11th September - forty years ago today

[minionofmidas]

There ought to be a thread.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I like Art Garfunkel, but the release of Angel Clare doesn't really merit a thread of its own, and in any case, this is the wrong board for that.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I note that it's as 'contentious' in Chile as it ever was; but then why wouldn't it be?

[minionofmidas]

I note that it's as 'contentious' in Chile as it ever was; but then why wouldn't it be?

A German article about that was what reminded me. (I didn't actually read it, just saw it.)

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Certainly more fascinating (and probably more tragic overall) than the circlejerk Americans are having today.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

A shameful anniversary of a shameful day in US foreign policy.

Certainly more fascinating (and probably more tragic overall) than the circlejerk Americans are having today.

You are trying to fit the cliché of the typical wannabe French “intellectual” limousine liberal that the Michael Savages and Rush Limbaughs of the world created, aren’t you?

I note that it's as 'contentious' in Chile as it ever was; but then why wouldn't it be?

I can't say I blame the Chileans either. It’s high time one of our presidents apologizes for our support of the regime, if it hasn’t been done already.

[bedstuy]

Certainly more fascinating (and probably more tragic overall) than the circlejerk Americans are having today.

What a disgusting thing to say.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Today is the day that all Chileans should go and sh**t on Pinochet's grave.
I hope that bastard burns in hell as we speak.

[Hifly]

Today is the day that all Chileans should go and sh**t on Pinochet's grave.
I hope that bastard burns in hell as we speak.

They already decided that they didn't want him in the 1988 referendum and he stepped down in accordance with that outcome. What's the need for Chileans to abuse him?

[Kitteh]

Even leaving aside the events themselves, American imperialistic foreign policy has done far more harm to the world than Islamic Jihadism has.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Today is the day that all Chileans should go and sh**t on Pinochet's grave.
I hope that bastard burns in hell as we speak.

They already decided that they didn't want him in the 1988 referendum and he stepped down in accordance with that outcome. What's the need for Chileans to abuse him?

Because he never really faced justice for his crimes against humanity. Pinochet was no better than Pol Pot, Karadzic or Saddam.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Today is the day that all Chileans should go and sh**t on Pinochet's grave.
I hope that bastard burns in hell as we speak.

They already decided that they didn't want him in the 1988 referendum and he stepped down in accordance with that outcome. What's the need for Chileans to abuse him?

Because he never really faced justice for his crimes against humanity. Pinochet was no better than Pol Pot, Karadzic or Saddam.

I'm no fan of Augusto, but...

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yes, this terrible day ought to be remembered.

[The Lord Marbury]

Wow, I actually had no idea that the anniversary of this horrible event was today as well, though I guess my thoughts have understandably been on another matter. Certainly an example of imperialistic US foreign policy worth remembering.

[bedstuy]

Wow, I actually had no idea that the anniversary of this horrible event was today as well, though I guess my thoughts have understandably been on another matter. Certainly an example of imperialistic US foreign policy worth remembering.

How so?  The CIA wasn't really involved in the coup.

[The Lord Marbury]

Wow, I actually had no idea that the anniversary of this horrible event was today as well, though I guess my thoughts have understandably been on another matter. Certainly an example of imperialistic US foreign policy worth remembering.

How so?  The CIA wasn't really involved in the coup.

Not actively in the coup itself, no, but they did contribute funds to the opposition to Allende,made several attempts at "legally" removing him from power, and of course they had no qualms about supporting Pinochet after he got power, which is a good example of the hypocrisy of the cold war era: we don't like authoritarian dictatorships, unless they're our kind of authoritarian dictatorships.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

 

Wow, I actually had no idea that the anniversary of this horrible event was today as well, though I guess my thoughts have understandably been on another matter. Certainly an example of imperialistic US foreign policy worth remembering.

How so?  The CIA wasn't really involved in the coup.

Not actively in the coup itself, no, but they did contribute funds to the opposition to Allende, made several attempts at "legally" removing him from power, and of course they had no qualms about supporting Pinochet after he got power, which is a good example of the hypocrisy of the cold war era: we don't like authoritarian dictatorships, unless they're our kind of authoritarian dictatorships.

Being an opponent of Allende and supporting the legal removal of him is no different from the US supporting the opposition in Zimbabwe. It was the coup and the later support for Pinochet that was so awful.

Allende was no saint, by the way.

[The Lord Marbury]

Wow, I actually had no idea that the anniversary of this horrible event was today as well, though I guess my thoughts have understandably been on another matter. Certainly an example of imperialistic US foreign policy worth remembering.

How so?  The CIA wasn't really involved in the coup.

