I Knew It!

That acclaimed Columbia rescure of FARC hostages in honor of putative Imperialist-in-Chief McCain turns out to be the result of a huge ransom payment. Writes Justin Raimondo:

I knew there was something fishy about that news item reporting a “daring” rescue effort by the Colombian military of Colombian and U.S. hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and, as it turns out, the whole thing was an elaborate put-up job. According to a report by the Swiss radio outlet Suisse Romande, instead of “infiltrating” and fooling the FARC high command into handing over the hostages to Colombian military personnel, the Colombians paid a hefty ransom. The Los Angeles Times reports:

“Colombian authorities sought over the weekend to discredit a Swiss academic and former intermediary in talks with a left-wing rebel group who has been linked to a disputed report that officials paid $20 million for last week’s release of 15 high-profile hostages. A Colombian government official who asked to remain unnamed said Sunday that authorities suspect Geneva-based Jean Pierre Gontard was the source for the Swiss radio report last week stating that officials paid ransom for the release of the hostages. …

“With the Colombian government’s permission, Gontard has represented Switzerland in past efforts to broker a peace agreement with FARC rebels. On June 30, the government announced that he and French diplomat Noel Saez had arrived in Colombia to resume those efforts. Two days later, onetime president candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three American defense contractors and 11 Colombian police and soldiers were rescued after spending more than five years in rebel captivity.”

“Gontard has been coming to Colombia for years as Swiss representative of a three-nation team, including Spain and France, that has acted as facilitator for possible talks between the FARC and the Colombian government.”

While the Times is careful to couch the story in terms of the Colombian government’s denials, the truth ought to be apparent enough, and, in a sense, their story of “infiltrating” FARC rings true, even in this context, since bribing the enemy is indeed a form of infiltration.Speaking of FARC, Colombia, and the eternal human comedy, here we have what has to be the ultimate apologia for tyranny coming from none other than the “libertarian” magazine that goes by the moniker Reason:

“So yes, the Uribe government is far from perfect – it is Latin America after all, so we must judge on a steep curve – but as even the left-leaning Guardian acknowledged this week, Uribe is indeed a ‘skilled politician’ who ‘has been able to bring a degree of order, security and prosperity to the country that was scarcely believed possible when he took office in 2002.'”

Aside from the borderline racism embedded in that “it is Latin America, after all” remark, the same sort of nonsense could easily be imagined coming from the lips of a left-wing apologist for Fidel Castro. After all, the guy has given Cubans affordable – free! – health care, and Cuba’s literacy rate exceeds our own. And certainly he’s kept “order.” So what’s to complain about? Well, uh, plenty…

This is particularly galling coming as it does from Reason, which, in order to prevent itself from becoming just another right-wing mouthpiece, has prided itself on its devotion to civil liberties, particularly when it comes to opposing the War on Drugs – a war that Colombia has been fighting, on behalf of and in league with the U.S. military, for decades, with a notable lack of success. Uribe, for his part, is a known collaborator with right-wing terror squads, and his own ties to the kingmakers of Colombia’s drug cartels are no secret. For the Reasonoids to peddle him as some sort of sympathetic figure is more of the Bizarro “libertarianism” their ever dwindling band of readers has come to expect from them.

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11:21 pm on July 8, 2008

I Knew It!

Reports the London Telegraph:

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Communist leader of the Soviet Union, has acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time, paying a surprise visit to pray at the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.

Accompanied by his daughter Irina, Mr Gorbachev spent half an hour on his knees in silent prayer at the tomb.

His arrival in Assisi was described as “spiritual perestroika” by La Stampa, the Italian newspaper.

“St Francis is, for me, the alter Christus, the other Christ,” said Mr Gorbachev. “His story fascinates me and has played a fundamental role in my life,” he added.

Read the rest, and thanks to David Franke.

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11:29 pm on March 19, 2008