tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11677794.post112645048368594142..comments2024-03-20T08:04:12.851-04:00Comments on Right, Wing-Nut!: Falling DownThe JerseyNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294235408620262661noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11677794.post-1126575718475235692005-09-12T21:41:00.000-04:002005-09-12T21:41:00.000-04:00Pinochet is rightfully called many foul things, bu...Pinochet is rightfully called many foul things, but "terrorist" is probably not applicable. He overthrew, with popular support at the time, a communist government destroying the once robust economy. At his heart Pinochet was a dictator who ruled through terror, like most.<BR/> The USA has learned a harsh lesson on supporting these types of leaders; I find the support of the Shah of Iran a more potent example of this misguided policy. In fact, the overthrow of the Shah can be called the beginning of the clash of civilizations, as terrorism, nothing new, recieved state support and funding for the first time. <BR/> This is why Bush calls for democracy in the Middle East. We can certainly create a strongman to rule Iraq for us while US troops came back home, but eventually it would only be the Shah all over again. Establishing a democracy is always a bloody birth (see American Revolution, French Revolution, etc.), but it is the only way to secure long term stability, peace, and prosperity to the region. No more Pinochets, or Shahs...If we left Iraq now, I have the feeling something much darker would rise out of the darkness to take power; those bearded throat-cutters are nobody's hero; except maybe al-Jazeera's...<BR/> I'm not an expert on Pinochet, but I think the 100,000 number is a tad excessive - I've read "thousands" killed, missing and who fled, not 100,000. Not the point, though...The JerseyNuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03294235408620262661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11677794.post-1126472369859956842005-09-11T16:59:00.000-04:002005-09-11T16:59:00.000-04:00"There is right and wrong. There is good and evil...."There is right and wrong. There is good and evil. "<BR/><BR/>You remember 9/11 New York. I shall too.<BR/><BR/>BUT...<BR/><BR/>I shall also remember 9/11 Santiago, the day that Auguste Pinochet came to power in Chile in a Coup d'etat with the overt assistance of the CIA. I shall remember the 100,000 still missing after that repressive right wing autocracy took power in 1973.<BR/><BR/>We each have our terrorists...The probligohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17882103150181414348noreply@blogger.com