View Full Version : Ingrid Betancourt, 3 American Hostages Rescued From Colombian Rebels
The Reaper
07-02-2008, 13:39
Well done, gents
TR
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,375481,00.html
Ingrid Betancourt, 3 American Hostages Rescued From Colombian Rebels
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
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BOGOTA, Colombia — BREAKING NEWS:
Colombia says it has rescued French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three American hostages from rebels who had held them for years.
Christophe
07-02-2008, 13:41
Ingrid Betancourt, the three americans ( Stansell,Gonsalves and Howes, held hostage since 13 Feb 2003) and 14 colombian soldiers who have been taken hostage for many years by the FARC have been rescued by colombian special forces. Just a few minutes ago the Colombian Defense Minister, Juan Manuel Santos has realesed the news during a press conference.
From REUTERS,AP:
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.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said all the former hostages were in reasonably good health.
Great Job!!!!!!
Can not wait to hear how it went and how many Dead FARC were left at the site.
I am sure that the family's will be getting a great 4th of July Present.......
Truly wonderful news. Five or more years as a hostage - I'm sure they'll treasure their new-found freedom.
Outstanding!
Now it's time for open season on the FARC!!!!
The Reaper
07-02-2008, 14:16
Great Job!!!!!!
Can not wait to hear how it went and how many Dead FARC were left at the site....
Sorry, looks like they were punks and gave up.
TR
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,375481,00.html
Politician Ingrid Betancourt, 3 American Hostages Rescued From Colombian Rebels
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia said its military rescued former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. military contractors and 11 other hostages from leftist rebels, who had been held for years, on Wednesday.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos says no one was hurt in the operation in eastern Colombia.
He said army commandos captured rebels manning a security ring around the hostages and got them to persuade their comrades to turn over the captives, without any loss of life.
Santos says the other 11 hostages freed were Colombian soldiers and police.
Betancourt, the Americans Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, and the other hostages were taken to a military base.
In Paris, Betancourt's son Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt called her release after six years of captivity, "if true, the most beautiful news of my life."
There was no answer at the homes of American families of the three U.S. hostages.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,375481,00.html
Hope the story is accurate. A long time coming for these guys and their families.
A thread on the same subject was started by TR an hour ago.
It had the deceptive title of: "Ingrid Betencourt, 3 American Hostages Rescued from Colombian Rebels"
Awesome Job.... Sure there are some incredible stories to tell. A tough women to hang in there that long and not giving up.
Welcome Home
Sorry, looks like they were punks and gave up.
TR
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,375481,00.html
Politician Ingrid Betancourt, 3 American Hostages Rescued From Colombian Rebels
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia said its military rescued former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. military contractors and 11 other hostages from leftist rebels, who had been held for years, on Wednesday.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos says no one was hurt in the operation in eastern Colombia.
He said army commandos captured rebels manning a security ring around the hostages and got them to persuade their comrades to turn over the captives, without any loss of life.
Santos says the other 11 hostages freed were Colombian soldiers and police.
Betancourt, the Americans Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, and the other hostages were taken to a military base.
In Paris, Betancourt's son Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt called her release after six years of captivity, "if true, the most beautiful news of my life."
There was no answer at the homes of American families of the three U.S. hostages.
Too Bad but this is still Great news..........
82ndtrooper
07-02-2008, 15:13
This weekends meaning of "Freedom" should be a great one for them.
Happy 4th of July !
Blakeslee
07-02-2008, 15:31
This is a big plus for US Army South :lifter
The Reaper
07-02-2008, 15:42
This is a big plus for US Army South :lifter
Really?
I thought it was SOCSO and the Colombians who pulled it off.
TR
Blakeslee
07-02-2008, 15:53
Really?
I thought it was SOCSO and the Colombians who pulled it off.
TR
Different mission: reintegration.
They are on their way to BAMC now. (stated in the news as well).
I'm sure Jesse Jackson or Hugo Chavez had something to do with this. :rolleyes: Wait a minute, do you notice you never see those two together at the same time? :eek:
60_Driver
07-02-2008, 16:49
I had the pleasure a couple of hours ago of shaking their hands when they were returned to American custody.