Not actively in the coup itself, no, but they did contribute funds to the opposition to Allende, made several attempts at "legally" removing him from power, and of course they had no qualms about supporting Pinochet after he got power, which is a good example of the hypocrisy of the cold war era: we don't like authoritarian dictatorships, unless they're our kind of authoritarian dictatorships.

Being an opponent of Allende and supporting the legal removal of him is no different from the US supporting the opposition in Zimbabwe. It was the coup and the later support for Pinochet that was so awful.

Allende was no saint, by the way.

Never said that he was.

[Lumine]

I have to say that as a Chilean I'm very surprised. Leaving aside my personal view of what happened in that day and my opinions on the Military Junta, it really surprises me that this traumatic event of our history seems to be very famous around the world.

I was talking about this with some of my classmates, and you can still see a lot of inherited resentment even if we we all born five or six years after Pinochet left government and 22-23 years after the coup. There many of us that want to leave the past behind, and many of us who wish to never forget, but no one here can honestly say that they don't care about what happened.

For those things and more, with date has good reasons to be one of the most important and relevant events in Chilean history, and my words may strike as odd (some might say that partisanship and naivety is to blame, I disagree with that), but many of my classmates, many friends, and myself feel the need to ask: Why is it such a known event across the world?

[bedstuy]

Wow, I actually had no idea that the anniversary of this horrible event was today as well, though I guess my thoughts have understandably been on another matter. Certainly an example of imperialistic US foreign policy worth remembering.

How so?  The CIA wasn't really involved in the coup.

Not actively in the coup itself, no, but they did contribute funds to the opposition to Allende,made several attempts at "legally" removing him from power, and of course they had no qualms about supporting Pinochet after he got power, which is a good example of the hypocrisy of the cold war era: we don't like authoritarian dictatorships, unless they're our kind of authoritarian dictatorships.

You're right that US policy in Latin America during the Cold War was incredibly shameful.  The US basically aided and abetted genocide, torture and crimes against humanity.  I would never defend the CIA during the Cold War, or really at any point in its sorry history. 

But, that doesn't mean we can blame every bad thing that happened on the US.  That's a problem with a lot of leftist writing on this subject.

[Landslide Lyndon]

For those things and more, with date has good reasons to be one of the most important and relevant events in Chilean history, and my words may strike as odd (some might say that partisanship and naivety is to blame, I disagree with that), but many of my classmates, many friends, and myself feel the need to ask: Why is it such a known event across the world?

Because Allende was a democratically elected leader who was forcibly removed by a coup, funded and approved by the American government.
That made him a martyr among left leaning people worldwide (not only communists).

[patrick1]

I have to say that as a Chilean I'm very surprised. Leaving aside my personal view of what happened in that day and my opinions on the Military Junta, it really surprises me that this traumatic event of our history seems to be very famous around the world.

I was talking about this with some of my classmates, and you can still see a lot of inherited resentment even if we we all born five or six years after Pinochet left government and 22-23 years after the coup. There many of us that want to leave the past behind, and many of us who wish to never forget, but no one here can honestly say that they don't care about what happened.

For those things and more, with date has good reasons to be one of the most important and relevant events in Chilean history, and my words may strike as odd (some might say that partisanship and naivety is to blame, I disagree with that), but many of my classmates, many friends, and myself feel the need to ask: Why is it such a known event across the world?

I was down in your lovely country back in 2011 and my general sense was that there was most certainly still a lot of resentment but really a rather localized (that being Chile) one. I think this forum, with many history lovers, many of whom are on the left, is not a representative sample of global knowledge about what happened. I also got the general sense that Pinochet still has a base of support- so to speak. Many people that would recognize the crimes of the dictatorship but not completely on board with the possible direction of what may have happened under Allende.

Incidentally I was down in Chile when Bin Laden was killed. The local coverage referring to the mission as an 'assassination' was in stark contrast to how it was received at home.

[Kitteh]

I have to say that as a Chilean I'm very surprised. Leaving aside my personal view of what happened in that day and my opinions on the Military Junta, it really surprises me that this traumatic event of our history seems to be very famous around the world.

I was talking about this with some of my classmates, and you can still see a lot of inherited resentment even if we we all born five or six years after Pinochet left government and 22-23 years after the coup. There many of us that want to leave the past behind, and many of us who wish to never forget, but no one here can honestly say that they don't care about what happened.

For those things and more, with date has good reasons to be one of the most important and relevant events in Chilean history, and my words may strike as odd (some might say that partisanship and naivety is to blame, I disagree with that), but many of my classmates, many friends, and myself feel the need to ask: Why is it such a known event across the world?

Two things: it's less the coup itself and more the trend of American foreign policy that it represents, and that the fact that it occurs on the same day as 9/11/01 makes it a great counter to the circlejerking that anyone in America has to live with today (though that's much less bad than it was a few years ago).