Kissingers Influence Over the U.S.-Backed Military Coup to Overthrow Socialism in Chile by Ramona Wadi!
(2020-11-28 at 01:49:56 )

Kissingers Influence Over the U.S.-Backed Military Coup to Overthrow Socialism in Chile by Ramona Wadi!

New details are emerging of the Central Intelligence Agencys (CIA) involvement in Chile against Salvador Allende. "We have to do everything we can to hurt [Allende] and bring him down," United States Secretary of Defence Melvin Laird stated in a meeting for a select group of officials after the socialist win in Chile.

From the day of Mr. Allendes inauguration as president, United States President Richard Nixon and his National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger, schemed with the CIA to overthrown Mr. Allende, who was perceived as a democratically-elected threat and a possible influence in the region and in Europe.

Two main scenarios were drawn up by Mr. Kissinger - establishing a "modus vivendi" with Mr. Allendes government, while backing the opposition parties until the next election to influence voter change, or a military coup, which was the CIAs preferred tactic. For the United States, which used democracy propaganda to justify its intervention in Latin America and across the world, there was nothing amiss with destroying Chiles long democratic tradition by backing a military-coup, ostensibly in the name of democracy.

A declassified document detailing a memorandum of conversation, dated November 6, 1970, illustrates Mr. Kissingers insistence on using overt hostility against Mr. Allendes government. His least favourite tactic is the modus vivendi, for fear that Mr. Allende "will consolidate his position and then move against us."

The Under-Secretary of State John Irwin supports Mr. Kissingers argument by insisting that the United States should play to the Chilean opposition in order to bring about Mr. Allendes downfall. "We should be hostile only if we can be sure it will have a significant effect on the internal forces there in a way that will hurt Mr. Allende and prevent his consolidation. This means we may have to do things we would not want to do."

Of particular note is United States President Richard Nixons mention of the military, in contrast to "the others", meaning the intellectuals of Chilean society, who he says "are not subject to our influence." The plan to boost the military complex in Latin America while destabilising Mr. Allendes government economically. Brazil and Argentina are mentioned as potential United States allies in the region - two countries which would be part of Operation Condor - the United States-backed regional collaboration in Latin America which sought to eliminate "Marxist subversion" and which adopted Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochets tactics of kidnappings, torture, murder and disappearance.

This emphasis on the military also ties into the briefing by the CIA Director Richard Helms, who notes opposition to Mr. Allendes socialism among military officers. "There were some important elements in both the military and political establishments which perceived that Mr. Allende should not be allowed to bring a Marxist regime into office," the declassified document states.

Both Kissinger and the CIAs influence were instrumental in the coup that ravaged Chile. Notably, Mr. Kissingers rhetoric on how Chile could influence politics beyond Latin America and thus alter the United States standing in the world played an important part in Mr. Nixons decision-making; the latter having been more favourable to the modus vivendi tactic. Mr. Kissingers ties to the CIA, however, proved more influential. Declassified documents published in 2014 also show that the CIA had been plotting against Mr. Allende before his electoral triumph, with Kissinger requesting precise action plans to thwart the election result.

Playing down Mr. Pinochets brutality was Mr. Kissingers way of normalising the United States backing of the military coup. "I think we should understand our policy - that however unpleasant they act, this government is better for us than Mr. Allende was." In 1976, Mr. Kissinger described Mr. Pinochet as being victimised by the left. Of the thousands tortured and disappeared, in which the United States played a direct part through the CIA and the notorious School of the Americas (SOA), now known as WHINSEC, not a word was uttered. It was only after the assassination of Orlando Letelier in Washington,D.C. that the United States reconsidered its overt support for the dictatorship - its legacy still affecting Chile to date.

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