CHILE and the C.I.A
On 9/11 a horrible tragedy occurred. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Towers resulting in the deaths of some 2,700 plus civilians. During and after, the media has relentlessly reported on this historic event. Twenty-four hour cable news networks were working overtime to scramble for the latest tid-bits of information that might help us understand this seemingly meaningless waste of human life. And we watched, I watched. We learned more and more as the story developed. Talking heads and "experts" were questioned incessantly as to the motives, feelings, causes, etc. And so the world over knows what "9-11" means when someone utters it in conversation. Signs were (and still are) painted on walls and stuck on cars and trucks reading "WE SHALL NEVER FORGET." And I don't believe we will forget or should forget. The history books will be chocker block full of information relating to that infamous day in 2001. Hollywood and the silver screen have already made dramas about the events, making millions off their subsequent ticket sales and sponsorship. Americans won't forget! But wait...what about 9-11? What about the other 9-11? What about the 9-11 that claimed some 3,197 (official estimate) over a ten day span.
Let's look back to September 11, 1973:
On this fateful day, one Augusto Pinochet, with the backing of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and President Richard Nixon, murdered the democratically elected President Salvador Allende and set the presidential palace ablaze. Then followed ten days of killing and torture.
But what did you know about this? Did you learn about this in school? I'll be doing a blog-series called "The Sins of our Fathers" which will cover countries horribly destroyed by the illegal interventions of the United States. Most of these will be case studies that you might have some small knowledge about, but you didn't actually take the time to think about how horrific it was. Part of the problem, is that we (Americans, British, French, Germans) never experience massive acts of terrorism such as this, so when it happens to us there is outrage, there is analysis, there is anguish, there are tears. But when it happens to Chile in 1973, a country that had by all accounts a lawful democracy, nobody bats an eyelid, or those that did bat an eyelid (Americans included) turned up dead or vanished.
So get all huffy and puffy about 9-11 and say how awful it was and is. Be sad about that fateful day. Shed a couple tears for those who died. But if you aren't willing to criticize your own government when it perpetrates terrorist acts then you don't understand freedom. And the reason you don't understand democracy and freedom is because:
1. Your own government doesn't respect freedom and democracy.
2. You've haven't yet been sent to Guantanamo indefinitely without any legal process of protection.
Now the classified documents are officially declassified. So there isn't any debate here. There isn't any valid argument to what many believed to be a conspiracy theory. Pinochet butchered his way to power with the complicity of the United States government. So those of you who think that giving our government more power in the form of The Military Commissions Act are supporting nothing less than evil. Here's one reason why:
Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, was pulled from a boarding line at JFK Airport and sent via "extraordinary rendition" to Jordan, where he was beaten with chains before being sent to Syria, where he was beaten with electrical cables and kept in a tiny cell for 10 months. More than a year after being rendered by U.S. authorities, Arar was released and told there was no evidence that he was involved in terrorism. Our government's response to his torture and lost year? "Tough Luck." Since 9/11, human rights experts estimate the U.S. has rendered anywhere from one hundred to several thousand people to countries where torture is the norm.
More on Pinochet if you're interested.
Please let me know if you think I'm dead wrong. I usually am, so give me some feedback.
