how the colombians freed betancourt

For those of you following the story of the dramatic hostage rescue in Colombia last week, you may wonder how a government helicopter snuck into a leftist rebel camp armed to the teeth. Well, they disguised themselves as members of an NGO.

Since the late 1990s, the NGO practice of dragging the military into court on allegations of human rights violations has destroyed the careers of some of the country\'s finest officers, even though most of these men were found innocent after years of proceedings. \"Judicial warfare\" turned out to be especially effective because under legislation pushed by Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, \"credible\" charges against officers put at risk U.S. military aid unless the accused was removed. The NGOs knew that they only had to point fingers to get rid of an effective leader and demoralize the ranks. Given this history, it\'s not surprising that the FARC thought a helicopter from an NGO was perfectly natural.

Well, in a sense, I suppose we can thank the human rights organizations that make a living out of keeping Colombians in terror, in the interest of the safety of their fellow travelers.

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