I'd forgotten what a genuinely joyful person looked like.
I wish them an easy re-integration and a quick reunion with their families.
The antihero
07-02-2008, 16:51
Well done indeed!
The Colombian military is really getting a grip of the situation down there.
Surgicalcric
07-02-2008, 17:27
This is great news for all the hostages, especially the three Americans and their families.
Crip
I've got a friend that could barely contain himself. Marc was his best man at his wedding.
Glad to see them finally get home and squash the RUMINT that a few were beyond help with illness. I hate the fact that Betancourt is the name reported in most articles thus far. I held out hope when this first broke that they got the 3 contractors back.
Good news indeed!!
This is great news for all the hostages, especially the three Americans and their families.
Crip
Agree.
Welcome home, men! This upcoming Independence Day will hold special meaning, I'm sure.
bravo22b
07-02-2008, 18:42
Thanks to the Colombian military, and thanks to everyone else who worked so hard to make this happen.
Christophe
07-02-2008, 18:44
I had the pleasure a couple of hours ago of shaking their hands when they were returned to American custody.
I'd forgotten what a genuinely joyful person looked like.
I wish them an easy re-integration and a quick reunion with their families.
I wish them the same.
Welcome home gents!
I hope they are in good health, being in the jungle for such a long time.
I cannot imagine what they have been through. All the best to these guys, their families and friends.
I hope the press gives them some peace! :mad:
60_Driver
07-02-2008, 18:59
They were thin, but looked to be in good health. They maintained a brisk pace for the 150 meters or so from the COLAF plane to the USAF aircraft.
But they mostly seemed happy. *Very* happy.
dr. mabuse
07-02-2008, 18:59
Well done!:D
Christophe
07-02-2008, 19:05
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/...ia_hostages_15
Quote:
Santos said military intelligence agents infiltrated the guerrilla ranks and led the local commander in charge of the hostages, alias Cesar, to believe they were going to take them to Alfonso Cano, the guerrillas' supreme leader.
The hostages, who had been divided in three groups, were taken to a rendezvous where two disguised helicopters piloted by Colombian military agents were waiting. Betancourt said her hands and feet were bound, which she called "humiliating."
The pilots, she said, were posing as members of a relief organization, but "they were dressed like clowns," wearing Che Guevara shirts, so she assumed they were rebels.
But when they were airborne, she looked behind her and saw Cesar, who had treated her so cruelly for so many years, lying on the floor blindfolded.
"The chief of the operation said, `We're the national army. You're free,'" she said. "The helicopter almost fell from the sky because we were jumping up and down, yelling, crying, hugging one another. We couldn't believe it."
Christophe
07-02-2008, 19:24
Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt, right, embraces her mother Yolanda Pulecio upon arrival to a military base in Bogota after being rescued from six years of captivity, Wednesday, July 2, 2008. Betancourt is one of 15 hostages rescued by Colombia's military from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Betancourt was abducted by the FARC when running for president in Feb. 2002
Christophe
07-02-2008, 19:35
Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt, bottom row second from left, prays with her mother Yolanda Pulecio, bottom row far left, along with other freed hostages after arriving to a military base in Bogota, Wednesday, July 2, 2008.
Blakeslee
07-02-2008, 21:06
Amazing day for sure. :)
Blakeslee
07-02-2008, 21:11
I wish them an easy re-integration and a quick reunion with their families.
This is where we pick up and I promise you that we're ready to ensure this happens.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25499926
Colombia tricks rebels into freeing hostages
Mission rescues Betancourt, 3 Americans and 11 others in jungle
BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombian spies tricked leftist rebels into handing over kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors Wednesday in a daring helicopter rescue so successful that not a single shot was fired.
Betancourt, who was seized on the campaign trail six long years ago, appeared thin but healthy as she strode down the stairs of a military plane and held her mother in a long embrace. She said she still aspires to the presidency.
"God, this is a miracle," Betancourt said. "Such a perfect operation is unprecedented."
Eleven Colombian police and soldiers were also freed in the rescue, the most serious blow ever dealt to the 44-year-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which considered the four hostages their most valuable bargaining chips. The FARC is already reeling from the deaths of key commanders and the loss of much of the territory it once held.
