New Files Reveal US Sold Argentina Military Aircraft to Dump Bodies in Ocean

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Telesur

New Files Reveal US Sold Argentina Military Aircraft to Dump Bodies in Ocean




The U.S. provided Argentina with army helicopters despite knowing they were used for
death flights. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Published 16 December 2016



Under the military dictatorship in Argentina, thousands of political opponents were drugged, tossed into aircraft and dumped in the ocean.

Declassified documents on Operation Condor reveal that the U.S. knew and assisted the Argentine dictatorship as it threw unconscious prisoners to their death in notorious “vuelos de la muerte,” or death flights.

Under the military dictatorship in Argentina, thousands of political opponents were drugged, tossed into aircraft and dumped in the Atlantic Ocean to drown.

According to Adolfo Scilingo, an Argentine naval officer during the dictatorship, the navy conducted death flights every Wednesday between 1977 and 1978, killing up to 2,000 people.

Read more: http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/US-Sold-Argentina-Military-Aircraft-to-Dump-Bodies-in-Ocean-20161216-0016.html

[burrowowl]

1. Why isn't Kissinger in an orange jumpsuit?

[tenorly]

16. The powers-that-be like him too much.

[center]

"The illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes longer."[/center]

[hughee99]

17. 1977-1978? Didn't kissinger leave office the first week of 1977? n/t

[tenorly]

19. Yes, but the planes were delivered as part of a military aid package signed by Ford in '76.

A package strongly recommended by Kissinger at the time.

Carter rescinded further military aid in 1978; but by then large deliveries had already been made.

To be fair to Kissinger though, it's worth noting that Argentina had its own sizable, state-owned military industry at the time (it's since been largely dismantled), and had been making such purchases from other countries as well.

The Short SC.7 Skyvan pictured above was of British manufacture and in fact, transport aircraft of this kind had been purchased by the Argentine Air Force well before the Dirty War began in 1975.

[hughee99]

21. Yes, but it's hard to know beforehand what they would be used for since they weren't single purpose

planes specially designed to political opponent's bodies into the ocean. Over the past few years, the US has made some arms deals with some questionable regimes, and I'm not sure I'd blame Sec. Clinton or Sec. Kerry personally if that equipment was later used for such reprehensible purposes.

Having said that, there's plenty of reasons Kissinger should be in an orange jumpsuit, I'm just not sure this is a good example of one.

[tenorly]

23. Exactly. They were only used to kill at the depths of the 1976-78 Dirty War, not before or since.

Last edited Sat Dec 17, 2016, 04:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Kissinger knew all along though, and what's more approved of the Dirty War.

To his credit, he was an advocate of having it carried out as quickly as possible - which in fact the dictatorship did, since by 1979 it was basically over (though that had more to do with pressure from Carter than any of Kissinger's winking suggestions).

It was, rather, their economic policies that had a lasting impact - a sick brew of Russian-style kleptocracy (of which the current ruling family, the Macris, were leading beneficiaries), Southern-style union busting, and Bush-style free trade and bankster deregulation.

Argentina was, in this way at least, a kind of dry run for what Bush did to the U.S. a generation later - and for what Trump may do as well (we'll see).

[jberryhill]

2. What was wrong with using boats?

[Judi Lynn]

5. Maybe the dissidents would sink lower if dropped from great heights.

As it was, some of these murdered leftists still washed ashore, anyway, along the Atlantic coastline, and in the La Plata river.

[jberryhill]

6. Bodies will eventually float if you don't weigh them down

They sink initially, but as they decompose, they will bloat with gases and pop right back up. If you just do the classic "cement shoes" thing, pieces of them can come off from decomposition and marine scavenging, and come up. That's why they keep finding feet in sneakers in the Puget Sound area with no bodies in evidence. People meet with misfortune at sea or on the shore, the ankles rot through, and the athletic shoes provide buoyancy to the wandering feet.

