The Wandering American Tourist

The release of the American former soldier -- and, surely, current spy -- by the FARC in Colombia is another episode in what has to be a very badly-written script by the U.S. government. I suppose that, given the economic troubles north of the border, the Americans use the same script over and over. According to it, an American tourist "gets lost" in some part of a country that just happens to be on or near the border with a country at odds with the U.S. or, as in this case, territory occupied by forces that fight against a government supported by the U.S. We are expected to believe that these are just innocent civilians that have no sense of direction. The question is: Why would anybody choose to go to these out-of-the-way places and always end up on the wrong side? In this particular case, he was warned by Colombian officials not to go into rebel-held territory. Evidently, he knew what he was doing. There was nothing innocent about his being there.

Tune in to the next episode of "The Wandering American Tourist."

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