Argentina's Dirty War

[WillowPtarmigan]

As a history major at college, I happen to be taking Latin American History. Latin American history is quite interesting. Juan Peron is Argentina's president in 1973 after coming back from exile which occured in 1955. Juan Peron was driven out in part because he called for separation of church and state, which resulted in church fires and the economy had weaken and inflation was high. While president, Juan Peron dies of a heart attack and his wife, Isabel Peron is now president. However, there is lots of guerilla and terrorist activities from the radical left. Also, the economy is going bad under the Peronist Party of Argentina. Peronists are Fascists and Juan Peron let the Nazis in after World War II. However, Isabel Peron is kicked out of power by the military in 1976, because she could not stop the polarization of left and right extremists and terrorism. The new president is General Jorge Videla. He initiates the Dirty War and uses death squads to kill of guerillas and radical leftists. The death squads go after Peronists, socialists, and Communists. Anything left was deemed subversive and criminal. 10,000 to 20,000 of them disappear, while up to 30,000 are known to be killed. Many of them were tortured and subjected to summary executions. The torturings they did was extremely brutal and gruesome. They would sodomize with blunt objects, shock people on the genitials, amputations, stealing babies and giving them to military families, using hot iron, and riddling them with bullets. People were drugged and thrown out of airplanes or helicopters into the ocean. Sometimes they would rip their torsos up, so they will be eaten by sharks. The military tried to stop inflations, but admitted to their own shortcomings. Then Jorge Videla relinquishes power and gives it to Roberto Viola, another general, but due to health problems, then hand its over to General Leopoldo Galtieri. Galtieri gets Argentina involved in the Falkland Island invasion in 1982. Then in 1983, the military junta is gone and democracy is restored back to Argentina. Actually, most military dictatorships in Latin America were collective rule and they can only rule for 4 years only, so they can give power to the next person.

[DanC]

and your goverments administration wanted to treat the UK and agrentina's as equals and try get the UK to back down after the argentina invaded the Falklands

[ChrisP]

On the day we (the Brits) sank the Admiral Belgrano, my front door bell rang and a good friend of mine, who is Argentinian, was standing there. My life flashed by me as I wondered what he wanted to say. All he wanted was to borrow my jump cables to start his car.

I certainly felt no sense of victory with him standing there.

Wars are waged by a few idiots. Don't ever make the mistake of blaming a whole nation for the sins of their governments.

[platero]

There is different points of view, I am argentine and make a question: is it a rc forum or what?

[Usta Bee]

It wasn't a total waste, at least they got a Broadway play and a movie starring Madonna from the Peron years.

[Large One]

...and the Brits found out just how good their Harriers were...

[Zeroaltitude]

Originally Posted by platero

There is different points of view, I am argentine and make a question: is it a rc forum or what?

There cetainly ARE different points of view, and this particular part of the E-Zone is for discussing those points of view that deals with matters outside of our hobby.
Personally, I´d be interested in hearing YOUR point of view as an Argentinian.

Anders O

[platero]

for the people that not was in war it may be a joke not to me, a few politicians dronks put our country in war against to N.A.T.O. only pain we get, I dont matter abaut Malvinas, but childrens dye yes.
I will not replay any post of this theme, sorry

[vintage1]

War is the last refuge of a government that is on the point of collapse, or has simply run out of ideas.

Been watching the History channel,to see what caused the second world war.

Mainly a series of cockups, and a lot of 'conviction politics'

Italy was funny. Poor old Mussolini wanted to turn Italians back into Romans and 'getta da respect', but the Italians were not interested really.

Czechs just wanted to be left alone, and were guranteed independence by the allies, who then sold them out to Russia...as was Poland..

France built superb defences between Germany and Grance...but the Germans went through 'Neutral' Holland and Belgium anyway...

In short, every country broke all their promises to everyone.

Nothing changes.

Europe got stuck between the Communists and the Fascists, and very very few countries managed to avoid both.

[rcall]

I think it should said that most Latin America dictators were "educated" at the famous "School of Americas", now known as "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation," or WHISC...

rcall

[Usta Bee]

Originally Posted by Large One

...and the Brits found out just how good their Harriers were...

What's the point of having something if you can't use it ?. The U.S. has plenty of spare nukes lying around, maybe we could "test" a few of them in action again. Almost 60 years without using something is just a waste.

