colombia
October 2008 
Operation Checkmate
Posted on Jul 3rd, 2008
by 
Albert
Albert
I followed the news about rescue of Ingrid Betancourt who was kidnaped in 2002 in Colombia. This story fascinates me as it has all ingredients of an excellent Hollwood Script. Moreover, however it demonstrates what integrated , sustainable , global project collaboration can perform. Embedded in broader poltical analysis about cycles and developments. Using advanced integrated communication design.
And with strategic, tactical and logistical imagination, combined with good feeling of timing.
Kudos to all engaged actors, stuntmen and directors and script writers:):)
And, of course, my best wishes for Ingrid Betancourt and her future. For her family, friends and all colleagues who stood and stand at her side.
Bold Colombia Rescue built on Rebels Disarray
Bold Colombia rescue built on rebels' disarrayBy Simon Romero and Damien Cave
Published: July 4, 2008BOGOTÁ, Colombia:
At 5 a.m. on Wednesday, the sun had yet to peek through the jungle canopy in this country's Guaviare Department when the guerrillas told their captives to gather their belongings. A call had come in from a top adviser to Alfonso Cano, their new supreme commander. He said to move. Immediately.
Or so the guerrillas thought. In fact, the gravelly voice that sounded so full of authority belonged not to Cano, a grizzled leader of Latin America's most feared insurgent group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, but rather to a government officer.
The fighters had been duped. With the help of satellite telephone intercepts and a spy who infiltrated the FARC's upper echelons, the Colombian military had managed to plan and execute an operation that ended a long-running international hostage saga and upended Colombia's four-decade civil war.
The voice was simply the most dramatic touch in a daring rescue that exploited the recent disarray within the FARC. The insurgency has now lost many of its top leaders and its most prized hostage: Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician whose captivity since 2002 has attracted attention worldwide. Its founder, Manuel Marulanda, has died, security forces killed its second-in-command, Raúl Reyes, this spring, and some 3,000 combatants have deserted in the last year.
The rescue, described by commanders of the Colombian Army and officials in Washington and Bogotá, was almost exclusively a Colombian operation that highlighted the growth of a military that has benefited from $5.4 billion in aid from the United States since 2000. And while many here and in Washington stressed that the FARC remained a powerful force of several thousand fighters, earning around $200 million a year from drug trafficking, some analysts suggested that the raid combined with continued pressure might push the rebels to negotiate for peace.
Read More..
And with strategic, tactical and logistical imagination, combined with good feeling of timing.
Kudos to all engaged actors, stuntmen and directors and script writers:):)
And, of course, my best wishes for Ingrid Betancourt and her future. For her family, friends and all colleagues who stood and stand at her side.
Bold Colombia Rescue built on Rebels Disarray
Bold Colombia rescue built on rebels' disarrayBy Simon Romero and Damien Cave
Published: July 4, 2008BOGOTÁ, Colombia:
At 5 a.m. on Wednesday, the sun had yet to peek through the jungle canopy in this country's Guaviare Department when the guerrillas told their captives to gather their belongings. A call had come in from a top adviser to Alfonso Cano, their new supreme commander. He said to move. Immediately.
Or so the guerrillas thought. In fact, the gravelly voice that sounded so full of authority belonged not to Cano, a grizzled leader of Latin America's most feared insurgent group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, but rather to a government officer.
The fighters had been duped. With the help of satellite telephone intercepts and a spy who infiltrated the FARC's upper echelons, the Colombian military had managed to plan and execute an operation that ended a long-running international hostage saga and upended Colombia's four-decade civil war.
The voice was simply the most dramatic touch in a daring rescue that exploited the recent disarray within the FARC. The insurgency has now lost many of its top leaders and its most prized hostage: Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician whose captivity since 2002 has attracted attention worldwide. Its founder, Manuel Marulanda, has died, security forces killed its second-in-command, Raúl Reyes, this spring, and some 3,000 combatants have deserted in the last year.
The rescue, described by commanders of the Colombian Army and officials in Washington and Bogotá, was almost exclusively a Colombian operation that highlighted the growth of a military that has benefited from $5.4 billion in aid from the United States since 2000. And while many here and in Washington stressed that the FARC remained a powerful force of several thousand fighters, earning around $200 million a year from drug trafficking, some analysts suggested that the raid combined with continued pressure might push the rebels to negotiate for peace.
Read More..
Access: Public