http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\02\24\story_24-2-2010_pg3_5
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 COMMENT: The people have spoken but... -Ralph Shaw The US intervention in Chilean affairs was not limited to manipulating elections and buying journalists. It spanned the gamut of Chilean life, from agriculture to education, health, finance, police and military "I don't see why we have to let a country go Marxist just because the people are irresponsible" - Dr Henry Kissinger, Watch Group meeting, June 27, 1970. In Chile, as in numerous other countries, the much-flaunted US ideals of freedom and democracy for all didn't stand the fidelity test when confronted by the realpolitik decision-making of the Cold War era. Fearing a Marxist takeover, the US, under the Nixon administration, became the purveyor of chaos and instability in Chile. The CIA, under orders from President Nixon, launched a large-scale covert operation to prevent the constitutionally elected presidential candidate, Salvador Allende, from assuming power. Although this massive US effort, in 1970, failed, the story of this episode of Chilean history is remarkable. It reveals the pattern of US secret agencies' vicious attempts to protect the US's real or perceived interests. Allende won a narrow plurality in the Chilean presidential elections of September 4, 1970. The possibility of Allende winning the congressional run-off against Jorge Alessandri set for October 24, 1970 and being inaugurated president on November 3, 1970 sent the Nixon administration into a frenzy of unethical behaviour. Under a Marxist Allende administration, Nixon and his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, feared the spread of Soviet influence to Chile and other Latin American countries. Allende, a long-time friend of Castro, was head of Organisation of Latin American Solidarity (OLAS), and his Socialist Party received financial support from the Soviet bloc. Worst of all, Allende was expected to nationalise the US corporation's subsidiaries operating in Chile. The US had been watching Allende's growing popularity with increasing apprehension ever since he secured one-third of the vote in his failed bid for power in 1958. In the 1964 Chilean elections, the CIA spent $2.6 million to influence the outcome of the elections. The Christian Democratic candidate Eduardo Frei's campaign was heavily financed by the CIA Station in Santiago, and he eventually won. In addition, the Station also supported a number of pro-Christian Democratic civil society groups such as student, peasant, women, and professional organisations. According to the Church Report, "The most extensive covert action activity in Chile was propaganda...It continued at a low level during 'normal' times, then was cranked up to meet particular threats or to counter particular dangers." Chile had been at the centre of President Kennedy's Alliance for Progress programme aimed at alleviating Latin American poverty and social inequities as a safeguard against communist revolutions. Hence, the US intervention in Chilean affairs was not limited to manipulating elections and buying journalists. It spanned the gamut of Chilean life, from agriculture to education, health, finance, police and military. In spite of the US support, the Frei government failed to improve the lot of Chile's population in any significant manner, resulting in an Allende victory in 1970; a result the US had long dreaded. On September 15, 1970 an apoplectic Nixon called Kissinger, Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms, and Attorney General Richard Mitchell to the Oval Office to formulate a clandestine plan for Chile. Nixon was furious, and unconcerned with risks. He wanted to prevent an Allende administration in Chile at all costs. He authorised the CIA to try to foment a coup in the Chilean army in order to prevent Allende from taking office on November 3, 1970. A presidential directive was issued, creating an alternative chain of command, linking Nixon, Kissinger, and the CIA, and bypassing the constitutionally mandated Departments of State and Defence. Nixon authorised $10 million for the project and suggested that the Chilean economy be attacked and destroyed. The project was named Track II to distinguish it from Track I, the diplomatic and political effort ambassador Edward Korry was undertaking to stall an Allende presidency. Kissinger was to head Track II. The biggest obstacle in the face of a coup was the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army General Rene Schneider Chereau. Allende was no favourite of the army, but under Schneider's leadership the army was unlikely to engage in any constitutionally subversive act. Short of time and with no definite plans coming from the two commanding generals the CIA had cozened, the retired General Roberto Viaux became CIA's choice to lead the coup effort by default. CIA Santiago Station Chief cabled to the CIA Headquarters: "You have asked us to provoke chaos in Chile. Thru Viaux solution we provide you with a formula for chaos which [is] unlikely to be bloodless. To dissimulate US involvement will clearly be impossible..." However, with information collected from various CIA assets, it was soon established that the general was not only psychologically unstable but also had no real support in the army. He was of an intractable disposition and was unlikely to be under the firm control of the US government. Also, his coup was expected to be too bloody, even for the conspirator's sensibilities, and his reign too repressive and dictatorial. The US conspirators decided that supporting such a bloodthirsty regime would be a hindrance rather than a boon to the US efforts to increase influence in the region. Ideally, the plotters wanted to bring about a temporary military intervention in the political process as a prelude to fresh elections. The CIA Headquarters decided that the Viaux gamble entailed high risks and that it was unlikely to succeed. Consequently, Viaux was sidelined. General Viaux was put on hold on October 15, 1970. What happened between this date and October 24, 1970, when Allende's election to the office of the president was ratified by the Chilean congress, is not entirely clear. The one fact that stands out undeniably is that General Schneider was fatally shot on October 22, 1970. There is conflicting evidence of the US role in the killing. There is evidence that Kissinger had accepted the inevitability of an Allende administration and given up all hope of a coup but there is also evidence of CIA's continued involvement in the coup plot. The CIA did supply weapons to General Valenzuela, chief of garrison in Santiago, sent for talks with the CIA, and the shooting occurred within hours of handing over the weapons to the Valenzuela group. However, the Church Report found no evidence of those weapons being used in the shooting. Earlier, the CIA had also supplied funds for purchase of weapons to another conspirator. The Chilean military courts convicted both Viaux and Valenzuela for conspiracy against the state and further charged that they had both been helped by the CIA. Contrary to the conspirator's hopes, Schneider's murder had a sobering effect on the Chilean military and political leaders and Allende was easily voted into the office on October 24, 1970. Although evidence of the US role in the general's killing is not conclusive, its activities in trying to prevent a lawfully elected Marxist leader and its reprehensible attempts to control all aspects of life in Chile are well-documented. In return for Allende's offer of only a slap on the wrist, the military revealed all the sedulous details of its involvement in the coup plot. The details of the Chilean saga make it clear that the perceived US national interest took precedence over any moral or democratic principles that the US leaders might have proclaimed loudly from their citadel of democracy. Ralph Shaw is the pen name of a freelance writer, who lives and works in Pakistan. He can be reached at [email protected]
