budanski
08-12-2003, 03:09 PM
France attempts to save a Colombian hostage?
The Miami Herald (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/6504229.htm)
When a French C-130 cargo plane landed in the Brazilian Amazon last month, it was supposed to launch a swashbuckling mission with all the elements of a suspense-filled Hollywood production. The secret French government operation would bring to freedom Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate held hostage for 17 months by leftist guerrillas.
In France, the kidnapping of Betancourt is a major source of public anguish. A successful operation would have brought a Jessica Lynch-like rush of feel-good support for the government. On the international stage, it could have helped burnish the image that France so craves. French secret agents slashing their way through the thick Colombian jungle would emerge with their celebrity victim, proving their country's ability to project its forces across the oceans -- a world power in the remaking, an alternative to the American hyper-power.
Instead of a humanitarian triumph and a propaganda coup, the French mission ended in disaster. The same country that a year ago portrayed itself as the champion of international law and reverence for diplomacy, this time did little more than shine a light on its own ineptitude and, quite possibly, its propensity for moral compromise.
It began on July 9, when the 11-man mission landed in Manaus, Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon and not far from the Colombian border. Four of the members -- three secret-service agents and the deputy chief of staff for French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin -- approached a Manaus pilot claiming to be backpacking hikers. They wanted to fly into the Colombian jungle, to an area well known for harboring drug traffickers and guerrillas. Then everything unraveled.
The French apparently held the Brazilian authorities in low regard, expecting them to watch the landing of a massive Hercules plane without a second thought. Alas, the authorities decided to inspect the plane and question its occupants.
The French hikers claimed diplomatic immunity, barring the authorities from boarding the plane. The Brazilian police were called in, and the mission was eventually aborted.
By then, Brasilia was furious at Paris for violating its air space and flying a quasi-military mission into the country without requesting permission. Colombian authorities, engaged in a fierce battle to defeat the guerrilla forces that kidnapped Betancourt and hundreds of other Colombians, were none-too-happy about France's unauthorized unilateral action.
As if that were not enough, a Brazilian newspaper, Carta Capital, claimed that the plane was loaded with weapons from the French government that were going to the kidnappers as ransom for Betancourt, along with a large cash payment.
French authorities have vehemently denied those charges. But their performance in the vortex of the scandal has been markedly short of Parisian élan.
Initially, French President Jacques Chirac denied that the operation even took place. When angry protests and irrefutable proof emerged in Brazil, the government changed the script.
It is possible that Chirac did not know about the operation? That De Villepin concocted the entire adventure on his own? As it turns out, De Villepin is an old friend of Betancourt's. The mission, named Operation July 14th, after the French Independence Day, may have originated with him.
France has officially apologized to Brazil. Colombians, for their part, have a soft spot for efforts to save kidnapping victims, even if they challenge the strategy of not giving in to kidnappers. Giving weapons to the FARC, on the other hand, is no small matter. The allegation has not been proven, and for the moment Colombia seems prepared to accept the French denials.
The Betancourts, like thousands of Colombians, continue to live with the excruciating uncertainty of what fate will befall their loved one. They also may have lost a unique opportunity to save Ingrid.
And France, the would-be hero of this drama, will have to wait for another opportunity to prove its might and reclaim the moral high ground.
And France, the would-be hero of this drama, will have to wait for another opportunity to prove its might and reclaim the moral high ground.
Man, this is going to be a long wait. How many insignificant little countries are they going to go to before they can find someone they can show off their 'might' against? I hear the plans for an invasion of antarctica are in the works. No need to fear, the penguins are ready... ;)
The Miami Herald (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/6504229.htm)
When a French C-130 cargo plane landed in the Brazilian Amazon last month, it was supposed to launch a swashbuckling mission with all the elements of a suspense-filled Hollywood production. The secret French government operation would bring to freedom Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate held hostage for 17 months by leftist guerrillas.
In France, the kidnapping of Betancourt is a major source of public anguish. A successful operation would have brought a Jessica Lynch-like rush of feel-good support for the government. On the international stage, it could have helped burnish the image that France so craves. French secret agents slashing their way through the thick Colombian jungle would emerge with their celebrity victim, proving their country's ability to project its forces across the oceans -- a world power in the remaking, an alternative to the American hyper-power.
Instead of a humanitarian triumph and a propaganda coup, the French mission ended in disaster. The same country that a year ago portrayed itself as the champion of international law and reverence for diplomacy, this time did little more than shine a light on its own ineptitude and, quite possibly, its propensity for moral compromise.
It began on July 9, when the 11-man mission landed in Manaus, Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon and not far from the Colombian border. Four of the members -- three secret-service agents and the deputy chief of staff for French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin -- approached a Manaus pilot claiming to be backpacking hikers. They wanted to fly into the Colombian jungle, to an area well known for harboring drug traffickers and guerrillas. Then everything unraveled.
The French apparently held the Brazilian authorities in low regard, expecting them to watch the landing of a massive Hercules plane without a second thought. Alas, the authorities decided to inspect the plane and question its occupants.
The French hikers claimed diplomatic immunity, barring the authorities from boarding the plane. The Brazilian police were called in, and the mission was eventually aborted.
By then, Brasilia was furious at Paris for violating its air space and flying a quasi-military mission into the country without requesting permission. Colombian authorities, engaged in a fierce battle to defeat the guerrilla forces that kidnapped Betancourt and hundreds of other Colombians, were none-too-happy about France's unauthorized unilateral action.
As if that were not enough, a Brazilian newspaper, Carta Capital, claimed that the plane was loaded with weapons from the French government that were going to the kidnappers as ransom for Betancourt, along with a large cash payment.
French authorities have vehemently denied those charges. But their performance in the vortex of the scandal has been markedly short of Parisian élan.
Initially, French President Jacques Chirac denied that the operation even took place. When angry protests and irrefutable proof emerged in Brazil, the government changed the script.
It is possible that Chirac did not know about the operation? That De Villepin concocted the entire adventure on his own? As it turns out, De Villepin is an old friend of Betancourt's. The mission, named Operation July 14th, after the French Independence Day, may have originated with him.
France has officially apologized to Brazil. Colombians, for their part, have a soft spot for efforts to save kidnapping victims, even if they challenge the strategy of not giving in to kidnappers. Giving weapons to the FARC, on the other hand, is no small matter. The allegation has not been proven, and for the moment Colombia seems prepared to accept the French denials.
The Betancourts, like thousands of Colombians, continue to live with the excruciating uncertainty of what fate will befall their loved one. They also may have lost a unique opportunity to save Ingrid.
And France, the would-be hero of this drama, will have to wait for another opportunity to prove its might and reclaim the moral high ground.
And France, the would-be hero of this drama, will have to wait for another opportunity to prove its might and reclaim the moral high ground.
Man, this is going to be a long wait. How many insignificant little countries are they going to go to before they can find someone they can show off their 'might' against? I hear the plans for an invasion of antarctica are in the works. No need to fear, the penguins are ready... ;)