The Ingrid Betancourt Rescue

The New York Times reports that the Columbian government has released videotape of Ingrid Betancourt's dramatic rescue from FARC captivity. An upload is available on YouTube.

This is a story that should be getting more play around the blogosphere. One would be hard pressed to find a more powerful example of international intelligence, military, and law enforcement cooperation than that found in the years-long, high-level planning to secure Betancourt's release.

The Los Angeles Times offered a penetrating analysis on Thurdsay, "15 Hostages Freed as FARC is Fooled in Cunning Operation," which includes this passage on joint American-Columbian planning:

Colombian armed forces using U.S. intelligence technology are thought to have cracked the rebels' communications system and tracked their movements by monitoring cellphone and satellite phone usage.

Those compromised communications may have enabled the Colombian forces to spin the ruse that led to the rescue. Details were not disclosed Wednesday on how FARC commander "Cesar" was fooled into bringing together the 15 hostages from three locations.

U.S. military spokespersons, wanting to emphasize the independence of the Colombian military in planning the operation, declined to comment on the rescue. One said U.S. involvement in the hostage rescue was limited to providing a medical team to care for the freed captives and a transport plane.

"This was a Colombian-planned and -executed operation," said the military official. "It was based largely on intelligence they had developed."

But another military official acknowledged that the United States had been told of the rescue plan in advance, which allowed U.S. officials to provide a transport plane and a team of medical personnel.

"They had given us enough heads-up so we could have the aircraft standing by in the event they went ahead with the mission and it was successful," said the officer. "We were aware enough of the planning to be ready to respond with the aircraft and the medical team."

For more on this, see Powerline, "Reflections on the Rescue," and, especially, Fausta, "The Colombian Hostage Rescue: Aftermath."

Related: Atlas Shrugs, "Israel Helped in FARC Hostage Rescue Operation."

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UPDATE: Don't miss Saber Point's essay on the left's propaganda campaign to delegitimize Betancourt's rescue, "FARC Communists Lying About Colombian Rescue Operation