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Torture, Murder, Bush, Kissinger and The Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina: America on the Brink of Horror

Submitted by BuzzFlash on Sun, 10/08/2006 - 11:38am.

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

October 9, 2006

Dateline -- Buenos Aires, Argentina

For some 30 years, the Argentine women known as the Madres (Mothers) de La Plaza de Mayo have marched every Thursday in front of the Presidential Palace of Argentina. They gather in memory of their children and grandchildren, who were among the estimated 30,000 people who disappeared during "Operation Condor." Another 50,000 people were murdered.

One of the Madres (Mothers) de la Plaza de Mayo displaying a photo of her son who was one of an estimated 30,000 "disappeared" during "Operation Condor."

(BuzzFlash photo taken on October 5, 2006)

"Operation Condor" reached its peak in the 1970s. With assistance from the United States, and the support and knowledge of Henry Kissinger, five of the southern cone South American nations conducted a campaign of unspeakable torture and killing against their own citizens.

When you look at the photos carried by many of the Madres de La Plaza de Mayo, you see middle class men in suits and ties and nicely dressed women. You see young children with smiling faces.

What happened during Operation Condor is so horrific – all done in the name of the safety and security of "the nation" – that it is barely speakable. The torture included one of the Bush Administration’s favorite techniques – waterboarding – and many other methods. Families were forced to watch or listen to their love ones being mutilated. Friends were required to conduct torture on those that they knew. Pregnant women were allowed to stay alive until their babies were born, then they were murdered. Their children were given to military families who adopted them.

In a New Yorker article a few years back, a former member of the Argentinian military recalled flights over the Atlantic where drugged and bound Argentinians, whose interrogation was finished, were thrown alive into the ocean. Bodies of the already killed were dumped into the Rio de la Plata, which divides Argentina and Uruguay.

Many Americans will say that this horror cannot happen in the United States, but they are wrong. Legally, as a result of the legislation passed in September, it is now quite possible.

As was the case in Argentina, America now allows the President or his designate to declare a person an "enemy combatant" (or enemy of the state) without any judicial process. In short, a person becomes an "enemy of America" on the mere basis that Bush or his designate says so.

The fundamental problem with such power is that it allows tyrannical authority to detain anyone, without the right of habeas corpus, on the mere whim or suspicion of the executive branch of government. No one will be informed of the detention, no court will review it, no recourse will be allowed the relatives or friends of the detained.

They will become the new "disappeared," as many foreigners have already become in the CIA gulag of secret prisons, and the not-so-secret jails in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new law is vague enough that the Bush Administration, which drives a Mack truck through loopholes or openly disregards congressional laws, can justify arresting American citizens it simply declares are providing support to those it declares are enemies of America.

It is "Operation Condor" all over again.

What one must remember about "Operation Condor" and Gitmo, for example, is that they were basically horrifying fishing expeditions. One did not need to be guilty of anything. One was adjudged guilty merely because a state authorized agent declared one so. In "Operation Condor" – as at Gitmo – the vast majority of people were detained and tortured merely on the suspicion that they might have some knowledge of value. And if they didn’t, it was their bad luck – and their detention would be a sacrifice paid for the "security of the nation."

It is not a large leap – however much Americans would like to think otherwise – from the summary arrest, torture and occasional murder of foreigners to applying the same process to residents of the United States. Suspicion or politically-motivated accusations of the government become equivalent to a sentence of guilt. Bush has already declared persons who disagree with his Iraq policies "tools of the terorrists."

To those who say that the recently passed legislation may allow Bush to authorize torture as he deems fit, but that it prohibits murder, we have two words: Abu Ghraib. How quickly we have forgotten that a number of detainees at Abu Ghraib were tortured to death, with no one in the Bush Administration held accountable.

One cannot fully control torture as if it were a thermostat. When you start down the road of torture, people are going to die accidentally. And then when the culture of torture becomes ingrained in the military, people will start to be murdered. It is hard to contain torture; it is impossible to just torture the "guilty." Soon, it becomes – as it did in "Operation Condor" – a nightmare combination of "trolling" and "cleansing" the political opposition.

