Fox News: There ‘Really Might Be A Connection’ Between McCain’s Visit To Colombia And The Hostage Release
Fox News: There ‘Really Might Be A Connection’ Between McCain’s Visit To Colombia And The Hostage Release
Today, Colombia’s Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said that his country’s government had rescued 15 hostages — including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors — from FARC rebels.
Santos made his announcement shortly after Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) left the country, where he was visiting as part of a three-day trip to Colombia and Mexico. As soon as the good news broke, Fox News was already spinning it as a victory for McCain and speculating that it came about as a result of the senator’s short visit to the country:
SHEP SMITH: John McCain’s been over in Colombia. He was over there just yesterday. Is there a sense the timing is coincidental, or something more?
STEVE HARRIGAN: Well, you’d have to think as a former prisoner of war himself, Sen. McCain would have an intense interest in this case. It’s been played pretty low profile. A lot of people aren’t even aware of the fate of these three Americans. They were really working for a Defense Department civilian contractor. So there really might be a connection between the high-level visit of the former prisoner of war, John McCain himself, and the release now of three American prisoners here in southern Colombia.
Watch it:
Fox News’s suggestion is not only completely inaccurate, but also insulting to the years of work by the Colombian government. Today’s rescue had nothing to do with McCain. The AP describes the operation:
Santos said the military intelligence agents infiltrated the guerrilla ranks and led the local commander in charge of the hostages, alias Cesar, to believe they were going to take them by helicopter to Alfonso Cano, the guerrillas’ supreme leader.
Surrounded by military commandos, Cesar and the other guerrillas gave up without a fight as the helicopters took the hostages to a military base in Guaviare.
Santos also noted that “army commandos captured rebels manning a security ring around the hostages and got them to persuade their comrades to turn over the captives, without any loss of life.”
MSNBC reported that McCain met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and was informed that a rescue plan was imminent. He did not, however, seem to have any strategic role in the entire operation, despite what Fox News is trying to claim.
Transcript:
HARRIGAN: I can tell you here, on this base, there is a sense of elation among the soldiers and officers. They feel like they had this FARC terrorist group — a group about 10,000 strong that makes its money by kidnapping and killing people — they feel like they have the FARC on the run. Three Americans now free.
SMITH: That’s incredible, Steve. You know what, what we’re kind of wondering around here. The timing’s very interesting. You mention diplomats over there. John McCain’s been over in Colombia. He was over there just yesterday. Is there a sense the timing is coincidental, or something more?
HARRIGAN: Well, you’d have to think as a former prisoner of war himself, Sen. McCain would have an intense interest in this case. It’s been played pretty low profile. A lot of people aren’t even aware of the fate of these three Americans. They were really working for a Defense Department civilian contractor. So there really might be a connection between the high-level visit of the former prisoner of war, John McCain himself, and the release now of three American prisoners here in southern Colombia.
SMITH: Steve Harrigan, live in Colombia for us right now. He is on his way with Colombian forces to get up in the middle of this.
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July Surprise?
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:40 pmMore like the hostage release from Iran when Reagan took office. That was staged too.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:42 pmConsidering Betancourt accused the Columbian government of being in league with the FARC McNutzi’s visit could be relevant — just not the way Fox “News” wants you to believe.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:47 pmI’d voted for capturing the terrorists dead or alive, but the well-being of the hostages was (and will always be) the top priority. If the FARC forces surrendered without violence, so much the better.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:50 pmIt’s been Colombia bashing since yesterday.
Holy crap!!! Since yesterday? Gee, do you think Columbia came up on TP because McCain was there?
Here is a tip Nicky, when you play “connect-the-dots” you should be connecting dots on the same page.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:52 pmi KNEW it!
i posted this earlier at C&L:
wait for it… mcBUSH will somehow take credit for this…
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:09 PM - PDT
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:54 pmSo there really IS NOT a connection between the high-level visit of the former prisoner of war, John McCain himself, and the release now of three American prisoners here in southern Colombia.
Is it any wonder why fox viewers get the facts WRONG?
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:54 pmThe Twelve Year Old Nicky Says Very Stupid, Immature Stuff.
Yes, and McSame when he got there went to the nearest phone booth and put on his Super McSame costume and cape and zoomed off to foil the bad guys, biff, boff, smack, crack…
These whores tell lies without even flenching…their desperation showing.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:03 pmThe right side is angry, bitter, and uninformed. They only watch Fox, because Fox uses very small words and validates the simpleton world view their viewers subscribe to.
Low Information Voters are Fox’s best audience. Because they ask no questions and believe everything coming from the TeeVee. I even read on a right side site where the poster wondered if Jack Bauer would want to run for President. They think it is real. Maybe because their lives are not?
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:03 pmSTEVE HARRIGAN: Well, you’d think as a former prisoner of war himself, Sen. McCain would have an intense interest in this case. However, it’s been played pretty low profile, and John McCain wasn’t even aware of the fate of these three Americans. So, the idea that there really might be a connection between the high-level visit of the former prisoner of war, John McCain himself, and the release now of three American prisoners here in southern Colombia, is the stupidest thing I ever thought of.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:10 pmThere “might be a connection”in some alternate universe, but in the real world there isn’t one.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:11 pmNicky Says:
StratRat,
SO why is Think Progress obssesed with Colombia? I have Colombian relatives and know the situation over there.