[tenorly]

24. That is in fact what happened - and how the practice was ultimately stopped.

The local media was pretty well muzzled (in some cases, like the Clarín Group, complicit); but because many of the bodies washed up in neighboring Uruguay, and because Uruguayan radio can be easily heard in eastern Argentina, the grisly findings quickly became common knowledge in Argentina as well.

At that point, the dictatorship began burying the dead in mass graves and, more often, burning the corpses in the Chacarita Cemetery crematorium. This, by the way, is how they arrived at the estimate of 30,000 disappeared (a figure right-wingers like to claim is "fictitious&quot .

So much brutality in the world, and what's worse, so many who applaud it (until it happens to a loved one, anyway).

[Judi Lynn]

3. Americas Role in Argentinas Dirty War

America’s Role in Argentina’s Dirty War
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD MARCH 17, 2016



Daniel Garcia/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images



A few months after a military junta overthrew President Isabel Perón of Argentina in 1976, the country’s new foreign minister, Adm. Cesar Guzzetti, told Henry Kissinger, America’s secretary of state, that the military was aggressively cracking down on “the terrorists.”

Mr. Kissinger responded, “If there are things that have to be done, you should do them quickly,” an apparent warning that a new American Congress might cut off aid if it thought the Argentine government was engaging in systemic human rights abuses.

The American ambassador in Buenos Aires soon reported to Washington that the Argentine government had interpreted Mr. Kissinger’s words as a “green light” to continue its brutal tactics against leftist guerrillas, political dissidents and suspected socialists.

Just how much the American government knew about Argentina’s repressive “Dirty War,” which lasted from 1976 to 1983 — and the extent to which it condoned the abuses — has remained shrouded in secrecy.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/opinion/americas-role-in-argentinas-dirty-war.html?_r=0

[Solly Mack]

4. K&R

[shadowmayor]

7. Time to trot out Henry again

Expect another appearance on the Charlie Rose show in the coming weeks. A nice sit down with a very important statesman followed by some very serious, very public ball gargling by Mr. Rose. A huuuge number of Americans think Kissinger is a fine fellow who's sage advice is valuable to our "adventures" overseas. Butthole belongs in a noose. But in this country, there's no accountability for the nobility, no retribution or justice for crimes committed, and absolutely no repercussions for incompetence.

[nikto]

8. The shocker is ...

America is not one iota better today.

And it may be worse.

Kissinger-esque neocons (or worse) still run the foreign-policy show in America, regardless of party.

That's why war is coming (take your pick---Iran, Russia, China).

America---The indispensable Nation.

City on a hill.

Land of the free.



If Irony was poison, we'd all be dead by now.

[Fast Walker 52]

40. well, we may be one tiny iota better.... but point taken

[nikto]

48. Love your Smedley Butler inspired logo/moniker

And yes, War is a Racket.


Never stop fighting the Neocons.

[secondwind]

9. We're #1! We're #1! I DON'T RECOGNIZE MY COUNTRY ANYMORE.. :-(

[enough]

10. Our county has been doing things like this for a very long time.

This particular outrage occurred decades ago.

[atreides1]

11. True

This outrage did occur several decades ago, we don't know about the current outrages taking place, because it's still classified!

[Coyotl]

12. Built on two centuries of genocide and stealing territory. What do you expect?

[nikto]

49. Further outrages are surely occurring as you read this

Why do we know this to be true?

Because we are speaking of America.

And under Trump,
things can only get worse.

[Devil Child]

13. Operation Condor

The United States participation and organizational support to Operation Condor is an unforgivable crime. Of course those with blood on their hands north of the border will never face justice.

Almost 100,000 killed from Operation Condor alone over 20 years.

[Fast Walker 52]

41. wow, no idea it was that high... my question is, like so many of these operations

how much blame do we deserve versus the people that actually carry it out?

