[My Favorite Headache]

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.

[Rodney King]

Allende was elected with less than 40% of the vote. He then proceeded to confiscate property and try to bring about a Castro style revolution to Chile and then the rest of South America. Being elected, of course, does not give one unlimited rights. Allende ignored congress and the supreme court. Both asked the military to restore order to Chile. Pinochet answered the call. He single handedly saved South America from communism and the likely millions of deaths that would have resulted. That he did so at a cost of roughly 2,000 communists dead is a testament to his humanity. After gaining power, he brought about free market reforms, and when the communist threat passed, he voluntarily stepped down and handed a democracy to the Chilean people.

[Rodney King]

Sure, he wasn't perfect, but don't forget his enemy were 1970's communists who would have butchered millions to bring about a communist state. Does one condmen Pinochet for killing a few thousand when if he did nothing millions of across South America would have died?

[GSlob]

"There have been several detailed reports which describe the human rights abuses carried out by the Pinochet regime."
Since the commies are not humans, but rather beasts in human shape, abusing them does not amount to human rights violation [not being humans, they can have no such rights], but at most can be represented as cruelty to animals. Thus your argument does not hold water and is fellatious.

[Old North State]

Just remember that these tales of "human rights abuses" were the same thing we heard from Carter when he pulled the rug out from under the Shah of Iran, from Janet Reno and Clinton before they smashed the Davidian cult, and don't forget the mass graves in Kosovo that somehow went missing. Pinochet might have been a bastard but there are worse bastards in the world.

[NinoFan]

You probably should state that you got that from Wikipedia, unless you are the one responsible for the article on there.

[Charlespg]

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.

and just how many people did this guy kill ? about 2300? the guy may have been a SOB but he fought the Communists on their terms and won

[Junior_G]

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.

I confess I am new to this debate; but I would point out that everything you mentioned above is exactly the same sort of thing that leftists regularly accuse George Bush of today. I think Amnesty International produces "detailed reports" of abuses committed by every non-leftist regime. If the accusations come from pinkos, take them with a huge grain of salt.

[anymouse]

And we can expect Castro, Chavez and Ortega to dismantle their "concentration camps" and turn them into museums as well. /sarcasm

Pinochet was no angel, but commies pull the wings off of angels just for the fun of it. Chile is still one of the brightest lights of freedom in South America, largely because of Pinochet taking out the commies before they wrecked another Latin American country's economy and enslaved their citizens.