Do you or are you just another Uninformed Leftist Anglo who think he knows about Latin issues?
I don’t know anything about Colombia, although I did make a fortune dealing in powdered goods throughout the 70’s and 80’s. It was the best of times….
If you are serious in your question, I can help. None of the comments I read dealt with Colombia, per se. The posts had to do with Fox giving McCain credit for the hostage rescue. Is that hard to follow? It shouldn’t be.
I am glad you have insight into the South American issues. It helps us better understand the complicated world we all live in. Our problems lie with Fox news and their apparent disregard of the well known facts. The viewers of Fox news do not get the best information, because they only watch - and understand what Fox says to them.
If you only read one book - over and over again, does that make you well read?
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:15 pmLet me guess tomorrow’s MSM headline:
“McCain bombs rebels into submission while piloting an F4 Phantom”
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:22 pmWhat next from Faux news? McInsane walks past mortuary, dead are amazingly re-animated? McInsane walks on water? McInsane makes blind man deaf? Lord, is there No bottom to this well?
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:22 pmImpeach Pelosi, Cheney and Bush and Save the Constitution and Bring On November and Get This Over With!!!
Fox, and a lot of conservatives, like to draw connections to, or between, two or more events that have nothing to do with each other. It is a way to seemingly justify their positions so they can say, “See, I told you, and there’s the proof!” Makes them feel good inside if their crazy ideas and irrational rationalizations can supposedly be proven by unrelated events that actually do happen. They are just not dependent events.
An interesting book I just finished is “The Drunkard’s Walk - How Randomness Rules Our Lives” by Leonard Mlodinow in which he describes this tendency pretty well. I now listen to these so-called connections much more closely, and with greater suspect.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:25 pmMy friends, the flak was thick, there was smoke in the cockpit. I had forgot I lit a victory cigar after releasing my 5,000 pounders from 25,000 feet, or was it my 25,000 pounders from 5,000 feet? Any, ok, so, the smoke from my lit cigar in my crotch made me kind of sick, so I bailed out of my million dollar jet over the Columbian rain forest and landed on these prisoners, and I said, let em go, or I’ll drop my drawers. My friends.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:27 pmNicky Says:
StratRat,
Asd a typical Leftist you don’t get it. Think Progress has launched 3 anti-Colombian articles in trhe last 24 hours. They are mad their Marxist brothers the FARC are losing.
Also I doubt you sold coke or are from the Streets. Street people ain’t corney geeky Leftists. I’mn from the streets and made it myself. Street Cats are Rightwingers.
Nicky, nicky, nicky…Why must we fight like this. I read the article today and it said just what I told you it said, and I also explained why it bothers some of us. It is not very difficult. Fox news is the enemy in this regard, not Colombia.
If you have a sensitivity for So. American politics or their way of life - as I said - I think that is great. I know what I know, and you know what you know. That is supposed to be a good way to learn about stuff and other people.
And to your last point, I am not from the streets, but spent many, many years hanging around the music studios of Los Angeles. Cleaner, safer, and way more profitable. That was a much more fun way to make a good living and hang out with the musicians I admire (Van Halen, Motley, Eagles, Iggy Pop, Aerosmith, Poison, ZZ Top, SRV, etc…).
As much as I will avoid painting you with a broad brush, I will ask you to respectfully do the same towards me.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:29 pmEr, guys, Nicky doesn’t have 2 brain cells to rub together, write this one off as just another loser.
Check out the spelling and grammar of his posts, very telling. Plus his total inability to comprehend what the threads about Columbia have been about on TP. This is just another idiot troll.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:40 pmHi Nicky:
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:41 pmDon’t you have any littlier brushes? You get finer detail with those…
StratRat Says:
As much as I will avoid painting you with a broad brush, I will ask you to respectfully do the same towards me.
SR, just ignore the 6 yrold troll.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:51 pmRandomChaos Says:
StratRat Says:
As much as I will avoid painting you with a broad brush, I will ask you to respectfully do the same towards me.
SR, just ignore the 6 yrold troll.
I know…I have a big heart and once in a while I am rewarded with the feeling of doing good. Most of the time, however, I am sadly disappointed. Sigh…
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:53 pmJohn McStupid: Colombia? Isn’t that a river in Oregon…?
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:57 pmDamn Nicky:
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:05 pmYou didn’t just get around to seeing that film just of late did you? It is worth the watch. I once got stuck on a boat in the bahamas on that key depicted in “Blow”. We sleep in the abandoned building overlooking the harbor
Nicky Says:
StratRat,
OK I aplogize for thinking you are from the streets. The stuff you sold your clients is Topof the line I bet. My Stepdad is Colombian so I know what’s up.
Hey check out Coacian Cowboys, it’s about the Miami-Colombia connection in the 70’s and 80’s.