The Americans — Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell — were flown directly to the United States to reunite with their families, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said. Their plane landed at Lackland Air Force Base shortly after midnight Wednesday. The U.S. Embassy in Bogota says the men, who worked for Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., were the longest-held American hostages in the world.
Infiltrating the guerrillas
Santos said military intelligence agents infiltrated the guerrilla ranks and led the local commander in charge of the hostages, alias Cesar, to believe they were going to take them to Alfonso Cano, the guerrillas' supreme leader.
The hostages, who had been divided in three groups, were taken to a rendezvous where two disguised helicopters piloted by Colombian military agents were waiting. Betancourt said her hands and feet were bound, which she called "humiliating."
The pilots, she said, were posing as members of a relief organization, but "they were dressed like clowns," wearing Che Guevara shirts, so she assumed they were rebels.
But when they were airborne, she looked behind her and saw Cesar, who had treated her so cruelly for so many years, lying on the floor blindfolded.
"The chief of the operation said, 'We're the national army. You're free,"' she said. "The helicopter almost fell from the sky because we were jumping up and down, yelling, crying, hugging one another. We couldn't believe it."
The operation, Santos said, "will go into history for its audacity and effectiveness."
"We wanted to have it happen as it did today," added armed forces chief Gen. Freddy Padilla. "Without a single shot. Without anyone wounded. Absolutely safe and sound, without a scratch."
Ingrid Betancourt, 3 American Hostages Rescued From Colombian Rebels (http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18755) ;)
Stay safe.
Fantastic news. Thanks to all who were involved over the years in bringing these folks home, and for supporting their families during that time.
My daughter works at NOG, I think the same div/section as the three Americans,, Arlington/DC office..
She told me about the announcement yesterday afternoon.. Made a bunch of people happy..
Someone is doing something right..
Welcome home..
Loadsmasher
07-03-2008, 10:20
BBC article of the operation from what information the Columbians have released.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7486896.stm
The rescue operation that freed Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other Farc hostages from captivity was months in the planning.
It has been hailed by Colombian authorities as "an unprecedented operation that will go down in history for its audacity and effectiveness".
Gen Freddy Padilla, the army's commander-in-chief, said Colombia had managed to penetrate "the highest level" of Farc's seven-member secretariat - its most senior governing body.
Intelligence operatives had also infiltrated the cell of rebels led by the man known as "Cesar", who were holding the 15 hostages.
Operation Check - as in "checkmate" - came after months of information gathering and preparation.
Three of those freed on Wednesday were US defence department contractors, and the Colombian authorities received close co-operation from US security services.
During preparation for the rescue mission, Washington and Bogota shared intelligence, equipment, training advice and operational experience, according William Brownfield, the US ambassador to Colombia.
Matter of minutes
Operation Check was a complicated affair. According to reports, the 15 freed hostages were held in three separate locations.
Through duplicity and subterfuge, "Check" brought them together in a single holding station in southern Colombia.
From there, the captors were duped into believing their charges were to be transferred by helicopter into the hands of another Farc leader, "Alfonso Cana", at a location somewhere between La Paz and Tomachipan, according to Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos.
It is not clear how the rebels were deceived. Mr Santos gave only sketchy details.
"They were rescued in an operation in which the rebel group holding the hostages was infiltrated," he said.
In the end, the operation itself was executed in a matter of minutes, according to the government.
With its pilot and co-pilot communicating by code, a single, unmarked helicopter swooped from above the dense Colombian jungle into a clearing in a Farc-controlled area, officials said.
"The helicopter - which was in fact from the National Army - was crewed by highly qualified intelligence personnel," said Mr Santos.
The aircraft was a Colombian military helicopter, painted white and disguised as that of a fictitious non-governmental organisation.
A Colombian squad posing as rebels swiftly disembarked and convinced some 60 Farc guerrillas on the ground they were their comrades-in-arms.
Not a shot fired
The infiltrators then herded the 15 still-bound captives, as well as two of the rebels - including the notorious Cesar - onto the chopper.
It was only once the aircraft was airborne that the rescuers - some wearing T-shirts bearing the portrait of legendary revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara - revealed their true identities.