[tenorly]

14. If you haven't yet, watch 'Call me Francis' on Netflix.

One of his best friends, a colleague in the Buenos Aires lab he worked in as a young man named Esther Ballestrino, later became one of the co-founders of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (mothers of those disappearing at the depths of the Dirty War in 1976-77). Her friendship with the future pope is covered in considerable detail.

Ballestrino was abducted in December 1977 and thrown, sedated but alive, onto the Río de la Plata bay in a transport plane not unlike the one above.

[center]

Founders of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo; Ballestrino is at left.[/center]

[Mc Mike]

15. Thanks for the netflix info, tenor.

Those are brave women.

[tenorly]

18. Sure, Mc Mike.

And as awful as the Dirty War was, it paled in comparison to the socio-economic calamity the dictatorship's laissez-faire, free trade policies left Argentina - a country that until 1980 had the highest living standard in Latin America, on par with Spain at the time.

History, of course, tends to repeat itself, and thanks to a well-choreographed big media effort, Argentines just elected another laissez-faire right-winger (Macri) - a choice they now regret, given the sharp recession the country's in currently.

And as you might have guessed, Macri is also seeking amnesty for the 1000+ Dirty War criminals jailed during his populist predecessors, the Kirchners (whom Wall Street hated almost as much as local right-wingers did).

He did recently fail in implementing an electronic-vote bill though, so there is some hope.

[Mc Mike]

20. I've read some info about the constant neo-colonial moves rightie US corporate interests have made

in Latin America, and the international fascista operatives who perform their evil actions in all of those countries.

I didn't know that there was a new rightie in charge in Argentina now.

Brave and good people like the Mothers give us a blueprint on how to make progress and overcome totalitarian nazi murderers. That is extremely useful info to have, in my opinion.

[tenorly]

22. Indeed. The Wall Street and London business press really promoted Macri when he ran last year.

But after his IMF-issued austrity playbook pushed Argentina's already fragile economy into the deepest recession since 2002, they rarely mention him anymore.

The British press in particular voice nothing but disappointment in Macri, since austerity has only exacerbated the already high inflation (up from 24% to 45%) and budget deficits (up by two-thirds) Macri promised to reduce to international investors with "the best economic team in 50 years."

Argentina's foreign debt, in fact, has ballooned by $40 billion in less than a year. It's basically Reaganomics, but without the temporary prosperity. Foreign investors meanwhile, who were making record profits under the "anti-business" Cristina Kirchner, have seen their profits cut in half. Worst of of both worlds, really.

[Judi Lynn]

25. Probably it can be taken for granted Macri and his immediate friends are making out like bandits,

as his father and his peers during the Dirty War.

Very much appreciate your overview on what has happened in this last year. There were too many young voters involved, undoubtedly, who had no memory of how rotten things get under fascist leaders! So sad.

[tenorly]

26. And now, Macri even blamed people's air conditioning use for the current economic crisis (!).

This, after admitting he himself likes the A/C on even in winter and after just writing off a $1.2 billion tax debt on the part of electric utilities (by decree). The only thing he left out, is the "let them eat cake."

Even so, he still enjoys considerable - though declining - support among white, middle-class voters, who still remain hopeful that somehow Macri will "put those indians in their place and ship them back to Bolivia and Peru" (a common sentiment among the Argentine right).

A well-oiled big media campaign by the Clarín Group and others helps prop him up further by running interference - much like much of the media in the U.S. did with Bush during his many calamities, and with Trump now. Though unlike Bush and Trump, Macri can't count on electronic voting now that Congress has voted it down.

if nothing else, Judi, I hope this fracas with Putin convinces U.S. lawmakers to get rid of black box voting here as well. Granted: not much chance of that, as long as some (i.e. the GOP) believe it can still benefit them.

[Mc Mike]

27. So, with foreign debt ballooning, the big banks benefit by sucking interest payments out of the

country, like leeches. The foreign investors who lose profits were investing in some actual reality based production efforts, I guess?

I like Naomi Klein's later chapter in Shock Doctrine, where she talked about how Shock Wears Off, and the countries fighting against World Bank IMF austerity impositions.

