What a great story to come on the eve of the 4th of July. Thanks go out to all the people that made it possible, along with the great ally of the U.S. , Colombia . Hugo Chavez seems to have gone underground for a few days. Too bad we can't make that permanent , as in SIX FEET UNDER. 

Ummmm what rescue?

I dont watch the news what happened?

The successful rescue of 15 hostages from the clutches of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) has had a massive political impact, nationally and internationally.

It has boosted President Alvaro Uribe and his tough stance against the Marxist rebels and silenced demands that the government make concessions to the guerrillas.

Now the perception is that the military defeat of the Farc is not only possible but inevitable, something that seven years ago would have been unthinkable, when the guerrilla army numbered more than 16,000 fighters and held sway in over a third of the country.

"We are at the end of the end of the Farc," said Admiral Guillermo Barrera, the head of the Colombian Navy.

Praise for president

The latest operation has shown what total disarray the Farc are in and how there appears to be little, if any, reliable contact between the ruling body and the commanders on the ground.

The rescue has vindicated Mr Uribe's uncompromising position with respect to negotiating with the Farc and justified his refusal to make concessions in order to gain the release of hostages.

He had been under pressure from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to secure the release of Ingrid Betancourt - and in a rather more outspoken manner by Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who called Mr Uribe, among others things, a "mafioso" and a "warmonger" for his refusal to sit down with the guerrillas.

Now both leaders have softened their positions. The French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, who accompanied Ms Betancourt's children as they travelled from Paris to meet up with their mother, spoke for President Sarkozy and said that France "admired what had been done".

President Chavez said he was "delighted" and "jubilant" at the successful rescue and was looking forward to welcoming Mr Uribe for a planned visit in the near future admitting that "we said some hard things. Between brothers such things happen".

In January, the Venezuelan leader called for the Farc to be taken off international terrorist lists and insisted the rebels be recognised as a legitimate belligerent force.

He has since backtracked on that, condemning the guerrillas for their policy of kidnapping and telling them that it was time to end the fighting.

Consummate politician

The successful rescue of the hostages will no doubt boost Mr Uribe's already staggering approval ratings, which hover at around 80%.

It will also perhaps secure any re-election plans he might have. President Uribe has already changed the constitution once, which allowed him to stand again as a candidate in the 2006 elections.

He has not ruled out tampering with the constitution once more and indeed one of the political parties that support him, Partido de la U, is currently working on collecting enough signatures to trigger a referendum on the matter.

Ms Betancourt also supported any potential re-election bid by Mr Uribe, when she said that the 2006 re-election of Mr Uribe, with his hard-line policies, was seen by the guerrillas as a great blow. When asked about a third Uribe term she said:

"Why not? It is interesting. That does not mean to say that I would necessarily vote for him as perhaps I have more affinity with other candidates."

And what now for Ingrid Betancourt?

She looks set to pick up where she left off in February 2002 when she was kidnapped by the Farc at a rebel road block.

Then, she was campaigning for the Colombian presidency and since her release she has acted like the consummate politician she is, talking exhaustively with the media, praising the military, the government and the foreign nations that worked so hard on behalf of the kidnap victims.

She already has her new mission mapped out, fighting for the liberation of the hostages still in Farc hands.

"We need to fight for the freedom of the others, who are still in the jungle, still held by Farc," she said.

"There are a lot of people round the world who want to help us - fighting for the liberty of other Colombians."

The former presidential candidate, now with a profile and status the envy of politicians the world over, is in a very strong position to act as ambassador and activist for the release of the remaining hostages and the search for an end to the country's 44-year civil conflict.

Ingrid Betancourt will now no doubt be a permanent fixture on Colombia's political stage.

How Colombia freed the hostages

The rescue operation that freed Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other Farc hostages was months in the planning and hinged on a turncoat high in the rebels' ranks.

Colombian authorities described it 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 Gerardo Aguilar Ramirez, the man known as "Cesar", who were holding the 15 hostages.

Three of those freed on Wednesday were US defence department contractors, and Operation Check - as in "checkmate" - came after months of preparation and co-operation with US security services.

Gen Padilla told the Associated Press that a disgruntled member of Farc, trusted by the rebels' high command, had agreed to spearhead the operation.

He convinced Cesar that commanders wanted the 15 hostages moved to a rallying point in southern Colombia, the general said, adding: "The Farc's communications are medieval."

Helicopters disguised

Cesar believed that the hostages were to be delivered by helicopter to another Farc leader, Alfonso Cano, at a location somewhere between La Paz and Tomachipan, according to Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos.

A day before the operation, two helicopters - painted white and disguised as those of a fictitious non-governmental organisation - left a military base in an Andean mountain valley and settled in a wilderness clearing.

On board one of the helicopters - the one that would rescue the hostages - were four air force crew disguised as civilians, seven military intelligence agents and the rebel turncoat, military officials said.

Two of the agents had dressed as rebels, and the rest wore white as though they were members of a humanitarian mission. All had taken a week and a half of acting lessons, Gen Padilla said.

When the helicopters arrived at the rendezvous point at midday on Wednesday, one touched down while the other hovered in case of an emergency, sources told the Colombian news website Semana.com.

Gen Padilla said the crew instructed the rebels to bind the hostages' hands because 14 of them had military training.

"Nobody wanted to risk them trying to overpower the crew," he told AP.

Once the aircraft was airborne, the rescuers - some wearing T-shirts bearing the portrait of legendary revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara - swiftly overpowered Cesar and his aide.

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".

If things had gone wrong, the Colombian military had a Plan B for 39 helicopters and 2,000 troops to encircle the hostage-holders and try to persuade them to surrender peacefully.

The general said the turncoat was now free and likely to receive a sizable reward.

William Brownfield, the US ambassador to Colombia, confirmed that Washington and Bogota shared intelligence, equipment, training advice and operational experience prior to the complex operation.

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."

Thanks for supplying the article Karand.

 yes thank you, i was way off, i didn't think mine was right but i didn't see anything else, thanks
, yes that is something to celebrate, awesome!!!

Nice!!!

 We can't fix everything all at once, but this shows that there are people on the ball. I have no respect for Chavez!

And this is the country that the Democratic congress blocks a free trade agreement with. 

I think it is great that we have recovered these hostages.

An interesting side note however. I promised I would listen to more conservative radio. And I heard two things there that I have heard repeated here.

It was on Hannity's America or whatever....but it wasn't Hannity he has a stand in at the moment cause he's on vacation I guess..

The two things the host mentioned were

1. What a great ally Columbia is. (which I think is either a rush to judgement or somewhat revisionist)

2. How bad the democrats (pelosi on the radio) are for blocking a free trade agreement.

Just think it's interesting, considering some have stated how little influence people like Hannity and Limbaugh have. Which is almost funny considering that news we got a few days ago about Limbaugh getting some obscene contract for the next few years.

You dont make that kind of money unless people are listening, and agreeing.

and with that, Goodmorning everyone!

cheers

-DR

on an interesting note, I read that $2.5 million were spent on this rescue

wow! 

MONEY VERY WELL SPENT.

surveybob:

And this is the country that the Democratic congress blocks a free trade agreement with.