In such an environment, torture is the first step on a descent into state-authorized murder to achieve political goals, not necessarily "national security."

The mothers of the disappeared, clutching photos now more than three decades old, know this truth.

It is said, in Bob Woodward’s book "State of Denial," that Henry Kissinger is now privately advising Bush and Cheney on the Iraq War.

It was Henry Kissinger who brought us a prolonged war in Vietnam, the bombing that led to the Khmer Rouge massacre in Cambodia, the death squads in Central America, the East Timor slaughter, and Operation Condor -- among other potential war crimes.

It is not a coincidence that he has allegedly returned as an advisor to Bush and Cheney on the debacle in Iraq – and perhaps on other matters. Kissinger believed and believes that murder in the name of some vague notion of "American supremacy" is justified (although he won’t publicly acknowledge it). More than 80,000 victims of Operation Condor are murdered testaments to his worldview. (Kissinger will not travel to several nations, including France, because he would face judicial questioning in these countries about his role in Operation Condor.)

He now has the ear of a man who has been given Operation Condor-like authority. Yes, it is true that murder per se is not sanctioned in the new Congressional legislation; but how would we know if someone has been murdered if we are not told why or by whom they have been detained?

That is how the children and grandchildren of the Madres de La Plaza de Mayo came to be "los desaparecidos."

The mothers and fathers who march in Plaza de Mayo each Thursday are now senior citizens. Their losses are three decades behind them, but still they demand accountability for the nightmare of abduction, torture and death that gripped their nation and the surrounding countries of Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia.

When the mothers first began marching, Operation Condor was still in place. So it followed that some of them, including the founder, "disappeared" because they demanded the right of habeas corpus for their loved ones.

It is early October and the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere. "Operation Condor" appears a distant memory amidst the bustling city of Buenos Aires. Trees and flowers are blossoming. Lovers openly embrace and kiss in the many parks. It is the annual time of seasonal renewal in Argentina.

For some nations, their long nightmare of people being declared "enemies of the state" by faceless men, then tortured and killed is over.

For the U.S., the long nightmare of the disappeared is just beginning to take shape.

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

Each Thursday afternoon, the mothers of los desaparecidos (the disappeared) march in the Plaza de Mayo in front of Argentina’s presidential palace. (BuzzFlash photo taken on October 5, 2006)

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Here Comes The Dirty War, Here Comes The Military Coup

Submitted by judasdisney on Sun, 10/15/2006 - 1:00am.

November 2006: Democrats take House of Representatives

2007, 2008: Economic sabotage unleashed to keep Dems busy, avoid impeachments, avoid investigations, avoid progress

2008: McCain/Lieberman 3rd-Party ticket splits vote, repeating Presidential Election of 1824: When no candidate receives minimum threshhold for Electoral Votes, it's thrown into the House of Reps

2008: HRC "chosen" President by (Democratic) House of Reps, immediately labelled "illegitimate" & "authoritarian" by all media, just like Gloria Arroyo was before the 2006 false coup, just like Isabel Peron was before the 1976 military coup in Argentina.

2008-2011: HRC tries to "triangulate" by stacking her cabinet with military (Batiste, Shinseki, etc.) and her VP is Wes Clark. 2006 Phillipines False Coup scenario is repeated to draw HRC into a "Waco" heavy-handed set-up and make her look as if she's the coup-plotter.

2011: GOP stages walkout under Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Dole, in protest of HRC's "authoritarian tactics" and "illegitimate presidency."