[vintage1]

The point dear boy, as I am sure you know, is to not to have to use it.
Walk softly and carry a big stick...

[sarge]

rcall, could you list the Latin American dictators that were educated at the School of the Americas, please. Since you claim it is a majority, could you also list those that were not? And, if you are drawing a parallel between military training and dictatorship, could you list what specifically is taught at the school that (a) makes these guys become dictators, and (b) makes them successful at it once they do?

[gtstubbs]

Originally Posted by sarge

rcall, could you list the Latin American dictators that were educated at the School of the Americas, please. Since you claim it is a majority, could you also list those that were not? And, if you are drawing a parallel between military training and dictatorship, could you list what specifically is taught at the school that (a) makes these guys become dictators, and (b) makes them successful at it once they do?

Here are some to savour.

In other Latin American countries, graduates of the SOA have been equally prominent enemies of human rights. Former dictators Omar Torrijos of Panama, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, all overthrew constitutionally elected governments in their countries. Leopoldo Galtieri, the former head of the Argentina junta defeated in the Falklands War, was responsible for thousands of "disappeared" citizens who supported freedom and democracy in Argentina, and paid the ultimate price with their lives. He was an SOA graduate.

In Honduras, General Humberto Ragalado Hernandez, was trained at the SOA at the same time that he was linked to Columbian drug cartels, and the highest ranking officers in the Honduran Death Squad were trained at SOA as well.

In Peru, the most senior officers convicted of the February 1994 murder of nine university students and a professor, were graduates of the SOA. In Columbia, a 1992 human rights tribunal cited 246 officers for crimes against the people of Columbia. 105 of the officers were trained at the SOA. In Panama, ex-dictator Manuel Noriega, formerly on the CIA payroll, graduated from the SOA. He is now in a US prison, convicted of trafficking in drugs.

In Guatemala, a country of 10 million, the indigenous Mayan population of 6 million have endured the greatest suffering in Latin America. During more than 30 years of civil war, tens-of-thousands have been slaughtered, with the total killed estimated to exceed 200,000. Most of the ranking generals involved in the numerous coups and acts of terror and murder during this period were trained at the SOA.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, in Guatemala, thousands of political activists and opponents of government policies were assassinated. General Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas, Chief of Army Intelligence at the time, was cited by the UN as the individual responsible for most of those murders. He graduated from the SOA. One of the most vicious tyrants in recent Guatemalan history is Jose Efrain Rios Montt. General, dictator, and a former president from 1982-83, Rios Montt was proud of his political philosophy of "beans for the obedient; bullets for the rest". He was also a graduate of the SOA.http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Terrorism/SOA.html

Among the SOA's nearly 60,000 graduates are notorious dictators Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia. Lower-level SOA graduates have participated in human rights abuses that include the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians
http://www.icpj.net/latf/soaw.html

Got to love these quotes.

In 1935, two-time Medal of Honor winner, retired Gen. Smedley D. Butler accused major New York investment banks of using the U.S. Marines as racketeers and gangsters to exploit the peasants of Nicaragua.

Later, Butler stated:

“The trouble is that when American dollars earn only six percent over here, they get restless and go overseas to get 100 percent. The flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

“I wouldn’t go to war again as I have done to defend some lousy investment of the bankers. We should fight only for the defense of our home and the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

“There isn’t a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It had its ‘finger men’ to point out enemies, its ‘muscle men’ to destroy enemies, its ‘brain men’ to plan war preparations and a ‘Big Boss’ — supernationalistic capitalism.

“I spent 33 years in the Marines. Most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism.

“I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenue in. I helped in the rape of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street.

“War is a racket.”

— General Smedley Butler
former U.S. Marine Commandant
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=1974
above article is worth a read

I believe that if we had and would keep our dirty, bloody, dollar soaked fingers out of the business of these (Third World) nations so full of depressed, exploited people, they will arrive at a solution of their own. And if unfortunately their revolution must be of the violent type because the “haves” refuse to share with the “have-nots” by any peaceful method, at least what they get will be their own, and not the American style, which they don’t want and above all don’t want crammed down their throats by Americans.

General David Sharp, former USMC Commandant, 1966

http://www.coolquotescollection.com/cat/wisdom/123/

[rcall]

sarge:

do a search on the net and you will find it... there's too much material to post here...

and as saying that most dictators are SOA graduates is not the same as saying most SOA graduates are dictators your question is irrelevant...

rcall