"...Finally -- and most curiously -- John McCain inexplicably showed up in Colombia around the time of the "rescue."
Officer Barbrady sez... "nothing to see here folks, move along now... Just a Co-Inky-Dink folks !!
and (for MikeTheLiberal)
"Coincidence doesn't just happen." -- Homer Simpson
"...Finally -- and most curiously -- John McCain inexplicably showed up in Colombia around the time of the "rescue."
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June 24, 2008 - McCain announces trip to Colombia and Mexico
Posted: 06:55 PM ET - From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby
RIVERSIDE, California (CNN) – John McCain announced Tuesday that he will travel to Colombia and Mexico next week...called Colombia a "vital ally" and praised the "enormous battle that they are waging against the drug cartels which have had such a damaging effect on their country but also on ours."
McCain also contended that Colombia is "succeeding in combating the FARC," the left-wing guerrilla group that has carried out attacks and kidnappings against the government since its formation in the 1960s.
Uribe, the popular second-term president whose father was killed by FARC rebels in 1983, has made eliminating the rebel group a central cause of his administration. He has also clashed publicly with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, whom McCain has called a dictator.
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McCain Briefed Yesterday on Hostage Rescue Operation
WP - The Trail - Juliet Eilperin - Posted @ 7:16 PM ET July 02, 2008
ABOARD THE MCCAIN CAMPAIGN PLANE --
While Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke repeatedly over the past 24 hours about how he would work as president to free three American hostages held by leftist guerrillas in Colombia, he did not reveal one key fact: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his aides had briefed him Tuesday night about the plan to rescue the Americans, along with 12 other captives.
"These are very high-risk operations," McCain said, adding that the plan was unconnected to his visit yesterday to Colombia. "I would remind you that these things require incredibly long planning and coordination, etc., there's no way possible that it could have had anything to do with our visit that I could imagine.... It's a very happy moment."
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Hostage Rescue Is Happy Coincidence for McCain in Colombia
By ELISABETH BUMILLER - Published: July 3, 2008 - New York Times
The timing of the rescue, which occurred while Mr. McCain was in Colombia, was in many ways a fortuitous turn of events for a presidential candidate who is using a three-day trip to South America and Mexico to try to show that he is a more agile foreign policy hand than his Democratic competitor, Senator Barack Obama. Although the timing of the rescue was a coincidence and Mr. McCain’s trip to Colombia had nothing to do with it, the event nonetheless put him in the middle of classified talks about covert operations with the head of another government.
The talks about the planned rescue, which Mr. Lieberman described as detailed, delayed the start of a news conference on Tuesday that Mr. McCain held with Mr. Uribe outside the presidential retreat in Cartagena. In the news conference, Mr. McCain gave no hint of what he had just learned, although he mentioned the American hostages and praised Mr. Uribe’s efforts to battle FARC.
"I thank you for the success you have achieved at great sacrifice on the part of Colombian citizens in trying to eliminate the flow of drugs and the struggle against the FARC and other paramilitary groups that have caused so much difficulty for the Colombian people," Mr. McCain said at the news conference. "And I also want to urge you to continue your efforts, as I know you will, to free those people who are being held by the FARC. Our thoughts and prayers will always go out to the three American citizens who have been held captive for a number of years."
Mr. McCain mentioned the American hostages again during another news conference in Cartagena on Wednesday shortly before he learned the news of the rescue.
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CNN
Betancourt, U.S. contractors rescued from FARC - 1225h 03 July
A senior State Department official said the United States played no role in the operation, though it was briefed on it ahead of time. The official called the operation "brilliant" and "a huge success," saying it involved a deception operation against the FARC.
According to Pentagon officials, Colombians told the United States about the operation in the past few days. The U.S. approved the plans but had no part in them.
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Press Briefing by Dana Perino for Immediate Release
July 3, 2008 James S. Brady Press Briefing Room - 1235 EDT
MS. PERINO: Sure. I think you just heard from the President -- I don't know if you've seen it yet, but he was able to make a couple of comments about the hostages being released from the FARC down in Colombia. The President got a call yesterday from President Uribe to let the President know that the operation had been successful. The United States had been working with the government of Colombia for the last several years, ever since the American hostages had been taken, in order to try to free them safely and successfully in a way that would not cause any harm to the individuals. And thankfully, that's what happened yesterday.
We were aware of the operation in its planning stages. We provided some specific support, which I'm not allowed to go into the details on, but President Bush was certainly supportive of it. But I will say that President Uribe and his government and his military really get the credit for successfully freeing these hostages, because they conceived of the operation and then they carried it through -- with some support from us, but it was largely a Colombian exercise. And the President congratulates President Uribe and the military.
Q After the U.S. learned that this rescue mission was going to go forward, did at any point any U.S. officials loop in Senator McCain? There seems to be a lot of speculation about why Senator McCain happened to be in Colombia right on the eve of this --
MS. PERINO: I don't know. I think this was long in the planning stages and I think the Colombians were able to take action when they were ready to and there was actionable intelligence to be able to carry out the operation. I've heard nothing to suggest that there was any connection. I just think it was a coincidence, but I did read somewhere that President Uribe let Senator McCain know about the possible operation when he was down there, but there's no connection in terms of timing.
Q But you're not aware of anyone here at the White House or the State Department who briefed Senator McCain?
MS. PERINO: Absolutely not, no. And President Bush yesterday -- just a little bit more -- he was yesterday getting ready for -- to do some of the Japanese television interviews. He was informed by the Chief of Staff and the National Security Advisor at about 3:00 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon that the operation had been executed and that it had been successful. And he's very happy for all of the families today, and he's glad that they're able to be reunited on the 4th -- right before the 4th of July.
MS. PERINO: Okay. What I can tell you is that the whole world now saw who is responsible for releasing the hostages, and that was President Uribe, who deserves all of the credit. We certainly supported the operation and provided some specific support.
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Hmmm...
- McCain talks daily with Bush.
- Bush was notified 10 days in advance (June 23-24) of the operational date (July 3/4).
- McCain 'surprises' with Colombia trip announcement 24 June.
Just a 'Co-Inky-Dink' IF you're a 'low informmation voter' ('idiot;) OR a NYT steno 'plant' (Liz Bumiller, sure sounds/writes a lot like Judy Miller, doesn't she?).
I'm REALLY looking forward to someone/anyone with REAL investigative journalistic cred (probably a European) to 'flush out' the Swiss News Agencies' assertions.
Kenneth E. Tucker
One PISSED OFF Viet Vet ('72-'73)