia, given that three of the hostages were Americans whose lives might be in jeopardy from the operation.
......
U.S. involvement in the mission underlines the close ties between Washington and Bogotá, the Bush administration's closest regional ally. Colombia is the third-biggest recipient of U.S. military aid behind Israel and Egypt, receiving some $5.4 billion in U.S. aid since 2000. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and President George. W. Bush speak regularly by telephone, Colombian officials say. Trust between both sides is so strong that Mr. Uribe told Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, who visited Colombia this week, about the mission on Tuesday night, the night before it took place.
......
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Great details! This was truly a spectacular operation.
Under an "Obama Presidency" the US role would have been relegated to providing "gumdrops and candy-canes" to the FARC terrorists after Obama himself called them to warn them just prior to the raid.
Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and France's Nicolas Sarkozy urged the Colombian government to avoid any rescue mission that could endanger the hostages and negotiated directly with the FARC.
"I have to recognize that the strong hand has prevailed," said human-rights activist Robert Menard, founder and secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders. "Our insistence on the need to negotiate with the FARC, hoping they would release their most valuable card, was foolish."
"Peace" through strength. Can't get much better than this!
I suggest further that a President Osama would have required attorneys to observe (remotely) the operation to make sure the rebles were read their rights, not abused or humiliated.
For all of those the other day that were wanting to believe some hairbrain ransome trash, How about Congratulating COLOMBIA and THE UNITED STATES and , oh yes, a little humble pie is also due!
GOD BLESS AMERICA! and GOD LESS OUR GREAT PRESIDENT George W. Bush! HUURAHH!
Vote for Obama Hussein to Trash America!:-P
There’s gotta be a movie about this.
Also, Rats in the House, get off your butts and pass the Columbian Free Trade agreement!
When I first heard about this operation, my immediate thought was Proof of Life with Russell Crowe. Definitely, much happier outcome than Black Hawk Down, and that's not at all in a sense of denigrating the great effort and heroism of our guys in that operation, humanitarian in purpose, which turned into an ambush.
the STING!!!
Peace only comes through strength.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.