What I want to mention is the attitude of Sgt Malagon. At the moment he was being filmed, he believed he was still in FARC custoday, as he had been for over 10 years. Yet he was defiant and uncooperative with his captors. He wanted to have his say, and his say was that he was Sargeant Malagon of the

glorious Colombian Army

. This took courage and pride, given what he believed his circumstances to be.

My point is that I remember the British guys captured over a year ago by the Iranians, and how quick they were to say whatever the Iranians wanted to hear.

Their snivelling doesn´t compare very well, in my opinion, with the courage displayed by Sgt Malagon, whose captivity was not measured in days but decades.

This was reflected in the words of the rescued soldiers following their release. To a man they expressed pride in their uniform and their country, a belief in their cause ad a desire to continue as members of the public forces.

I have to say that the British can learn something about esprit de corps from their Colombian colleagues.

Hummer53 on July 5, 2008 at 8:34 PM

Your comment is most welcome “gas guzzler…

Get outta that hummer and into a yugo…!
Dinkus…!

“…White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the rescue ‘was conceived by the Colombians and executed by the Colombians with our full support,’ while implying that Washington had provided intelligence and even operational help.

“Dipo speak for ransom”…?

”What began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated in its implementation into trading arms for hostages,” Mr. Reagan said. ”This runs counter to my own beliefs, to Administration policy, and to the original strategy we had in mind.” President Ronald Reagan.”

An olde President spoke…?

How far have we gone since he spoke…?

Ms Dana Perino…you say…?
An olde soldier sends…!

“…Not the slightest bit of evidence or credibility that this is true.
JayHaw Phrenzie on July 5, 2008 at 3:18 PM

“…White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the rescue ‘was conceived by the Colombians and executed by the Colombians with our full support,’ while implying that Washington had provided intelligence and even operational help.

Perino’s statement is the difference between yin and yang!
I just luv the “dipo cover speak” of the govmint!

Your taxpayer dollars at work, J_H_P…!

could op-help included your greenback…?

It’s an astounding story!
{^_^}

United we stand, and divided we will fall. Maybe Israel is small like Colombia so we could fall first since terror is always around us, but anyone who thinks that only the 1st domino goes and doesn’t see all the others that will tumble after it, is probably a fool. It is in all our interests to fight terror everywhere, be it Bogota, or Beirut.

More details on the amazing rescue by the Colombian military of hostages held by the terrorists of FARC: Colombian military intelligence agents posing as aid workers and a media crew flew to the jungle aboard a white helicopter, staging a…

“…I saw a report somewhere yesterday claiming that this was all a set-up to provide cover for a multimillion-dollar ransom payment from the Colombian government to FARC,…”

Possibably from a link in your previous post…?

J_Gocht on July 5, 2008 at 3:10 PM

Not the slightest bit of evidence or credibility that this is true.

Just a newspaper article quoting a swiss Radio Station, quoting an unidentified source. For all we know, the source is Markos Moulitsos.

There are thin sources and thin sources, but this one is anorexic.

It doesn’t matter, though, Democrats don’t need accuracy to hate their own country. They swallow up crap like this and then say , “See! I told you! It’s all confirmed.”

This story is about as thin as Obama’s resume.

“…I saw a report somewhere yesterday claiming that this was all a set-up to provide cover for a multimillion-dollar ransom payment from the Colombian government to FARC,…”

Possibably from a link in your previous post…?

Aw, to heck with them and Viva Colombia!

I’m down in Peru at the moment

Whats going on with the shining path guerillas these days?

Limerick on July 5, 2008 at 1:46 PM

In ‘87, I and 4 other guys went a hundred miles up the Orinoco River in Venezuela, leaving a little frontier town named Puerto Arachucha with some native boatmen, then hiked back into the rain forest for a week. Very little flat terrain, water filled ravines between every set of hills, vines, dim light because of the forest canopy, constantly wet feet and clothes, full body insect bites, etc. It would be a nightmare for a military operation,..no lines of supply, very few areas a helicopter could land, no docks, booby trap heaven, and 2 inch cloudbursts daily. I’m amazed the hostages lived as long as they did. Interestingly, during that same time period, I did a lecture series, and had just begun a talk in Lima when Sendero Luminoso blew up all the electrical pylon towers into the city. I was a bit worried but the audience treated it as just another annoyance,..they were used to it.

If you’re comparing the commie FARC rebels to Islamic jihadis (and I’m not sure if you are), I think that’s kind of an apples/oranges comparison.

Nothing should be believed beyond the realm, nothing is unrelated.To believe that the overthrow of Western democratic civilization is somehow the work of isolated unrelated groups is naive.

Liberals are still trying to say that there could never have been a connection between saddam and osama because they were of different sects but the overriding motivation for both was the destruction of the US and Western civilization.

General Montoya: Reporter…and he is nearing the guerillas. There he is filming the guerillas that were guarding over the area where the helicopter landed. And, how it had been anticipated…there is the group of hostages…It is 1324..or 1:24 PM..This is “Alias” Cesar and this was anticipated, that we were going to try to distract him in this manner…It was anticipated in this manner, and next to him is his second, who is “Alias” Enrique Gafas…, who was in charge of the hostages. You can appreciate at this moment that we are trying to gain his confidence at this moment so he can see that this is a bona fide mission…There is Ingrid..very brave, very upset….because she does not want to once again be tied up with handcuffs. This North American is the first that offers himself to be tied up with handcuffs so that he may board the helicopter….He is the first….and see how we are putting them on…and after he allows himself, the rest also allow themselves…

[INAUDIBLE QUESTION]

Answer: Yes, yes..to the [female] guerilla…yes. The favor was aked of her because be mindful of what happens next…That the majority of guerillas that were in that area…were women. They had prepared it in that manner the guerillas.
[Inaudible Question]…[FEMALE VOICE][Crosstalk]…Once again the same, once again the same…
Here is Lieutenant Malagon, very brave…very upset, because he wants them to take a statement…It is now 1328…1:PM with 28 minutes…The time is running, he wants to be interviewed…We are taking advantage of the mission..We are taking advantage so as to gain more confidence…to keep boarding the rest on the helicopter.

On Screen: General Montoya explains how the rescue operation happened

There are the hostages….He continues very brave…Lt. Malagon…because they have handcuffed him. And the other officers and lower officers as well. Ingrid remains very brave, very upset…with her boots, very upset.
It is now 1330, 2 minutes have passed since the last take.
One of the [inaudible] of the mission.
The guerillas that were there. They were ready for that.

And here now, the moment where they are free. They are free in this moment, they are free, they are free, they are free…We were very careful to place the plastic handcuffs in such a way that with whatever movement, they could free themselves…They don’t know how to place them…

FEMALE VOICE: Well, now we will now start the question and answer session.

What amazing intelligence gathering, planning, and execution. This isn’t the work of a few people – it’s the work of hundreds working together, each doing their little part, over a period of at the very least several months. Kudos all around to any and everyone involved in this – you’ve done immeasurable good.