Reply #19: The rural areas are as much a part of a country as the urban areas [View All]

My point was the 1% support for FARC reported appears to be to low. I admitted it appears that FARC does NOT have 50% support throughout the whole country of Columbia, but that does NOT mean FARC has less then 1% of the population. Given what I have rad, FARC probably ha support of around 10-20% of the population, no more then 25% but clearly at least 10% (This is more a reflection of where they are most active then any other indication). Even if they represent only 10% of the population, 10% is still a large group of people that the rest of the country has to deal with (For example if a Military unit loses just 10% of it members, it has to be completely re-trained, the lost is enough to make the unit no longer work as a team, and they must be re-trained to work like a team once again, the same for most other activities, a 10% lost is often fatal to the team as a whole).

Don't leave what you would like Columbia to be, color what it is. Many pro-FARC people on this board does that on a regular basis (The same with the pro and anti-Chavez groups). Many on the board are to close to one side or another to get a clear picture (the classic example being the old saying "Could not see the Forest do to the trees"). Given that both Bogota, the Drug runners and FARC all try to hide themselves from most people make it even harder to "see the forest do to the trees". My comments reflect the condition of the hostages when they were "freed" (They appear to be in good shape, which implies a good system of supplies), the various maps showing up to 1/3 of Columbia subject to attacks by FARC, the areas where most drugs are made NOT the same as the areas under FARC Control (Through those area where FARC operates borders all four of Columbia's neighbors, permitting FARC to use any and all of them for outside support) and the fact the area FARC controls are the hardest to get into and out of (Do to the isolation caused by the Andes and the Amazon River Basin) all indicate FARC has sufficient support to last for a few more decades and the best solution is some sort of compromise with the FARC leadership to end the Fighting. FARC has sufficient support to be a factor in Columbia, but not enough support to overthrow the Government. Some sort of compromise will have to be made between Bogota and FARC, to get FARC to put don their arms. What that will be is unknown to me, it may NEVER be written down (For Example FARC disbands and Bogota never arrest anyone for being a member, a pardon for all members of FARC and a grant of land to all members of FARC, without using the name FARC and the land reform FARC wants in slowly implemented by Bogota). A deal will have to be made, it may be written down, it may not be, but some sort of resolution of what FARC is fighting for must be made do to the support FARC has. The resolution may be good, bad or indifferent but some sort of resolution must be made.