The rebels were disarmed, stripped naked and tied up as the liberated hostages celebrated so jubilantly that, in the words of Ms Betancourt, "the helicopter nearly fell from the sky".
Not a shot was fired in the operation, although Gen Padilla said the Colombian soldiers could easily have killed the 60 guerrillas gathered near the jungle clearing.
"We preferred to leave them with liberty and life because, in Colombia, we prefer life over death," he said.
He added that a further 39 army helicopters had been standing by in case the rescue operation was thwarted.
Hailing the rescue mission's success, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said: "It was an intelligence operation comparable with the greatest epics of human history, but without a drop of blood being spilled, without one weapon being fired."
They looked very happy getting off the plane in Bogotá and even better getting of the Plane in TX. I hope they are well and get a good meal Texas style and all the support they will need to get their feet back on the ground and settled in to their family's.
So how paranoid is FARC right about now? :D
They looked very happy getting off the plane in Bogotá and even better getting of the Plane in TX. I hope they are well and get a good meal Texas style and all the support they will need to get their feet back on the ground and settled in to their family's.
I got chills and teared up watching them once off the plane...
Outstanding job! To all those involved in front and behind scenes, Thank You!:lifter
Holly
Leozinho
07-03-2008, 12:19
Welcome home to the Americans. An amazing rescue operation that will go down in history as one of the great ones, I'd imagine.
Speaking Betancourt getting most of the publicity, does anyone else find it odd that the press reports never mention just how she was kidnapped? It's been years since I read an article that included the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping.
I am sure TR and a lot of others that follow events in Latam know, but curious if others remember or ever knew.
rain on the parade, but I cant help think of all the other hostages that remain in custody of the FARC. I just hope those bastards don’t take their frustration and embarrassment out on those hostages. :mad:
Still, welcome home guys!!
Loadsmasher
07-03-2008, 13:29
Welcome home to the Americans. An amazing rescue operation that will go down in history as one of the great ones, I'd imagine.
Speaking Betancourt getting most of the publicity, does anyone else find it odd that the press reports never mention just how she was kidnapped? It's been years since I read an article that included the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping.
I am sure TR and a lot of others that follow events in Latam know, but curious if others remember or ever knew.
I just did a little quick research into this and I can only shake my head.
I wonder if Sen. Obama is up for a little trip to the DMZ?:D
I was just reading the background on the three Americans.
Seems my rock is in the spot light.
Marc D. Gonsalves lives in Big Pine Key, Florida
or (BPK),, like in JJ_BPK,, small world..
We are in DC with the kids,, I might try to buy Marc a beer when we get home in a couple weeks..
60_Driver
07-03-2008, 18:23
Speaking Betancourt getting most of the publicity, does anyone else find it odd that the press reports never mention just how she was kidnapped? It's been years since I read an article that included the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping.
Long story short, she went looking for it and found it. At the time, I shelved it in the "Stupid should hurt" box, but her subsequent conduct and the apparent constant trouble she gave her captors got my respect.
Long story short, she went looking for it and found it. At the time, I shelved it in the "Stupid should hurt" box, but her subsequent conduct and the apparent constant trouble she gave her captors got my respect.
Yes, President Pastrana openly warned her not to travel to the area because the Col Govt was unable to guarantee her safety. She ignored his advice, because she was looking for publicity and IMO, she didn't think FARC would hold onto her, well she was wrong.:rolleyes:
The Reaper
07-09-2008, 13:56
Washington Post
July 9, 2008
Pg. 1
In Colombia Jungle Ruse, U.S. Played A Quiet Role
Ambassador Spotlights Years of Aid, Training
By Juan Forero, Washington Post Foreign Service
BOGOTA, Colombia, July 8 -- For months before a group of disguised Colombian soldiers carried out a daring rescue of three American citizens and a prominent Colombian politician from a guerrilla camp, a team of U.S. Special Forces joined elite Colombian troops tracking the hostages across formidable jungle terrain in the country's southern fringes.
