Tag: Hostages

What A Coincidence!

McCain flexes his southern strategy, only this one is south of the border…thinking….how many electoral votes are there in Columbia?  This is just a photo-op to show that he has foreign policy experience.  I ask who paid for this trip?  The US taxpayer or the McCain campaign?

Ok now for the coincidence.  Not a single shot was fired in Wednesday’s rescue mission, which snatched from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the four foreigners who were its greatest bargaining chips.  The Colombian government with the help of US intel agents have come up with a veryt successful plan to free hostages.  All this on the basic eve of a McCain visit.  How fortunate for the candidate.

My problem with it is that I do NOT believe in coincidences in politics–nothing just happens.  Why am I skeptical?  McCain has been linked to a lobbyist that works for the Colombian government and plus this was all too convenient with the dialog that has been had recently questioning McCain’s actual experience to be president.

This event gives McCain a free ride and a PR boom to his campaign.  Coincidence?  I think not!

Where Are The Yellow Ribbons?

I realize that few here will remember the yellow ribbons and such from 1979, when the Iranians took 52 American hostages and held them for 444 days.  I was all the news and every tree had a yellow ribbon wrapped around it.

I guess that trends went down the toilet with the advent of those irritating car magnets.  You are probably wondering where I am going with this, right?

OK i will get to the point……ever hear of Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell?  Probably not!  These three Americans are the longest held hostages  But there are no ribbons for them.  These Americans have been held by the Colombian rebel group–FARC–for over 5 years.

Granted there are only 3 of them, but they are Americans and as such deserve the same respect and concern of all Americans.