April 4, 2011: During national crisis, Emergency Session of Congress is attended by only Democrats, after HRC has briefly shut down NSA for moles. Two USAF planes flown by alleged "Al Qaeda Sympathizers" crash into Capitol Dome, killing all Democrats including the President and her cabinet. Elizabeth Dole briefly sworn-in, New Constitution ratified, GOP loser of 2008 Election ("President in Exile") is sworn-in during midnight ceremony as 44th President of U.S. Operation Condor, U.S. version, begins and National Reorganization Committee hand-picks replacements for deceased Congressional Democrats. Washington Senators stadium converted into interrogation center, overseen by Dick Cheney. Federal, State & local municipalities are purged under emergency conditions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_long_knives

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_state_of_emergency_in_the_Philippines

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_war

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proceso_de_Reorganizaci%C3%B3n_Nacional

Reading makes a country great.

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Now is time to put your words into actions

Submitted by lisajoy on Tue, 10/10/2006 - 10:41pm.

If there is any chance of reclaiming our democracy it is going to be done by us, the everyday citizens of our country.
All of us who are passionate enough to write comments on sites such as this need to also TAKE ACTION!
Check out www.worldcantwait.net. It is attempting to be an umbrella group for every one of us, no matter what political ideology, to join together to create a mass movement strong enough to get rid of the Bush regime and bring our democracy back.
Please, more action with the talk!

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What to do?

Submitted by dorispatrick on Tue, 10/10/2006 - 3:34pm.

Our system has become failed. The Dems and GOP look and feel the same. The leadership of both parties no longer are dependent upon the health and independence of our nation. They work for their own bank accounts and this means that they will inflict evil wherever they wish. These people on both sides are globalists who care not for our soldiers, and certainly not for American citizens. They want the USA to be without borders, to drop into 2nd world status of being a least-cost producer and with diminishing support of our military.

The candidates for any national office who runs on closing our borders, returning manufacturing to our nation and who supports and honors our military will be swept into office.

Everything else is purely a distraction. Nothing worthwhile will ever happen until these candidates identify themselves as Americans who love our nation and scream at the tops of their lungs for the rest of us to join them in returning to our nation it's independence and vitality.

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WHAT KIND OF PERSON WORKS

Submitted by Citizen over 50 on Mon, 10/09/2006 - 2:14pm.

WHAT KIND OF PERSON WORKS FOR THESE PEOPLE?

What kind of person needs a job so damn bad that they will help these monsterous people "rendition" our Constitution?

What is more important? Your PERSONAL INCOME OR YOUR NATION?

What good is an income if you live in a heartless, lawless nation? At any moment it can be taken from you.

I am furious at the mental laziness of our people. I am upset that they don't seem to understand that these children of theirs have become MONSTERS. Absolute heartless MONSTERS. Is this what the young "SOCCER" generation has become?

WHAT is wrong with their parents that they would raise a bunch of heartless MONSTERS that would WORK TO SUPPORT SUCH A HEARTLESS MONSTEROUS REGIME IN THE HEART OF AMERICA?

WHAT is wrong with these people?

WHY WON'T THE GOOD PEOPLE OF AMERICA STAND UP TO THESE BULLIES AND MONSTERS IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS, IN OUR OWN FAMILIES? JETTISON THEM....

I am just a small crippled old lady, but I stand up to them. If I can do it, so can anyone else...

I REFUSE TO BE RULED BY FEAR.

FEAR is the tool of cowards and evil people.

I REFUSE.

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Amen girl!

Submitted by dorispatrick on Wed, 10/11/2006 - 4:31pm.

You're the very best. And, ease your heart to know that you are NOT ALONE. There are millions of Americans who feel as you do. This would be visible and your spirits would lift if only a real American- a candidate who loves this country and want it to remain free and prosperous- runs for office. He (assuming it's a he bust same for a woman) would be swept into office.

Keep sounding off! WE ALL LOVE TO HEAR YOU!

You're not the only voice.

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I agree

Submitted by lisajoy on Tue, 10/10/2006 - 11:09pm.

Fear will not rule me either.
The current political climate makes it feel very scary to act. But if every one of us who finds this administrations actions reprehensible would join together in taking real action, perhaps we can turn the tide.
Take courage! Strength in numbers!
(See my earlier comment to this editorial.)

