http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,379622,00.html<snip>
GRAHAM: Yes, well, talk does not matter to Iran. They will — they will respond to action.
And I do not want a military engagement with Iran. It would be a very difficult task for us, the world at large. But talking is not going to work. What we need to do is impose sanctions that will. They depend on gasoline. The Western world, the world as a whole, with China and Russia, can change Iranian behavior if we will act. Talking will embolden these people. Acting will deter them.
ASMAN: You know, we just had to release of hostages in Venezuela. And we had been in this conversation, this almost endless conversation. Hugo Chavez got in the middle of it. We were told time and again we have to converse, we have to sit down with these rebels. The sitting down obviously did nothing but empower the rebels and Hugo Chavez at the same time.
Is there a similarity here in these situations?
GRAHAM: Yes, the Colombian president took matters in his own hands. They came up with a military strategy that was marvelous. It will go down in military history.
We sat down with Hitler, and it never worked with Hitler. Give him one more country. Appease this guy.
Talking with Iran is a form of appeasement. We need world action, not just United States action, not just Israeli action, but the world needs to rally around the idea that we're not going to let Iran get a nuclear weapon.
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http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/07/04/afx5184293.htmlFARC leaders were paid millions to free hostages: Swiss radioPARIS (Thomson Financial) - Leaders of the Colombian FARC rebel movement were paid millions of dollars to free Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, Swiss radio said on Friday, quoting 'a reliable source'.
The 15 hostages released on Wednesday by the Colombian army 'were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up,' the radio's French-language channel said.
Saying the United States, which had three of its citizens among those freed, was behind the deal, it put the price of the ransom at some $20 million.
The radio said its source was 'close to the events, reliable and tested many times in recent years.'