24 Colombian troops killed by FARC

[signatory]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27328148.htm
BOGOTA, Colombia, Dec 27 (*******) - Marxist rebels killed 24 Colombian soldiers sent to help destroy coca plants in the country's southern jungles on Tuesday in the worst blow against the military in at least three years, the army said.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia attacked the soldiers near the town of Vista Hermosa in Meta province, an army spokesman said.

Details of the attack were not immediately available but the military death toll was the worst for any single incident since President Alvaro Uribe took office in late 2002 promising to crack down on the rebel army known by its Spanish initials FARC.

The soldiers were providing security for another army team which was manually destroying coca plants, the army said. Coca leaf is the raw material of cocaine.

The 17,000-strong FARC, which has been fighting for socialist revolution since 1964, draws much of its money from the cocaine trade. The peasant militia, which has little support in Colombia's cities, has staged several big attacks this year after a period of relative inactivity when Uribe stepped up military action against them.

Violence has fallen sharply during the Uribe government and polls say the right-wing president should easily win reelection next May.

But thousands of people are still killed in fighting in Colombia every year and at least 400 military personnel have been killed so far this year.

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[Resurrection]

Very sad. RIP to the fallen. :(

[Kingswat]

The 17,000-strong FARC, which has been fighting for socialist revolution since 1964, draws much of its money from the cocaine trade. The peasant militia, which has little support in Colombia's cities, has staged several big attacks this year after a period of relative inactivity when Uribe stepped up military action against them.

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17,000 is alot, why not just buy some decent ground attack aircraft and bomb them off the planet.

[ed316]

17,000 is alot, why not just buy some decent ground attack aircraft and bomb them off the planet.

we(US) gives them billions a year and haven't seen any tangible results.

[usm2b]

Daym! RIP... :(

[kineret]

this is not good. looks like a start of another offensive by the government. im not sure FARC will ever disarm due to the pervasiveness of the coca money. Plus, no doubt venezuelan chavez govt is supporting the insurgency in some way due to their ideologies.

[ed316]

this is not good. looks like a start of another offensive by the government. im not sure FARC will ever disarm due to the pervasiveness of the coca money. Plus, no doubt venezuelan chavez govt is supporting the insurgency in some way due to their ideologies.

yep, what happen to those 100,000 AK's?

[kineret]

17,000 is alot, why not just buy some decent ground attack aircraft and bomb them off the planet.


what are you gona bomb ? the jungles? the terrain there is mostly mountainous cloud forests, heavy vegetation, makes vietnam look like central park.


its not that simple either, the average farmer is very poor and the only way they can feed their families is thru growing coca, simply because other crops do not make them any money. i saw a documentary on the coca trade in colombia. its not a black and white war unfortunately. the coca farmers tried growing normal produce like bananas, but after a year had to go back to coca simply because they couldnt feed their families on regular crops.

[Kingswat]

sure its simple, buy a few dozen B-52's, and just level the countryside, make what happened in vietnam look like childsplay

[ed316]

sure its simple, buy a few dozen B-52's, and just level the countryside, make what happened in vietnam look like childsplay

and where is Colombia going to get the money? As long as Americans love the coke the FARC will never stop. Money in Narco-trafficking is too great to just let go.

[JasonH]

what are you gona bomb ? the jungles? the terrain there is mostly mountainous cloud forests, heavy vegetation, makes vietnam look like central park.


its not that simple either, the average farmer is very poor and the only way they can feed their families is thru growing coca, simply because other crops do not make them any money. i saw a documentary on the coca trade in colombia. its not a black and white war unfortunately. the coca farmers tried growing normal produce like bananas, but after a year had to go back to coca simply because they couldnt feed their families on regular crops.

Same thing that shortly happend after the war in afghanistan finished was farmers went back.

[kineret]

sure its simple, buy a few dozen B-52's, and just level the countryside, make what happened in vietnam look like childsplay


a stategy from a child.

[Kekkonen]

Interestingly, it seems that FARC have their own website;

http://www.farcep.org/

http://www.farcep.org/pagina_ingles/ (in English, not as good).

