What's that claptrap of yours:
Allende was a left-wing dictator overthrown by a military general who restored order as he saw fit. The British violations of international law (diplomatic immunity, etc) in the Pinochet case is inexcusable.
Allende was Chile's first democratically elected President, only to get toppled by a CIA/ITT combo and replaced by one of Latin America's most brutal and disgusting dictators.... Well, it's over now --like most other Cold War disgraces.
However, I foresaw the day Pinochet was arrested in Great Britain that he would never be tried --at least not outside Chile. Can't recollect the SI thread where I discussed the issue with Neocon.... My guess about the likely outcome of the Pinochet affair was somewhat roguer: I thought MI5 (or is it MI6) would "pull the plug" on Pinochet by doctoring his daily tea-diet. Well, it seems that eventually, they only had to doctor his medical bulletin!
As I said, the whole story must be framed in the larger picture: the fact that all the plaintiffs come from Continental Europe (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, e.g.) should remind us of an underlying U.S. vs. Europe clash. By indicting a South American retired head of state, any European examining judge knows that the case will ultimately hit Washington (ie the CIA, the White House, some big US company, etc.). So, how about indicting some African dictator? How about putting the squeeze on Algeria's sanguinery junta? |