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Get ready ...

Submitted by Gonnuts on Mon, 10/09/2006 - 9:38am.

bush didn't build 800 detention camps across the U.S. for nothing. http://buzzflash.com/farrell/06/02/far06003.html

My take - bush&co can not afford to have their crimes investigated. Accountablibity isn't even in their vocabulary and doesn't fit into the neo-con plan for the fascist take-over of this country. Whatever happens this Nov. 7th, either the election fraud works one more time, and those detention camps get used if mass demostrations hit the streets, or the fraud doesn't work, bush creates another 9/11, Iran(?) to have the nation rally around him to take everyone's mind off the failures and Foley. If this doesn't work, there's the detention camps again.

It's already bad. Average Americans are squeezed to the hilt. Any further increase in cost of living will push this nation past the breaking point. (If not already there) If indeed bush&co. continue their plan, and I don't see anything stopping them past mass civil disobedience (where are you MoveOn, Democractic Underground, Buzzflzsh, ect.? - should of been organized a long time ago) the round-up of those that would wish to save this country will start sooner rather than later. Probably never before has this nation been threatened from within as it is being threatened now and NOW is when we must resist before this evil group of people can fully execute their plans.

Understand that what I just advocated could be very well make me a target. But if fighting bush makes me an "enemy combatant" - than an enemy of this government I will be until we the people can take it back!

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Master Gate

Submitted by Clayton on Mon, 10/09/2006 - 9:17am.

I cannot vote for a political party that takes hush money from a know sexual preditor.

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A better question

Submitted by yank in london on Mon, 10/09/2006 - 9:13am.

Can Americans make Bush&Co disappear? (Before 2008 that is!)

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A Truly Sad Day for America...

Submitted by frappe on Mon, 10/09/2006 - 8:35am.

I find it so terribly depressing that our congressmen would so quickly and so willingly adopt a political agenda that spells the end of our way of life where our Constitution and Bill of Rights has been tossed aside like some cheap novel, like some meaningless document with illegible scribblings bereft of any value -- all in the name of fighting some concocted, vague and endless war on terror -- and all on behalf of an administration that was never legitimately elected in the first place!

In just six short years, the Bush administration, and his group of enablers, has managed to do more damage to our country and its constitutional form of government than any of our enemies were ever capable of over the entire course of our nation's history.

I am particularly upset with the Democrats, the so-called "loyal opposition", that allowed such changes to occur in the first place without putting up a meaningful and memorable fight. Yes, there were a few voices of opposition heard, but where was the collective outrage that such changes could even be contemplated in the first place?! There should have been a universal call to expose such legislation for the political cancer that it represents to our form of government. And where were the true patriots -- Democrats, Republicans and Independents -- who would place greater value on those very principles and freedoms for which so many have paid the ultimate price to "preserve, protect and defend"?! Once again I ask, did they not take their supposed solemn oath to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution of the United States of America seriously? Where were the filibusters?! If there ever was a time to filibuster, didn't this occasion represent such a time?!

I can only conclude that we are ruled by a bunch of spineless, unprincipled cowards and traitors. For they surrendered our freedom, our liberty, our way of life -- much too quickly and far too easily to those who obviously are incapable of comprehending its supreme purpose and unparalleled value to our sense of national identity.

It truly is a sad, sad time for America and its patriots -- both past and present.

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Remember 9/11

Submitted by tseving on Mon, 10/09/2006 - 7:04am.

Don't forget that Kissinger was also deeply involved in the terrorist attack on 9/11. I'm talking about September 11, 1973 in which the Chilean military, with support from the US, overthrew their democratically elected government, murdered Salvador Allende, and installed Augosto Pinochet.

tseving
-Surviving Bush one day at a time
http://tomcatsbox.spaces.live.com

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neocons; the gift that keeps on giving!

Submitted by Clayton on Mon, 10/09/2006 - 9:20am.

Remember death squads? Gifts from Kissinger and Negroponte! and now in Afganistan and Irag!

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