The Chosen Obama Narrative
Gosh, I Love The Liberal Media
China's Gold Medals Found To Have High Lead Content
The Party of Unity For One America
How Obama Changed Change
Women At Center Stage
Obama Is He Ready to be President
And If Obama Loses?
Martha's Big Adventure - Happy Labor Day
This Historic Candidacy
Crying Wolf On The Economy While Ignoring Real Perils
Kvetching and Convening
Major Media Decide -- Vote Obama
Obama Still Stumbling In Polls
The Senator
Convention(al) Reflections
Farewell To An American Hero
Economy of Words
Farewell, Nato
Findings
Hillary Can't Fix What Her Party Broke
Let's Get Cracking On America's Infrastructure
Mccains Vs. Biden: Not All 'Foreign Policy Experience' Is Created Equal
The Obama Moment
Kennedy's 'Right' Is Wrong
Rolling With The Punches
State of Denial
Obama Camp Claims Its 'Ground Game' Will Beat Bush's of '04
The Perfect Stranger
For Voters, It's A Matter of Trust
Michelle Obama: Family-Values Feminist -- Or Phony?
Game Show Politics
Biden Selection May Help Mccain Make Obama The Issue
Barack
The Quadrennial Whine Is Wrong
The Better Hillary Does, The Worse For Obama
'RomneyCare' Should Keep Mitt Off McCain Ticket
Be Not Cool
Report From A Forgotten War (4th in a Series)
Avoiding A Lieberman Disaster
Quality of Leadership Counts
Art Or Pornography? A Fine Line Indeed
On Shooting Taggers: Why Conservatives And Liberals Differ
New Day, New World, New Democratic Party
Grateful For A Do-Nothing Congress
A Gathering of Clowns Acrobats and Con Men
Win Or Lose, Obama Pioneers Interactive Convention
Obama Nomination Reframes Racial Issues
Democrats Talkin' Like The GOP
McCain Can Win Only As A War President
Young Feminists Shed Label
The Real "Big Tent" Party
Bill Clinton Mending Fences
Michelle Bernard Looks for the Right McCain -- Interview
Losing Faith Voters
Blind Defense of Koran Abrogates Reality
We've Come A Long Way, Baby
The Devils In His Details
The Clintons' Exit



Democrats Disdain Our Best Latin American Ally
Mona Charen 7/4/2008
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The rescue of three Americans from the jungles of South America is a terrific Fourth of July present to the nation. (And John McCain gets high marks for timing in being present for the happy event.) American contractors Keith Stansell, Thomas Howes and Marc Gonsalves had been captured by the Colombian communist guerrilla group FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) when their antinarcotics surveillance plane crashed in rebel territory five years ago. At the time, considering the weakness of the Colombian government, the growing strength of the neighborhood bully Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, and the terror that FARC inflicted upon the Colombian people, the future looked grim for them and for the hundreds of hostages held in various remote areas. Ingrid Betancourt, a former presidential candidate who was likewise snatched and held by FARC, was freed with the Americans on July 2.

The rescue operation involved deception. Colombian army officers disguised themselves as FARC guerrillas in order to fly the hostages by helicopter to a supposed meeting with the FARC commander. When she saw them sporting Che Guevara T-shirts, Betancourt told reporters, "I thought, 'This is FARC.'" Hmm, is this the same Che Guevara that adorns so many dorm rooms and faculty lounges at America's leading institutions of higher learning? It is. The same
Che whose photo, superimposed over a Cuban flag, decorated the Houston Obama for President office? Obama may not have known of this, but it gives you the flavor of some of his enthusiasts.

FARC has terrorized Colombia for more than 40 years. What began as a communist insurgency gradually morphed into a communist/terrorist/narco gang whose favorite tactics included burning villages, torture, and kidnapping. In one case, the entire congregation of a remote church was abducted on a Sunday after worship. In other cases, they came for specific individuals whose parents could pay ransom. Ten-year-old Laura Ulloa was riding to school when armed guerrillas stopped and boarded the bus, demanding to know which one was Laura, and carried her off.

For many years, the Colombian government was flaccid or worse. Armed gangs called "Paras" or paramilitaries sprang up to counter the guerrillas; violence and corruption suffused the country.

"I was never patriotic," a young Colombian ex-patriot told me. "I told people I was from South America." Hugo Chavez offered funding and safe haven for FARC (a guerrilla leader's computer was recently captured proving Chavez's involvement). Neighboring Ecuador and Brazil and nearby Nicaragua elected Chavez/Castro acolytes, leaving Colombia more and more isolated in the region.

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Crisis in Latin America
By Paresh Nath - The National Herald, India * Posted 03/09/2008