Columbian Troops Free 15 FARC Terrorist Hostages Including 3 Americans

Ms Betancourt, who was captured in 2002, and the three Americans held since 2003, were rescued along with 11 Colombian soldiers in a dramatic and bloodless operation when a Colombian military team posing as rebels removed them from the jungle by helicopter.

It was an impressive operation, read the whole thing.

It appears FARC  may be on its deathbed as was reported earlier -- despite their support of Hugo Chavez.
DKK
UN Telegraph

Perhaps The Democrats Will Support An Ally And American Workers And Consumers

Congress: Is the outlook improving on passing Colombia free trade? Apparently, yes. Monday, its trade minister noted a "good atmosphere" in Congress. If so, Democrats may finally be considering their own interests.
(...)

Plata called Canada's passage of its own Colombia free trade pact — concluded last Saturday — "a factor" that was getting Democrats' attention. As we noted last week, Canadians will eat our lunch with their own tariff-free goods, while American companies sit on the sidelines paying $1 billion a year in levies and lose business.

Let's not even bring up that Colombian companies selling in the U.S. already don't pay tariffs at all due to prior agreements — it's another thorn Congress can correct with a vote right away.

Two-way trade between the U.S. and Colombia today is $18 billion. The same between Canada and Colombia is $1.14 billion.

But because the U.S. and Canadian economies export similar goods — chemicals, grains, cars, car parts, petroleum products, plastics, and machinery — it's a slam-dunk that tariff-free Canadian goods will be an easy switch for Colombian buyers, losing American companies their markets.

DKK
IBD -- Breaking A Logjam

Don't Know Much About History -- Continuing Saga

Since the Bush Administration launched a misguided war in Iraq, its policy in the Americas has been negligent toward our friends, ineffective with our adversaries, disinterested in the challenges that matter in peoples’ lives, and incapable of advancing our interests in the region.

No wonder, then, that demagogues like Hugo Chavez have stepped into this vacuum.

That is the heroic Barack Obama somehow blaming Bush for Hugo Chavez' election 2 years before Bush took office and 5 years before Iraq.

I don't think Obama's knows anything at all about history.

Now, as an aside, if your policy in the Americas is so bad why do we have congress blocking a free trade agreement with Columbia, an ally whose ties have only grown closer to the US under Bush? As a matter of fact, Columbia just eliminated a terrorist leader of FARC and has possibly decimated that terrorist organization. Reports are that FARC terrorists are now offering to give up their US hostages in return for their freedom.

Not bad for being a neglected America's policy, is it now?
DKK
LGF -- Obama: Bush is Responsible for Chavez (Bzzt! Wrong!)

But It's Just Diplomacy

Interpol confirmed documents today showing that US Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass.) (pictured), a leading opponent of the Colombia free-trade deal has been working with a go-between, who has been offering the FARC terrorists help in undermining Colombia's elected and popular government.
Colombia is America's closest ally in South America.

DKK
Gateway Pundit -- Interpol Confirms: US Democrat Was Secretly Working With FARC To Undermine Colombian Government