[tenorly]

28. Exactly. Speculation is up, real investment is down.

Foreign and local investors have been gobbling up Argentine bonds this year, since they pay out 7-8% in dollars; the peso-denominated bonds pay out even more: 15% annualized, even accounting for devaluation.

But Fixed investment - the real kind that includes construction and equipment - is down about 10% overall, and 40% in terms of foreign investment. This was precisely the kind of activity the "pro-business" Macri promised to increase with deregulation - a promise the international media, and most Argentine media, believed for word for word.

Suckers.

[Mc Mike]

29. Plutocrats and their lackies like Macri.

Tell the world the same stupid stories, all the time -- deregulation, speculation, tax cuts -- it will be magical.

Whoops. Time for austerity. The big media buys it because they're lackies for the plutocrats too.

[tenorly]

30. They really need Naomi Klein down there - and your insights as well.

Klein and her husband filmed their acclaimed documentary about worker-run co-ops, The Take, back in 2003. It was also a good look, more broadly, at the aftermath of the 2001 crisis (after a decade of precisely the kind of ruse you described above).

The Kirchners, for all their mistakes, defied all predictions and managed to pull the country out of that very deep hole - presiding over 12 years of not only growth in general, but reindustrialization and higher living standards as well.

Despite being practically cut off from international credit (which miraculously reappeared now that neocons are in power), GDP nearly doubled, unemployment fell from 21% to 6%, and real wages (even using private inflation estimates) rose by 72%. The public foreign debt, meanwhile, fell by $32 billion (a 28% decline), and worker co-ops were protected from judicial abuse (not easy, given that most judges in Argentina are Opus Dei elitists).

All in all, it was as close to a Naomi Klein economic program as anyone is likely to ever see in this world of ours.

Ultimately though, 7 years of relentless vulture fund pressure (with Obama's blessing, sadly) and Breitbart-style local media attacks took their toll, and Macri won last year by 2.7% - the closest victory in Argentine history. Pervasive race baiting also played a big role; Argentina, like the U.S., is majority Caucasian but with large minority of color (Mestizos mostly).

And now, a second wave of small business bankruptcies (including many worker-run co-ops) is expected as the hot summer months of January and February drive electric bills through the roof (one to two weeks of net income for a typical small business). Basically, a tax increase to help pay for $10 billion in tax cuts for landowners and the mining sector.

When people vote for racist reasons, the outcome is seldom good.

[Mc Mike]

31. It's nice to have a substantive conversation on these issues with you, tenorly.

I have more of an eclectic, instead of comprehensive, understanding of Argentina's struggles and a lot of the issues that you are showing in-depth knowledge about here. When you tell me the specific info, I can see how the bad guys are "progressing" with their regression agenda. I can fit it into some generic overview understandings I have.

It looks like Nestor Kirchner died young. I wish some white knight capital would give the worker co-ops loans to go into green energy upgrades for their facilities. There's profit to be made by doing the right thing, the bigger the electric bill rate increase, the more room for a profit motive to do the right thing.

I didn't know about Prof Klein and her husband's work on the take-over of the shuttered means of production. Great move by the activists. I have her Shock Doctrine read and re-read and dog eared and marked up. She has a ton of great info in there, and

Prez O has a mixed record on economic and energy issues. (The Indonesia Sukarnow coup was about oil, our intel threw that coup, and a single mother brought her kid there with her right after the US coup.) Beats the heck out of any potential repug potus, but not the progressive many imagined. Nobody went down for the Wall Street crash felony scandals, Occupy had a point, but they unfortunately opted to take the "high road" of disavowing political engagement, instead of getting progressive Dems to succeed in the primaries.

Can't fault the Prez, like the uber progressive critics do, for a lot of the national security apparatus moves, because my personal belief is that he was actually guarding the country from attacks generated by our far right, using foreign radicals as a cover. That being said, Chelsea Manning should definitely be freed, it seems blatantly obvious.

