WSJ: Pelosi Helped FARC in Betancourt Negotiations
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has some explaining to do. Mary Anastasia O’Grady reports that her name was mentioned in captured files from Colombian insurgent group FARC:
[Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordoba] met at the Venezuelan presidential palace with FARC leaders last fall. From that meeting the rebels reported that “Piedad says that Chávez has Uribe going crazy. He doesn’t know what to do. That Nancy Pelosi helps and is ready to help in the swap [hostages in exchange for captured guerrillas]. That she has designated [U.S. Congressman Jim] McGovern for this.”
If the speaker of the House was working with Ms. Cordoba in this scheme, her judgment was more than a little misguided. The rebels write that on a trip to Argentina Ms. Cordoba told them, “It doesn’t matter to me the proposal that Sarkozy has made to free Ingrid. Above all, do not liberate Ingrid.” In short, why give up such a useful pawn?
Does Pelosi’s efforts have anything to do with holding up the Colombia free trade agreement? What did she ask Rep. McGovern to do? Was she going behind the back of the State Department, or did they agree to the outreach?
Karl at Protein Wisdom notes Pelosi doing her own foreign policy isn’t new. Also Congressional Democrats have a history of befriending Latin American Communists. Why is that?
“FARC’s ‘Human Rights’ Friends” [via memeorandum]
IMPEACH PELOSI AND DIRTY HARRY