Posted on 12/10/2006 9:46:26 AM PST by My Favorite Headache
Pinochet performed a service for humanity by taking no prisoners in his approach to communism.
Did some of his actions against the communists go overboard? Probably. But one must also weigh in the sheer barbarism and inhumanity that is inherent in communism.
Also remember that communism is responsible for close to 100 million deaths throughout the 20th century.
Fighting communism often requires harsh measures, unfortunately (at least for those communists caught in the crosshairs.) But these harsh measures staved off a totalitarian empire that could have decimated all of western civilization.
But the other choice would relegate civiliazation to famines, bloody purges, gulags, torture, mass executions, killing fields and death camps.
Anybody can read more about the genocide commited under communism in "The Black Book of Communism."
For details about the book, go to these links:
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/COUBLA.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Book_of_Communism
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Book-Communism-Crimes-Repression/dp/0674076087
General Pinochet...Cold War Warrior. Rest in Peace.
Well, the liberals will have one less whipping boy to go after.
Pinochet was not a perfect man, he didn't use perfect methods, but he did what he had to do to prevent the fall of his nation and its natural resources to the Soviet empire.
The mothers of the disappeared will weep in joy.
Yeah Castro and Chavez will celebrate. Will you?
You probably should state that you got that from Wikipedia, unless you are the one responsible for the article on there.
Don't be an idiot.
From Wikipedia on his Legacy. Seems pretty even-handed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Pinochet
"Chileans remain divided on his legacy. Many see him as a brutal dictator who ended democracy and led a regime characterized by torture and favoritism towards the rich, while others believe that he defeated communism and brought economic growth to Chile. In between these extremes, Chileans will condemn the oppression of the dictatorship, but perhaps also apportion at least a small part of the blame on the UP Government, and recognise merit in the economic reforms implemented on Pinochet's guard.
The debate over Pinochet's legacy was revisited after the retired general's arrest in London in 1998. At that time, the General said of the 1973 coup, “We only set ourselves the task of transforming Chile into a democratic society of free men and women." [2] His supporters made similar claims. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, for example, thanked the General for "bringing democracy to Chile". [3] When in power, however, Pinochet gave a series of speeches that rather clearly indicated that the 1973 coup targeted not only Allende's Popular Unity government, but Chilean democracy itself, which the General saw as hopelessly flawed. In wording that Pinochet repeated several times in various speeches, he claimed that Chile had been “slave and victim of the Congress since 1925, and slave and victim of the political parties.” Arguing for an "organic" type of democracy, Pinochet argued “Merely formal democracy dissolves itself, victim of a demagogy that substitutes simple, unattainable promises for social justice and economic prosperity.” Democracy would inevitably result in a marxist dictatorship, according to his analysis. Chilean democracy, therefore, was “progressively socializing in its economic experiments.... Those who thought they could detain or control this evolution... were given proof under the Marxist regime of their impotence and incomprehensible lack of vision.” (Pinochet, “Patria y Democracia”, 1983, Santiago, Andres Bello)
There have been several detailed reports which describe the human rights abuses carried out by the Pinochet regime. In January 2005, the Chilean Army accepted institutional responsibility for past abuses. Other institutions also accept that abuses took place, but blame them on individuals, rather than official policy. Lucía Pinochet Hiriart, Augusto Pinochet's eldest daughter, said the use of torture during his 1973–90 regime was "barbaric and without justification", after seeing the Valech Report.
Pinochet left behind a series of abandoned concentration camps. Most of them have been either destroyed or dismantled, others remain partially intact or have been turned into museums or sites of remembrance. Some of these include Villa Grimaldi, Chacabuco, National Stadium and Pisagua.
On Pinochet's 91st birthday, November 25, 2006, in a public statement to supporters, Pinochet for the first time accepted "political responsibility" for what happened in Chile under his regime, though he still defended his 1973 coup against Salvador Allende. In a statement read by his wife Lucia Hiriart, he said, "Today, near the end of my days, I want to say that I harbour no rancour against anybody, that I love my fatherland above all. ... I take political responsibility for everything that was done." (BBC)
It was announced on the morning of December 3, 2006 that Augusto Pinochet had suffered a heart attack, and subsequently the same day he was given last rites. This occurred days after he was put under house arrest. On December 4, 2006, the Chilean Court of Appeals ordered the release of this house arrest. He died on December 10, 2006 of heart failure and pulmonary edema, surrounded by family members, at the Military Hospital at 14:15 local time (17:15 UTC).[2]"
Does that mean you won't answer the question?
Pinochet bashers are the sort who probably couldn't admit that our Founding Fathers didn't establish our Republic just by writing and signing a few flowery documents, they actually had to kill (gasp!) more than a few of their fellow Tory/Loyalist countrymen.
May God have mercy on his soul. And his victims as well.
I think Hitler was also against the commies
I wouldn't say he was a hero, but he did do what he felt was necessary to save his country from a communist takeover. Chile has an economy we Americans should envy and their privatized social security system is something we should be aspiring to rather than fighting against.
Interesting observation he had there, essentially taking De Tocqueville one logical step further. Note well that efforts to remove the Electoral College will cede control to the blue cities and what would we have? Hmmmm.
Then the citizens of Hell are very lucky. Give it a few years and Pinochet will have beaten down the devils, liberalized the markets, and willingly handed Hell back to a civilian government.
>>Also remember that communism is responsible for close to 100 million deaths throughout the 20th century.
Actually, the number is well north of 100 million.
A URL no one should be without:
http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/20TH.HTM
Anybody the Stone Age Press hates can't be all bad. He did bring Chili the strongest economy in South America.
Pray for W and Our Troops
This and the Space Shuttle launch seem to be the only news today that isn't just another editorial/blog.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.