I agree about the racist voting motivation, just divide and conquer, works on the lunkhead portion of the public.

I'm pro Lib Theology and have been decrying Opus Dei for decades, but didn't know about their strength in numbers in the Arge Judiciary. It figures, though. We just had a few discussions about Opus Dei floating around here pre-election, re the NY FBI office's large # of O.D. adherents, and their being the impetus for Comey's "investigation" announcements. I'll post you a link if you want to see those. Or you could look up Opus Dei in the site's top right search box.

Somewhere (maybe a Penny Lernoux book), I remember reading the different Latin American ruling class combos, the "big 6" families, the "big 5" families, etc, that were the actual power (in addition to our far right intel and the fascist imports from opus dei ratlines) behind the dictators in the various countries. There was even a name for those "big #" combines, but I forget what they were called. I was looking online and in Cry of the People, but can't find it. I know the US's big 8, got that list from James S. Matin's All Honorable Men. Could you supply the name those combos are called, or any hard info on who and how many are in the Argentinian combine?

Super long post, sorry tenor, that is my personal failing on this site, especially with the large number of members who are going with their little smart phones. Last thing I'd like to note, the more progressive admins we get into power in any country are always cleaning up economic messes left by the toddler like nazi righties. Used to be the righties ran as "serious adults who were good economic stewards unlike their opponents", now they're fascist nihilists who burn the economies down, then we get adults in who fix the economies, then the bad guys get back in and wreck the economies again. Any change over in power to progressive pols now always features a "bare cupboards" theme, the righties already spent all the money and wrecked the economy, no chance for progress that needs financial backing, we have to fix the economy first and put progressive program spending off.

Quite purposefully done.

[tenorly]

33. Likewise, Mike.

And 'long' posts are never long, when they have so much to say. Thank you for that.

I will certainly brush up on Penny Lernoux's work. I remember reading People of God in school; but that was almost 20 years ago.

I also remember her unexpected passing, and how suspicious it was that her husband die in a car crash so soon afterward. As we've recently seen with the election-tipping antics of Jim Comey's FBI, the Opus Dei is very good at intrigue and still causes real problems in countries with large Catholic populations.

Even Pope Francis - who's frequently sparred with Opus Dei since his days as Buenos Aires Archbishop - knows not to make outright enemies of them. He knows how dangerous they can be with a cup of tea.

Mike Pence, btw, is rumored to be an Opus Dei extranumerary - or at least very close. Something tells me that some 'John Hinckley' make make news sometimes in the next few months (God forbid). And if the press avoided mentioning the obvious back in 1981 (i.e. the Hinckleys' very close relationship to the Bushes; the fact that Poppy Bush was aboard Air Force Two; etc.), it's pointless to hope for any insights from them now.

That's why, now that we're stuck with Trump, I'd rather have Trump for 4 years (but only 4!) than have a medieval freak like Pence in the Oval Office. Fetal burials would be the least of our worries if that happens.

Always good chatting with you, Mike. Let's keep in touch.

[Mc Mike]

35. Right about Pope F. JP I was only 33 days on the job.

Last edited Tue Dec 20, 2016, 08:37 AM - Edit history (1)

I didn't know about Ms. L's husband dying. It was 8 years after she died, apparently, but either or both deaths could be the results of exactly what her great body of works was spotlighting.

Questionable about Pence and O.D. I don't disagree categorically, but it looks like he converted to 'born-again', though he had Catholic roots. Indiana is Bircher country, klan country, and repug country, rife with birchers and klan.

I have Pence pegged as a bircher, like the Quayle family, Dan Manion, etc. A few decades ago, the klan started accepting catholics, and so did some mainline mason outfits, so it's possible that the JBS did too, but I think an O D adherent would stick with catholicism and just lie about OD membership, like Santorum, Alito, Scalia, Thomas, etc., instead of converting to protestant.

