Press Action ::: The Other September 11: Regime Change Then and Now

Sunday, September 12, 2004

The Other September 11: Regime Change Then and Now

By Mickey Z.

In spite of the recent flurry of “war on terror” hyperbole at the Republican National Convention, not much about wartime spin has changed since September 11, 2001. Beneath the posturing and pontificating, it remains true that U.S. wars and interventions are skillfully packaged and sold to a wary populace and the official history of those conflicts is subject to slant and distortion. These realities exist in order to portray our leaders as honorable, garner support for those leaders, and lay the foundation for future military actions.

One aspect of this spin that has undergone an adaptation of sorts is the comfort with which those in power can openly discuss such interventions. This shift is particularly obvious when examining the “other September 11.”

Thanks to information made available in documents declassified in 1999, we can usefully and coherently discuss the September 11, 1973 coup in Chile – an event cloaked in secrecy and obscured by Cold War paranoia. But those roughly 5,000 documents don¹t begin to explain how the toppling of Salvador Allende fits within the context of today’s foreign entanglements. After all, what the U.S. did by replacing Allende with General Augusto Pinochet 31 years ago would today be termed a “regime change” (As Henry Kissinger explained at the time: “I don¹t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist because of the irresponsibility of its own people”).

Ten days after the Allende government was overthrown, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jack Kubisch told the House Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs: “Gentlemen, I wish to state as flatly and as categorically as I possibly can that we did not have advance knowledge of the coup.” The documents declassified in 1999, of course, told a vastly different story which makes me wonder what might happen if Allende were elected in 2004? Would George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld follow the same clandestine path Kissinger and Richard Nixon opted for in 1973 or would the U.S. government be tad more forthcoming about their plans?

Based on their public posturing and subsequent actions vis-à-vis Iraq, one might safely assume that the Bush administration (or for that matter, a Clinton, Gore, or Kerry administration) would declare Chile a clear and present danger, impose brutal sanctions, and then pronounce the need for regime change in the name of freedom and democracy. Next would come the brazen threats to “shock and awe” Santiago with 3,000 cruise missiles in the first two or three days of the “liberation.” With or without the approval of the United Nations, Operation Chill Pill would commence.

The Chilean people would be told, candidly, that America (and its Orwellian “Coalition of the Willing”) was acting in their best interests. Meanwhile, every man, woman, and child paying attention would be aware of the U.S. intention to occupy Chile as de facto ruler while government contracts for the rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed by coalition bombs and missiles would set American-based construction firms into furious competition and nefarious backroom negotiations.

In other words, there would be little or no need for the curious to wait 25 years for documents to be declassified. Today’s architects of war, from both parties, would merely rely on the seductive power of spin to paint Allende as the “next Stalin,” Pinochet would hire a PR firm, CNN would design a nifty “Showdown with Salvador” logo, and reading books by Isabel Allende in the airport would be reason for a bag search.

As sentiments sizzle, you never know: a new moniker might even be needed for The Red Hot Chili Peppers and cartoon character Chilly Willy would become “Free Willy” and enjoy an unexpected career resurgence.

Rightfully, there is much hand wringing today when looking back at U.S. involvement in the 1973 coup in Chile. In 31 years, will others be equally persistent in attempting to comprehend how this generation tolerated – and perhaps offered tacit support for—a culture that made the Freedom of Information Act superfluous?

Mickey Z. is the author of four books, most recently “The Seven Deadly Spins: Exposing the Lies Behind War Propaganda” (Common Courage Press). He can found on the Web at: www.mickeyz.net.

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