The U.S. team was supported by a vast intelligence-gathering operation based in the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, far to the north. There, a special 100-person unit made up of Special Forces planners, hostage negotiators and intelligence analysts worked to keep track of the hostages. They also awaited the moment when they would spring into action to help Colombian forces carry out a rescue.
That moment came in June after a Colombian army major hatched an unconventional plan. Further developed by Colombian intelligence agents, the plan abandoned the idea of a military raid and relied instead on tricking a rebel group notorious for killing hostages into simply handing over 15 of their most prominent captives. Those included three U.S. Defense Department contractors who had been imprisoned five years in remote jungle camps, as well as Ingrid Betancourt, a politician of French-Colombian citizenship whose plight had become a cause celebre in Europe.
As Colombian planners made last-minute preparations June 30, the U.S. ambassador in Bogota, William R. Brownfield, briefed Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other Bush administration officials in a videoconference call. Two days later, Colombian commandos scooped up the Americans, Betancourt and 11 Colombian soldiers and policemen, receiving praise from around the world for a plan deftly executed.
U.S. troops did not participate directly in the operation, but behind the rescue in a jungle clearing stood years of clandestine American work. It included the deployment of elite U.S. Special Forces in areas where rebel fighters roam, a vast intelligence-gathering operation against the guerrillas, and training programs for Colombian troops and communications specialists in how to intercept and subvert rebel communications.
"This mission was a Colombian concept, a Colombian plan, a Colombian training operation, then a Colombian operation," Brownfield said in an interview in which he recounted details of the U.S. role. "We, however, had been working with them more than five years on every single element that came to pass that pulled off this operation, as well as the small bits that we did on this operation."
Just months before "Operation Check," Brownfield promised the families of the three Americans, whose single-engine plane had crashed over rebel-held territory in 2003 while on an aerial reconnaissance mission, that he would never recommend that the Bush administration approve a Colombian rescue that would put their loved ones at risk. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has killed hostages rather than permit their rescue.
The Bush administration had an understanding with Colombia's government that any operation to rescue the Americans required U.S. approval, meaning an American rejection of the plan could have scuttled it. But Brownfield and a team of 15 American strategists -- including intelligence agents and military officers -- thought the Colombian plan could succeed.
The complex operation included infiltrators in the FARC's highest reaches, a team of Colombian commandos playing the part of relief workers and guerrillas, and an elaborate scheme to intervene in the rebels' radio communications network. The sting was directed at the leaders of guerrilla units who were responsible for moving hostages through the jungle but communicated infrequently with the FARC's seven-man directorate.
Brownfield explained to Cheney, Rice and the others how Colombian officials would ensure that a fake radio message -- purportedly from the unit headed by the FARC's supreme leader, Alfonso Cano -- would be sent to the guards. The order would be to prepare the hostages to be picked up by a relief agency and then flown by helicopter to the rebel high command.
Members of Bush's Cabinet were uneasy, the ambassador recalled.
"I was pressed fairly hard, as I would expect to be, as I would hope to be, to justify, to explain my recommendations, to offer the basis for my having reached the conclusions that I'd reached," Brownfield said in an interview in his office. "At the end of the day, I felt that I had been forced to offer up a very clear explanation as to how all of us down here -- Team Bogota -- had come up with this particular set of positions."
The White House officials agreed with Brownfield and his team. As participants stood up from the meeting, one of the Americans listening to Brownfield in Washington said: "Good luck. In fact, good luck to all of us."
The U.S. assistance to Colombia, part of more than $5 billion in aid since 2000, has come into sharp focus this year as an intense military campaign weakened the FARC, killing seasoned commanders and prompting 1,500 fighters and urban operatives to desert.
Colombian officials have said the American assistance, especially in intercepting FARC communications, has been essential. And Sergio Jaramillo, vice minister of defense, said the Americans have been instrumental in creating "a professional Special Forces culture" in Colombia's elite jungle units.
The Americans, as well as their Colombian counterparts, kept close tabs on the FARC's internal crisis. They gleaned important information from former guerrillas and hostages who had been released or escaped, especially Jhon Pinchao, a policeman who made a remarkable dash to freedom last year. The embassy also noted with interest how FARC guerrillas were becoming sloppy, returning to the same camps they had long used or traversing the same jungle routes again and again.