Agreed that we won't dodge a bullet if we lose dRUmpf to that nasty case of untreated syphilis he has, because Pence is a completely insane nazi with much smoother delivery than orange hitler. We'd be in trouble also if we lose both dRumpf and Pence, because then we'd get Ryan.

I know, he's a "devout catholic", not a 'cafeteria catholic' like me. Odd that he kept pushing Ayn Rand on his staffers, though, since she mocked religion and was pro-choice. I guess he's "devout" catholic when it comes to forcing all women to carry the fetus to term, then he switches with lightning speed to his "Ayn Rand deficit hawk" mode as soon as the fetus is born, so he can tell everyone to "let the little welfare fraud moocher starve to death". I wish I could be devout like him, instead of a lame cafeteria catholic.

The bush-Hinckley connection is definite. It's what made Haig claim he was in charge, despite having the order of succession wrong. The senior Hinckley ran World Vision, a CIA front with fundy christian ties. Neil and li'l W had connections to John Jr's brother Scott. John Sr was a big contributor to Poppy's '80 prez run.

[tenorly]

36. Thanks again for the many insights.

I appreciate your correction on my thoughts about Pence. It really is amazing how the John Birch Society, and to some extent the KKK, succeeded in hijacking the GOP - and now, through Trump, quite possibly in imposing their agenda as national policy as well (God help us all).

I lived in Mississippi for a number of years (in the '90s). It's hard to overstate the influence the KKK still commands down there, and I assume in much of the Deep South. They're clever enough not to don clownish sheets, or actually call themselves the 'KKK' anymore - but most locals know that belonging to the CCC and to certain 'heritage' societies is practically synonymous with KKK membership (particularly if the member's father or grandfather were actual KKK people).

The Trent Lott fracas from 2002, you'll recall, had a lot to do with his membership in the CCC - as well as his buddy Strom Thurmond and most of the rest of the GOP congresscritters from the Deep South.

It's also, by extension, a veritable meal ticket for everything from plum jobs for yourself or your loved ones and government pork - which is almost automatically approved if the one benefiting is a member of such groups. Life can get difficult in the Deep South if you're not a good ole boy (or gal).

As you pointed out though, patronage is hardly the province of Deep South segregationists. The Bushes and the fellow Bonesmen are a testament to that - next to which Southern corruption is mere back-scratching by comparison.

Qué será, right?

[Mc Mike]

37. Thanks for the info you give me, and the discussion.

I'm not positive about Pence's affiliations, though when I see a repug hack pol that combines stupid, evil, crazy, and nazi, I type their name and John Birch into a search engine, and usually get edifying results. Gohmert, Yoho, Steve King, Bachmann, Broun, etc. Works like a charm.

But I don't want to excuse Pence for any possible O.D. involvement, as an anti O.D. catholic it would be bad if he was OD and I wound up covering for him with false info. But the birchers are the prime motivating force for the fascist take over of the repug party, they were brought back inside the tent in '08. They backed Ron Paul in the '08 convention, which didn't work too well for them, but they took the party over completely right after that.

The Hunt family and Kochs oily black fingerprints are all over every successful fascist initiative the repugs accomplished. The teabags are just a birch rebranding effort for the repugs, after their crushing '06 and '08 election rebukes. The birchers are just a rebranding effort for the repugs who backed hitler before and during the war.

Alex Jones is a bircher. Bannon and Conaway come from the CNP, which is a bircher founded outfit. Not sure what to make of Robert Mercer.

There's no doubt that the birchers allied with and provide support to klan, 'concerned' citizens, aryans, separatists, segregationists, supremacists, 'christian' identity, and all the other low active member count nutjob orgs. As much as Romney disgusts me, there is some schism between the LDS and birchers. And catholics are beyond the pale, too, though the repugs 'accept' the OD evil nazi ones, like they 'accept' those few crazy evil Blacks, Women, Hispanic, Jews who back nazi repug ideas.