[ed316]

Interestingly, it seems that FARC have their own website;

http://www.farcep.org/

http://www.farcep.org/pagina_ingles/ (in English, not as good).

I remembered the Shining Path had one also

[Kekkonen]

Some videos from their website (let's hope this spends a little of their bandwith).

http://six.swix.ch/farcep/pagina_cultural/images/normal/zonadededespeje.jpg
FARC land

http://six.swix.ch/farcep/videos/asiesel25.mpg
http://six.swix.ch/farcep/videos/pueblo.rm
http://six.swix.ch/farcep/videos/vecino.rm
http://six.swix.ch/farcep/videos/findeanoflash.html

[Sgt Kanderer]

Sad news, and sad news for the hostages of those ba****d.

[Kingswat]

a stategy from a child.


Don't derail the thread anymore then it has been.

[ed316]

so it would fit GW's staff decisions


How old are you?

[elguapo]

Last year the Colombian govt had this disagreement with the US when they first aired their decision to buy some turboprop AC (Pylatos, ALX etc)for ground attack to recplace their Broncos.

The US said the money would be better spent in Helicopters. Now the colombians managed to push that program forward acquiring 24 ALX units.

[Roaming East]

Problem needs to be hemmed at its start. The US public. Its recreational drug users who finance this scum so its the job of the American government to crack down on its on citizenry if w're going to see an abatement to the problems narco-funded revolutionaries are causing the Colombians

[BarkingSquirrel]

Yeah, because only Americans consume cocaine :roll:

[Roaming East]

roll your eyes but we buy more of the stuff than anyone else on the planet combined. Take the American flow off and the rest of the flow couldnt sustain itself or be profitable. US is so complicit we need OTHER importers (afghanistan) to take up the slack unmet by the western producers

[SeanAshi]

Who aid the FARC? Venezuela? Cuba?

[BarkingSquirrel]

roll your eyes but we buy more of the stuff than anyone else on the planet combined. Take the American flow off and the rest of the flow couldnt sustain itself or be profitable. US is so complicit we need OTHER importers (afghanistan) to take up the slack unmet by the western producersTake away a portion of the market and they make up for the money elsewhere. Any twit that even halfway paid attention this hurricane season would have learned that from the gas. Quit being a bitch and place blame on all consumers where it belongs.

[Roaming East]

sigh. Let me explain it this way. There are probably more americans using cocaine then their are populations in some western countries. Take that away and flood the market if you want but the key point is still going to be a staggering amount of over production since the majority of the consumer base disappeared. That means radically low street prices for cocaine meaning a poor profit to risk margin for suppliers and dealers. You cant just MAKE people use illegal drugs and its not like the number using is low because of lack of supply. Now i would love to attack all drug users (consumers) but since my country takes alot of heat for interfering in other countries sovereignity and all i figured id keep it within american borders. The US is the last country that needs to tell Colombia how to deal with its drug problems since we are the ones keeping it in business and not trying to stop it.

[BarkingSquirrel]

Come back when you have more than "probably". Ass-speak goes nowhere.

It's simple economics, take away a portion of the consumer base and the price for everyone else jumps up to compensate, meaning they still get what they were already getting.

[Roaming East]

Wrong, money is finite and consumers are thrifty. offer a product that was originally affordable and jack the price up and you lose business. Wal Mart is successful for a reason and it aint quality. On the second side of things, flood a market with huge volumes overstock that no longer is being bought and retailers will stop purchasing it wholesale because THEY cant sell the stuff. You can call it ass speak if you want but the drug trade is just that, a business and if you attack it like a business it will crumble like one.

[Holycrusader]

Who aid the FARC? Venezuela? Cuba?

US drug consumers

[Roaming East]

Cocaine consumers in general, yanquis in particular

[Holycrusader]

Cocaine consumers in general, yanquis in particular

Totally agreed :D

[G-Capo]

RIP to the soldiers.

We would have ground attack planes but the US will not sell us modern jet fighters nor artillary or tanks.We usually go to Israel for our weapons.