Aware of the danger of a conventional rescue, U.S. and Colombian planners developed a general plan that called for the FARC unit holding the Americans to be encircled, with no escape route. A high-flying plane would then drop leaflets to assure the FARC that a rescue operation would not be mounted, and helicopters outfitted with loudspeakers would tell the rebels what radio frequencies to use to communicate with military forces.
Though U.S. policy bars negotiating with hostage-takers, Brownfield said the idea behind the strategy was to have Colombian and FBI hostage negotiators "try to make it in their interest to let the hostages go."
In January, U.S. and Colombian officials believed they would soon have a chance to put that plan into action. Colombian reconnaissance teams discovered the FARC team holding the Americans and two other hostages along a river in southern Guaviare province.
Twelve of the reconnaissance units, some of which included elite U.S. troops, were positioned along the Apaporis River, a route officials believed the FARC would take. But tailing the guerrillas through terrain they knew well was challenging.
The guerrillas used canoes, swiftly moving down rivers. The soldiers trudged. In jungle so dense that visibility ended after 25 feet, the special forces troops would move at a rate of only two or three miles a day.
But hiking was the only choice because helicopters would cause the guerrilla to panic. On four days in February, Colombian forces came so close that they saw the American hostages bathing in a river just a few feet away. Nearby stood rebel guards, their assault rifles slung from their shoulders.
Then just before the group could be encircled, the rebels and their hostages disappeared into the vast jumble of forest and waterways.
"At this point, they're on to us," Brownfield recalled thinking.
Although the Americans and Colombians work together closely, Colombia's Ministry of Defense does not always tell the American Embassy what plans are in the works. U.S. officials discovered on their own that a rescue plan was taking shape.
In June, the Americans noted that three FARC units, all of them known for holding hostages, began moving together into a region southeast of the Guaviare capital, San Jose.
Brownfield said he and his team deduced that the Colombians, using fake communications, were executing a deception plan aimed at freeing the hostages. Later that month, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos told Brownfield about Operation Check, as in checkmate.
"One worry was, in fact, was the FARC here in Guaviare falling for this?" Brownfield recalled. "Or were they in essence playing us, when we thought we were playing them?"
Brownfield said that he also thought to himself, "We're not dealing with a bunch of bozos here in FARC-land."
In the frantic days before the operation, Colombian and U.S. officials discussed details of the operation at length, troubleshooting and considering all possibilities.
Brownfield said the opinion among U.S. officials was that the risk to the American hostages -- key leverage in the FARC's negotiations to win the freedom of guerrillas in Colombian jails -- would be low. Should the FARC discover the deception, the ambassador reasoned, they would simply disappear into the jungle with their trophy prisoners.
The Americans also thought that the Colombians were well prepared, ready to make it work.
"So we took a deep breath," Brownfield recalled, "and said, 'Proceed.' "
NPR actually ran a respectable piece about the rescue and had lots of fine things to say about the US Special Operators involved.
What's funny is that one reports says that the US participated, but the pentagon says it was all Columbian SOF... That's what I'm talking about. Well done all.
Quit snickering about me listening to NPR. I live in VT, it's considered hippy-camoflage...
http://www.npr.org (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92357311)
Morning Edition, July 9, 2008 · The U.S. Embassy in Bogota has provided details about U.S. participation in the effort to rescue three Americans along with Ingrid Betancourt and 11 other hostages held by FARC guerrillas in Colombia.
The U.S. created a 100-member team of intelligence analysts and special forces who helped train Colombian forces and helped track the FARC guerrillas.
2018commo
07-11-2008, 09:53
I believe this will be categorized as "A Good FID Day".
I look forward to reading the book some day.
Congrads to all.
NousDefionsDoc
07-16-2008, 10:40
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/15/colombia.red.cross/index.html
Peregrino
07-16-2008, 11:29
Hopefully the Colombians will deal with the security breach. :munchin
60_Driver
07-18-2008, 08:10
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/15/colombia.red.cross/index.html
I don't know about the bib, but I saw the birds when they were rolled out after the paint job, and it was generic. Scummy leftists look for anything, and end up having to fabricate...