A Victory Dance for Colombia

Colombian Terrorist Was After Nuclear Bomb

Colombia's armed forces and national police performed one of the most spectacular anti-terror strikes in history, taking out FARC chieftain Raul Reyes, the No. 2 terrorist in the Marxist cocaine-trafficking guerrilla group.

Using American training and satellite technology, the hit took out a member of the FARC's inner circle for the first time, ending all illusion of safety at the top. Identified by his Rolex watch, the Marxist thug had a $5 million price on his head.

Better still, Colombia's well-trained armed forces seized three of his computers with some surprising contents: A FARC plan to buy 50 kilograms of uranium to expand into international terrorism.

Colombia's victory followed a series of powerful blows against other FARC leaders. As defections from the group rise and the terrorist leadership is decapitated, a picture emerges of a war being won after nearly 50 years of fighting.

But outside Colombia, do we hear "congratulations"? No.

We hear complaints from nations such as France, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Italy that Colombia's forces went into Ecuador chasing a terrorist, violating its "sovereignty" -- even though, as documents show, Ecuador helped Colombian guerrillas make themselves at home in that country.

Colombia apologized for the incursion, and had every right to expect understanding. But instead of a spotlight on Ecuador for harboring terror camps, critics focused on Colombia's trespassing.

Those who've trumped up this false charge have much to answer for in their involvement in the FARC. Foremost among them, Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez screamed outrage, calling Colombia a "criminal" state for rubbing out the Rolex revolutionary. He then advocated the overthrow of Colombia's democratic government and sent 10 tank divisions and 6,000 troops to the Colombian border. He ordered Ecuador to do the same, raising the specter of war.

That's bad enough. But Reyes' computers tell an even worse story -- that Chavez has been a state sponsor of terror, secretly funneling $300 million to the FARC. Ecuador, too, was surprisingly neckdeep in "commitments" to the FARC. These are acts of war.

This changes the idea of Venezuela and Ecuador as upstanding members of the international community. We have no illusions about what they've done to their own democracies, but those who criticize only Colombia happily preserve the fiction.

More specifically, to countries such as France and Argentina, Chavez has masqueraded as a neutral "mediator" in Colombia's conflict, persuading them to think he was an honest broker whose only interest was in freeing FARC hostages.

In fact, he's the FARC's banker, safe-haven provider and advocate, urging Europe to take the FARC off the internationally recognized list of terrorist groups in exchange for the release of hostages.

Europe has bought into Chavez's pretense of neutrality because it has always favored appeasement and payoffs over risky fighting as a means of winning wars and freeing hostages. It never works.

And yet, at the exact moment of Colombia's victory, Europe suddenly seems interested in mediating a peace process between the FARC and Colombia, as if the two were moral equals and victory were impossible without concessions to terrorists.

Chavez's involvement shows just how morally questionable that approach is. Colombia's critics in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere are playing a discredited peace game at the very hour of Colombia's victory. In so doing, they negate the only solution likely to free hostages and bring peace, which is fighting for it.

In light of its success -- and the nuclear threat to the world the FARC poses -- Colombia deserves the right to give victory a chance. --Investors Business Daily

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Comments

[Ernesto Ribeiro]

VIVA ALVARO URIBE!!!

Yeah, Alvin rocks! That's why the brave Colombian President has more of than 80% of popularity.

Go go Uribe! And may the next strike hits some f@#$% Commies bastards in Brazil jungle, too.

That devil reds of FARC SHOOT OUR SOLDIERS in the Brazilian frontier, invade our land, TERRORIZE INDIANS and bring 8000 tons of cocaine per year in Brazil drug's market - turning our country THE MOST VIOLENT PLACE IN THE WORLD, with 50,000 homicides per year.

...and our traitor Marxist President Lula, of course, is the main traitor in chief.

[Debbie]

Thanks everybody, and Gary, thanks for that article. We should be supporting and reporting on Colombia

[Karen]

Good post, Debbie. I, too, agree completely with Gary's assessment.

[TRM]

Even more sickening is the siding with of Chavez and his girly flunky's within our own American society...

http://tinyurl.com/3bhqty

[Rosemary]

That is precisely my point from a week ago. (or about then) I have been following FARC for a long time, and they are worse than the IRA (who, btw, happen to frequent them), Hamas (same), etc. The USA doesn't even listen.

Sure, they send an ambassador (one that is acceptable to the demoracts, because they are on Chavez's side on this), yet his hands are tired. Columbia is one of our closest allies in South America.

Why do the demorats always side with our enemies and want to punish our allies? Could it be that they actually DON'T like America? Hmm...it makes one wonder...

[Angel]

confusing issue Deb..but youre right on this: In light of its success -- and the nuclear threat to the world the FARC poses -- Colombia deserves the right to give victory a chance.!!!

[Stormwarning]

On target Gary. Good picture of the situation.

[fouse, gary c]

If you are confused about which nation to support in the tense confrontation between Colombia on one side and Venezuela and Ecuador on the other, I would like to make the case for Colombia.

In recent decades, Colombia has had a negative image on account of the drug industry and the violence it has engendered. Colombian citizens traveling around the world have aroused scrutiny from Customs officials wherever they go. Yet, what many outsiders may not know is that many Colombian police, soldiers, political leaders, journalists and prosecutors have risked their lives and those of their families to fight the cartels and the successor to the drug trade, FARC, the revolutionary army that is trying to overturn Colombia's government-using drugs and kidnappings as a source of finance.

Unfortunately, Colombia, an ally of the US, has two unsympathetic neighbors in Venezuela, under the rule of Hugo Chavez, to the east and Ecuador, now under a leftist president in Raphael Correa-an ally of Chavez-to the southwest. In fact both countries have allowed FARC rebels to operate on their territory across from the Colombian border, using those sanctuaries to launch raids into Colombia.

The situation reached a crisis last week when Colombia launched a raid into Ecuadoran territory and killed a top rebel leader. A laptop that was seized showed that funds were going to FARC from Chavez to0 the tune of 300 million. According to Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, he had become frustrated after having, on a half-dozen occasions, passed intelligence to Ecuador on the locations of FARC, only to have them disappear after being tipped off. Nevertheless, the reaction from Chavez and Correa was one of outrage. Correa followed Chavez's lead in breaking diplomatic relations and moving troops to the border. (Nicaragua, under Daniel Ortega, also broke relations with Colombia.)

At this point, the situation has been diffused somewhat by a meeting between the three leaders this week at a Latin American political conference. Yet, the problem of FARC operating in Venezuela and Ecuador, with the apparent support of the two presidents, is still a ticking time bomb that could lead to war.

If that should unfortunately come to pass, my sympathies are with Colombia. Of course, the US has no quarrel with Ecuador nor the people of Venezuela (We, of course, do have a quarrel with Chavez.) I have visited both Colombia and Ecuador and like both countries and their people immensely. I would hate to see any war break out in that region. However, both Ecuador and Venezuela are acting irresponsibly in allowing FARC rebels to operate from their territory. Colombia has a right to defend itself from attacks. Its current president, Uribe, is popular in Colombia and with good reason. He is courageously standing up to the rebels and drug trafficking in general. He has been a good ally to the US-even though he was snubbed in a disgusting manner by Democrats during a recent visit to the US. (Democrats seem to think that Uribe has human rights skeletons in his past.)

So we should hope that war does not break out, but, if it does, Colombia is the "good guy".

gary fouse
fousesquawk