The Mississippi experiences you inform about is rock solid truth and completely understandable. Anywhere they can get in charge and rule by fear, they're going to materially benefit their own ilk. I didn't cry about Trent, but think that the force out was not due to outrage at his pro klan record, but a way for li'l bush to consolidate his power by getting his boy Frist into that Senate position. I'm glad Lott got forced out, couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, but bush and Frist went on to wreak havoc together.

That klan connected nepotism pattern is mirrored in 'christian' businesses that use the fish symbol to attract rightie consumers. It's like the Ulster situation, where religious sectarianism was the excuse for violence, but only scot presbyterians were given access to jobs. The prods had their 'apprentice boys' marches through catholic neighborhoods beating their lambeg drums, attacking people and burning homes down. Apprentices had to show their mettle. The march and burning is like klan burning crosses, nazis marching in Skokie.

The klan are protestants, southern mason founded, use symbology from the Knights of Malta.

[tenorly]

38. Likewise, Mike. This was both fun and very informative.

Let's stay in touch - and Happy Holidays to you and yours.



All the Best.

[Mc Mike]

39. Good talking with you, tenor. Hope you and yours have great holidays, and I'll see you

in the posts.

[Mc Mike]

32. And I had been wondering where Pope Francis fit into the Lib Theology vs Opus Dei picture.

Thanks for the information.

[Fast Walker 52]

42. I'll check it out-- thanks!

[tenorly]

43. Sure thing. Enjoy!

My take is that besides being thorough and fair biopic on Pope Francis, it's a good chance to brush up on one's Spanish as the dialogue is mostly in Spanish (a little Italian as well) and it was filmed entirely on location in Argentina.

If only Vatican rules would have allowed him to urge U.S. Catholics to vote against King Con. It would have almost certainly made the difference in the three recount states (all with large Catholic populations). He was no doubt as disappointed as we were on November 9.

[RussBLib]

34. just another wart

on America's ass.

If we only knew......

[tenorly]

44. True - but the reactionary Argentine right bears even more of the guilt.

The Argentine right, much like their U.S. counterparts, are often adamantly racist, fundamentalist, self-righteous, punitive, and elitist.

There was, to be fair, a mounting wave of far-left violence in Argentina from 1972 to 1976. But what should have been strictly a police enforcement matter (and by the dictator's own admission, was in fact largely under control when they staged their coup), was taken by right-wingers as the perfect pretext to a 'kill them all' policy that swept up so many mere leftist sympathizers that up to 80% of the 30,000 killed were themselves non-violent.

The fact that 10% were also Jewish - when just 1% of the population in general is - was an added benefit, as far as many right-wingers there were concerned.

Even today, the recently-elected hard-right Macri administration has been slyly derailing the 1,600 remaining active Dirty War prosecutions by pressuring certain judges to resign and using back-channel means to transfer Dirty War convicts to house arrest.

When it comes to fascist leanings, Trump has nothing on Señor Macri. And wouldn't you know it, they're personal friends too.

[Mc Mike]

45. Rec, nt.

[Judi Lynn]

46. It's a fact which probably isn't well known outside Argentina that 10% of the tortured, murdered

suspected dissidents in the Argentinian Dirty War were Jewish in a wildly unrepresentative ratio. Argentina has always been considered the largest attraction for Nazis on the run after World War II, too, although they did find haven elsewhere in South American countries, too.

It's a shame Macri is trying to spring the vicious fascist Dirty War criminals, as they earned their way into prison and should have to spend the rest of their evil lives there.

That fact only points out that racism intends to extend itself beyond the time we all know it should be only a distant memory.

[tenorly]

47. Well said, Judi. There was indeed a clearly anti-Semitic angle to the Dirty War.

The only difference in the mindset of most Dirty War apologists between then and now, is that the hatred they felt against Jews has now largely been transferred to Native people and Mestizos (half-natives) - particularly if they were born in one of the neighboring countries or their parents were.

It's pretty much analogous to the kind of hatred one sees here among the Joe "Pink Undies" Arpaio crowd.