CAPSULE COMMENTARY: “Chilean Coverup?”

“Ricardo Lagos, an admitted socialist, has been elected president of Chile. Twenty-five years ago, another socialist, Salvadore Allende, was elected president of Chili, and with the apparent help of the U.S. government, was ousted from power in a bloody coup. There is also evidence indicating that U.S. government officials knowingly and intentionally participated in the murder of a young American journalist who was covering the overthrow. The man whom the U.S. government helped acquire power through non-democratic means, Gen. Augustin Pinochet, is now under indictment by the Spanish government for crimes against humanity (murder, torture, etc.) during his long reign of power. Did U.S. government officials participate in these crimes? We still don’t know because our government, claiming “national security,” continues to refuse to open its files on the matter. Now, if the files reveal no U.S. government involvement, how would that jeopardize the security of the United States? If they do reveal involvement, how exactly would that jeopardize U.S. security? Perhaps they mean that the security of national officials of the U.S. who might have participated in the overthrow, murders, and tortures — and subsequent cover-up — could be jeopardized by indictments from the Spanish government.”