Good documentary.
No worries. I know you know what’s up down there. And I meant it when I wrote that I think you having knowledge about So. America is a good thing for those of us who do not have the opportunity to go there or learn about the region ourselves. You can add much to any discussion around here.
I know things can get ‘testy’ and kind of rude, I suppose. I certainly am as guilty of that as anybody. These topics are important and we all get passionate about our points of view.
The main thing is that we are talking - that is always the first step to understanding those that don’t see things the way we see things. Cheers to you, and I will be on the lookout for the movie you suggest. I am not particularly proud of that time of my life, but those events are part of who I am.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:08 pmDid Nicky just admit that he was a street level coke dealer? No wonder he has connections, I mean relatives, in Columbia.
McInsane probably went to Columbia for nose candy for his leadership team!
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:15 pmAnyone who thinks that this whole thing wasn’t staged watches too much Faux News. As the detective rules say…there are NO COINCIDENCES! The fact that this was announce during McSame’s visit after he had been “briefed” the day before by El Presedente and the Director of Torture on this arrest…is way too much to believe!
The whole thing stinks to high heaven of political opportunism and staging. Betancort was reporting on the collusion between the Columbian Government and the US with the leaders of FARC. The kidnapping and imprisonment have gone on for 5 years, and to believe that they would be released on the very day McCain visits (a heroic rescue with no casualties) kicks off my shit alarm in a big way!
Another staged event to make McCain look presidential…and the Corporate news are going right along with it.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:17 pmThis almost seems like I’m watching an episode of “Bay Watch”. We know the script. A photo opt, plain and simple. American politics just gets funnier and funnier as we go into the future. It’s america’s dream to be a politician. America now controls this peaceful world, and what an accomplishment.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 pmMcSame going to South America is to touch bases with fascist down there. They kill any union leaders who they can get their hands on. McSame is doing what his advisor who has ties to the crooks down there tell him to do. McSame is a thug and will continue the crime family policies if he can steal the election.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 pmDon’t waste time on “Nicky”. It’s just the long-time idiot troll known previously as The Joker, Trajan, etc. If you need more information, check out ThinkProgressWatchWatch, that mocks his moronic fascist blog that draws a record two or three hits per week.
Trajan believes that he is a direct descendant of the Roman Empire and that only “latins” can understand anything about “latin” culture or history; anyone who disagrees with him is an anglo suburban punk, while he is a macho dude with much street cred, a huge arrest record but no convictions, buddies in the police force, high rank in the Latin Kings, convenient relatives from whatever “latin” community he needs for cred — like the sudden arrival of a Colombian father-in-law.
You would have more luck teaching your blind cat to drive a car than to have an intelligent discussion with Nicky/Trajan.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:24 pmStay tuned for the Fox News Distort, next week, when:
“McCain was in California today and it rained for the first time in a month ending a drought and drenching the forest fires. Coincidence?”
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:24 pm“Fox Clown News: There ‘Really Might Be A Connection’ Between McCain’s Visit To Colombia And The Hostage Release”
Memo to Fox News: Quickly step away from the koolaid before you overdose yourself.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 pmCindy puts $750,000 on her America Express, John takes her to Columbia . . koo-inkie-dink????
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:38 pmthere really might be a connection between the visit of John McCain himself, and the release of three American prisoners
~FauxNews
Yeah, there is a connection alright.
There were all in Colombia at the same time.
What an asinine talking point. I guess we can add Hostage Release to conservative “magic”, on top of making gas prices “plummet”.
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:25 am.
What STEVE HARRIGAN meant was:
.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:14 amThe Colombian government was able to arrange a ’surprise’ raid on FARC and secure the release of American hostages, and Betancourt, on the exact same day of McCain’s visit?
President Uribe managed this slick coup? The same President Uribe who is an avowed enemy of Bush-hater Chavez next door in Venezuela? The same Uribe who is awarded half a billion U.S. in supposed anti-drug trafficking funds? The only Latin American leader left who supports Bush, who has largely ignored Latin America for eight long years?
No one could have predicted!
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:54 amIt’s true. McCain said Cindy and her rich, elitist friends wouldn’t order any more cocaine shipments until those hostages were free.
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:24 amI can see the October headline now…
“McCain kills Osama bin Laden!”
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:43 amI was wondering how long it would take for these idiots to try and make a connection between the release of the hostages and McCain. They are showing their desparation faster and faster these days.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:46 amI’ve got the real truth on how McCain freed the hostages here:
How McCain Stopped the FARC-ing Bullshit
McCain didn’t want me to tell anyone about it, but I couldn’t just stand by and let you people smear him like this. The truth must be known.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:17 amI wonder if Krusty had anything to do with the sunrise? After all he was on the planet when it came up. Well sort of.
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 pmDamn, I missed Nicky again?
You gotta be quick with that one. I wonder if Nicky has made it a point of honor to be the quickest troll getting his comments deep-sixed.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:26 pmThanks
http://www.softonlinesoft.com/vb
July 16th, 2008 at 9:04 am