Cheat Seeking Missiles

In the early days after 9/11, according to Doug Feith’s new book, War and Decision, a key decision was made regarding our method of retaliation: Our response would be a war on terrorists, not an action against the perpetrators of that specific act of terror. Included in potential theaters of battle in this new war was Latin America. Today, we learned more about just how well that campaign is going.

CARACAS, Venezuela (NY Times) — Colombian commandos disguised as rebels spirited 15 hostages to freedom on Wednesday, including Ingrid Betancourt (right), a French-Colombian politician held for six years, and three American military contractors, according to the hostages and the Colombian authorities.

Ms. Betancourt, speaking just hours after her rescue, described the operation as “perfect.” Talking to Colombian radio and later at a news conference in Bogotá, she said helicopters of what had seemed to be rebels had landed around dawn in jungle area where the hostages were being held.

It had appeared to be just another change of location, she said, and she was handcuffed and “humiliated” before being put on board the helicopters.

But after takeoff, she said, the crew told their passengers they were free. …

The United States was involved in the planning of the operation and provided ‘’specific support,” according to the White House. But officials would not describe the nature of that support, or say whether it included military help or intelligence assistance. (emphasis added)

A Reuters report adds:

The rescue was a huge coup for popular President Alvaro Uribe, an anti-guerrilla hard-liner who has used billions of dollars in U.S. aid to push the rebels onto the defensive, cut crime and spur economic growth.

It provides more detail on the operation:

The rescue was carried out in the southern jungle province of Guaviare, Santos said. Soldiers posed as members of a fictitious non-government organization that supposedly would fly the hostages by helicopter to a camp to meet with rebel leader Alfonso Cano.

“The helicopters, which in reality were from the army, picked up the hostages in Guaviare and flew them to freedom,” Santos said. Two guerrillas were captured in the operation.

Obviously, we had excellent intelligence, acted on it swiftly and boldly, and caused grave damage to the enemy. No FARC guerrillas were reported as casualties, but the group lost its most valued hostage and has internationally humiliated. FARC has lost three of its top leaders this year, its inventory of hostages has dropped from 40 to 25, and its numbers have shrunk, reportedly, from 17,000 to 9,000. I’d say this particular war on terror is working.

As is this one, half a world away:

The United States now has thousands of spies inside Iraq. This didn’t happen overnight. For the last five years, the U.S. has been building an informant network there. This sort of thing takes time, and knowledge of how Arab culture works, and how to work it. The U.S. Army Special Forces, the CIA, reservist cops and Israel were key components. The results (mostly classified) have been impressive. For example, last year, tips from Iraqis led to the discovery of 6,963 weapons caches, plus similar information on safe houses and terrorists themselves. During the first half of 2009, tips led to finding nearly 5,000 weapons caches. …

The “surge offensive” of last year was largely possible because the informant network had grown to the point where commanders were confident that many Sunni Arab tribes were ready to switch sides. They knew this because the Special Forces had taught so many officers how to “drink tea” (sit down and talk with local Iraqi big shots). Israeli intel experts advised on how to work an Iraqi neighborhood to find people willing to talk, and how to persuade them to do it even in the face of terrorist threats. (Strategy Page, hat-tip: Soccer Dad)

We can scratch our chins and imagine a war on terror with more Columbias and fewer Iraqs. If our intelligence out of Iran - blown recently by the traitorous Seymour Hersh, is as good as what we’re getting in Columbia and Iraq, we may see similar actions there to deal with the country’s bomb-quest - an action that would raise the stature of the US considerably.

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