Changes

Yes, the uh..."activities I've referenced" -- i.e., the wholesale rounding up, torture, and slaughter of dissidents -- happened AFTER the 1973 coup. Not before, under the leftist government of Allende. And the articles I am criticizing for attempting to soft-pedal Pinochet's brutality were written long, LONG after the 1973 coup, in the present when Pinochet's brutality is a known quantity rather than a "most likely" or even a "maybe." Saying something like "Gee, we didn't know," is not a valid excuse when you're writing about something extensively documented and recorded that happened well within living memory.  

Yes, the uh..."activities I've referenced" -- i.e., the wholesale rounding up, torture, and slaughter of dissidents -- happened AFTER the 1973 coup. Not before, under the leftist government of Allende. And the articles I am criticizing for attempting to soft-pedal Pinochet's brutality were written long, LONG after the 1973 coup, in the present when Pinochet's brutality is a known quantity rather than a "most likely" or even a "maybe." Saying something like "Gee, we didn't know," is not a valid excuse when you're writing about something extensively documented and recorded that happened well within living memory.  

The issue of whether or not  the US assisted in the overthrow of Allende knowing about Pinochet's murderous propensities is not the point here, though it would probably make for an interesting discussion in itself. My own opinion, based on what I've read about the history of American intervention in Latin America, is that it's quite possible that if the US government did help in the overthrow knowing but not really caring much that Pinochet would inaugurate a slaughter of leftists and liberals.  

The issue of whether or not  the US assisted in the overthrow of Allende knowing about Pinochet's murderous propensities is not the point here, though it would probably make for an interesting discussion in itself. My own opinion, based on what I've read about the history of American intervention in Latin America, is that it's quite possible that the US government did help in the overthrow knowing but not really caring much that Pinochet would inaugurate a slaughter of leftists and liberals.  

As for the overthrow of Iran, Jimmy Carter did not finance or offer material and moral support for Khomeni's takeover -- as Eisenhower did with the overthrow of Mohammad Mosaddeq in 1953 and the installation of the Shah's brutal regime -- so your attempt to cram my reasoning into that situation just doesn't work. Nor has the late Ayatollah Khomeni morphed into a hero for many liberals, as Pinochet has for many right-wingers.  

As for the overthrow of Iran, Jimmy Carter did not finance or offer material and moral support for Khomeni's takeover -- as Eisenhower did with the overthrow of Mohammad Mosaddeq in 1953 and the installation of the Shah's brutal regime -- so your attempt to cram my reasoning into that situation just doesn't work. Nor has the late Ayatollah Khomeni morphed into a hero for many liberals, as Pinochet has for many right-wingers.  

:I'm willing to stipulate that anyone who helps a dictator come to power shares the moral responsibility for the brutal repression perpetrated by the dictatorship thereafter. Does that help? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 15:29, 28 March 2007 (EDT)

:I'm willing to stipulate that anyone who helps a dictator come to power shares the moral responsibility for the brutal repression perpetrated by the dictatorship thereafter. Does that help? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 15:29, 28 March 2007 (EDT)