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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Colombia's Rebels Face Possibility of Implosion | |
| 2008-03-23 | |
The slaying this month of Manuel Jesús Muñoz, a member of the ruling directorate of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was a dramatic signal that a rebel group known for its resilience is engulfed in an internal crisis that could lead to its implosion after four decades of armed struggle. In a country where most people cannot remember a time of peace, Colombians are for the first time raising the possibility that a guerrilla group once thought invincible could be forced into peace negotiations or even defeated militarily. Weakened by infiltrators and facing constant combat and aerial bombardment, the insurgency is losing members in record numbers. The FARC, as the group is known, lost 1,583 fighters in combat last year, its columns are plagued by command-and-control problems, and popular support is evaporating, the government of President Álvaro Uribe says. Since 2000, the Uribe administration has received $5 billion in U.S. aid, mostly for military and anti-drug programs -- more than any other government outside the Middle East. The money has helped it revamp the Colombian army, paying for new helicopters and training for elite troops, although rights groups remain concerned about abuses, including the killings of civilians. The most serious problem the FARC is facing is not guerrilla deaths or the loss of territory, but mass desertion, according to political analysts, military officials and former guerrillas interviewed this month. Many said desertions have badly hurt morale and provided the military with important strategic information about the hermetic group. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Tamil Tigers, FARC, AQ. It's doesn't work well when the other side finally gets the motivation to hunt you down relentlessly. Warfare on the cheap doesn't work as well when you alienate enough of the local population to either aid the other side or step aside to allow them to get at you. Thus the concept of 'consent of the governed'. Its not all about 'votes'. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-03-23 11:00 |
| #1 "If the situation continues like this, the FARC will be finished," said Ivan, 33, who deserted from the group Dec. 27 after serving as the No. 2 commander of a unit in the coffee-growing west. "It won't be tomorrow, and it could take years, but it will happen," said Ivan, who asked that his last name not be used out of fear the FARC might kill him. Why don't you just print where he sleeps while you're at it. This kills me about the MSM. As long as it isn't their own personal hide on the line, they basically give identities and facts away. But if they are told they will be discovered and shot at if they give away their location, absolutely nothing useful leaks out until after they are out of harm's way. Amazing. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-03-23 08:46 |