"What did Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger's 1970-73 conspiracy to overthrow the government of Chile have in common with the 2001 Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda plot to destroy the World Trade Center and Pentagon? Answer: Both of these criminal intrigues reached their climax on 9/11. Almost all Americans know that 9/11 now refers to the horrendous events two years ago when almost 3,000 people died in terrorist attacks. Few Americans, however, recall that 9/11 also refers to the day in 1973 on which the Chilean armed forces, with US encouragement and help, launched air and ground strikes against the presidential palace, the office of Dr. Salvador Allende, the elected president. Allende died that morning. A reign of terror followed the coup in which tens of thousands of Chileans underwent torture, hundreds of thousands were forced or fled into exile and the democratic institutions of the country were systematically destroyed. The coup leader, General Augusto Pinochet, remained military dictator of Chile for seventeen years four years longer than Hitler." http://www.counterpunch.org/ * * * * "The top secret documents accumulatively detail the crude workings of Washington during the Cold War. "It is firm and continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup," reads a CIA document from October 1970. "It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG [US government] and American hand be well hidden." Two days after this document was written, top CIA officials proposed a terrorist campaign to stun the Chilean people into accepting a military regime. "Concur giving tear gas cannisters and gas masks ... working on obtaining machine guns," reads a CIA memo dated October 18 1970. "Use good officers ... Some low-level overflights of Santiago and bomb drops in areas not likely to cause casualties could have great psychological effect and might swing balance as they have so many times in past in similar circumstances." http://www.counterpunch.org/franklin09112003.html
This part is just lovely... "Pinochet will not be a stumbling block to coup plans", reads one memo written six months before the coup, in which the American government looks to build a veritable Dream Team of coup plotters. "The navy and air force are ready ... the military is getting ready to move." As part of a particularly crude effort to remove army officers who supported democratic rule, the CIA organised to kidnap Rene Schneider, a Chilean army general. That plot was botched; Schneider died, and today his family is suing the US government and Henry Kissinger in particular for playing a role in his murder. Citing documents declassified in the past few years, the lawsuit alleges that the US government paid $35,000 to the men who plotted the actions against Schneider."
Allende was the first elected Marxist head of state in the world, and the Nixon administration feared this for more than Marxists who merely seized power through brutal coups. It's still a mystery as to why Allende decided to take his own life so quickly after the palace was overrun.
Yes, for those of us living in Latin America on September 11, 1973 it was a day which ingrained in our minds how the United States' repeated talk of fighting for freedom and democracy is simply hipocritical. It fights for it's economic interest and just uses "democracy" as a pretext so as not to appear too imperial. 9/11/73 was a very sad day for democracy and it was completely directed by the Nixon Administration and Henry Kissinger in particular. Many Americans may not know or want to know what happened on 9/11/73 but remember it next time you ponder, "Why does the rest of the world dislike us?"
I was with you until this part. I'm more than willing to admit U.S. participation in Latin American injustices but I'm sick of Latin American countries trying to wash the blood from their hands on our coat tails. Because at the end of the day, Chilenos only have one finger to point at for the 17 years of Pinochet rule,and it better be pointed at themselves.
Clearly it was chileans who overthrew the Allende government and it was Pinochet who remained in power for 17 years but he could not have stayed in power without the political, economic and military support of US administrations. The US exploited the political differences which existed in Chile to better it's perceived national interest which was to overthrow a democratically elected government which it felt was not favorable to the US' economic and political outlook. So yes the chilean right was at fault for the brutality of the Pinochet years but it couldn't have done so without US support.
Who appointed Pinochet to head the Army? Allende himself. Any foreign government can only prod it's "puppets" so much. Anything else those "puppets" do are under their own power. Time to stop living in the past and deal with the present.
Exactly, no one knows how Allende died. What I do think was the case, however, was that he had no choice either way. He was going to die that day. That's my opinion. The American involvement in the coup was far-reaching. I have read a few books on the topic and many CIA documents were unveiled in the past few years that show that the American administration had a good amount to do with the coup. After Allende took office, Nixon was quoted as saying, "we need to get that bastard out, i don't care if you have to kill him". America first influenced and supported anti-allende groups with large sums of money and arms. This were times of animosity between the strong left and the resisting right. Then when elections were taking place, America supported the party running against Allende with large donations. When allende came out victorious, a prominent Chilean general was killed by one of the groups supported by the CIA (it's not known how much the CIA influenced this) because it was believed that it would cause chaos and therefore a new election. There is also the case of American and Chilean companies and their effort to boycott Allende by not supplying products to the Chilean people. The results were long lines and huge inflation which ultimately lead the upper classes to turn against Allende. The scenes were chaotic, trucks would block the nation's highways so that no necessary products could reach the people that most needed it. In this case, the truckers did what they were told. Poor Allende, he never stood a chance. He was doomed from the beginning. The ones to blame are not only the americans but also the Chilean right and the Chilean upper classes. Chileans still find it very hard to forgive their countrymen (the upper class) for supporting a coup. It's still seen in Chile today, many upper class and mostly un-educated lower class still support pinochet. Go figure.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/chile/story/0,13755,1037547,00.html This is really off topic, but why the heck not? It looks like Allende was at least trying to make socialism work, instead of using it as a pretext to loot his country's treasury and enrich himself; which is what most socialist rulers do. But what if their kewl telex system decided that I needed a pair of skis for Valle Nevado but I really wanted a Burton snowboard?
Pinochet took the economy and turned it into one of South America's strongest. You also have to deal with that those in the decision making process grew up with him as leader.
No he didnt. Chile's economy didn't take off until Pinochet stepped down. http://www.lakota.clara.net/myths/economy.html "Between 1972 and 1987, the GNP per capita fell 6.4 percent. (13) In constant 1993 dollars, Chile's per capita GDP was over $3,600 in 1973. Even as late as 1993, however, this had recovered to only $3,170. (14) Only five Latin American countries did worse in per capita GDP during the Pinochet era (1974-1989). (15) And defenders of the Chicago plan call this an "economic miracle.""
Gringo, What are they calling Latin American countries? ANything from Mexico on down? Or is it S. America? This issue is so difficult. Unfortunately the US was so radical against socialist ideas during the Cold War because of animosity toward the USSR. I wonder what Allende and Castro could've accomplished without our hinderance. We know communism failed in USSR for a number of reasons bu I wonder what it what've produced in CUba and Chile and other Latin countries. One reason, I think, Chile underwent prosperous times during or after Pinochet were the heavy hand laid out to leftist people. However, if basic social justice issues are not addressed you're only retarding an eventual revolutionist movement.
Indeed. Portillo has 5 cm of new snow over the past 24 hours, so life is good! But for us Gringos; Chile continues the bad precedent that continues today. The fact that a place is run by a bunch of nutcase collectivists does not give us the right to support an armed overthrow of their government. How would we feel if armed insurrectionists started revolts in Vermont and Berkeley and the Hong Kong or Singapore governments starting intervening?