To James Lawrence:

James, I know plenty of liberals who think Pinochet was a bloody dictator and have nothing good to say about him. He was a monster that Nixon and Kissinger helped create.

They also don’t believe we should get rid of our military, just use it more wisely.

To Alfonrock:

Not everyone agrees with you regarding Pinochet, especially other people from that region.

For instance, there’s this from an AP story:

“‘This criminal has departed without ever being sentenced for all the acts he was responsible for during his dictatorship,’ lamented Hugo Gutierrez, a human rights lawyer involved in several lawsuits against Pinochet.”
—“Pinochet dies after decade evading trial,” AP, Dec. 10, 2006. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061210/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/chile_pinochet

But perhaps the many thousands who were tortured, and the families of those he murdered or ‘disappeared,’ are all simply making it up.

However, you’ll find the never-endingly wrong Jonah Goldberg had this to say about the late dictator:

“I think all intelligent, patriotic and informed people can agree: It would be great if the U.S. could find an Iraqi Augusto Pinochet. In fact, an Iraqi Pinochet would be even better than an Iraqi Castro.”
—Jonah Goldberg, “Iraq needs a Pinochet,” LA Times, Dec. 14, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg14dec14,0,7768061,print.column?coll=la-opinion-center

But the facts are this:

“In 1973, the year General Pinochet brutally seized the government, Chile’s unemployment rate was 4.3%. In 1983, after ten years of free-market modernization, unemployment reached 22%. Real wages declined by 40% under military rule.
“In 1970, 20% of Chile’s population lived in poverty. By 1990, the year ‘President’ Pinochet left office, the number of destitute had doubled to 40%.” [...]
“Freed of the dead hand of bureaucracy, taxes and union rules, the country took a giant leap forward … into bankruptcy and depression.” [...]
“By 1982, the pyramid finance game was up. ... Industry shut down, private pensions were worthless, the currency swooned. Riots and strikes by a population too hungry and desperate to fear bullets forced Pinochet to reverse course. ... Reluctantly, the General restored the minimum wage and unions’ collective bargaining rights. Pinochet, who had previously decimated government ranks, authorized a program to create 500,000 jobs. In other words, Chile was pulled from depression by dull old Keynesian remedies, all Franklin Roosevelt, zero Reagan/Thatcher. New Deal tactics rescued Chile from the Panic of 1983, but the nation’s long-term recovery and growth since then is the result of—cover the children’s ears—a large dose of socialism.”
—Greg Palast, “Tinker Bell, Pinochet And The Fairy Tale Miracle Of Chile,” Dec. 10, 2006. http://www.gregpalast.com/

The Nixon administration’s secret backing of Allende’s overthrow led to this misery, and Pinochet only avoided facing trial for torture and other human rights abuses thanks to the court accepting his ‘mentally unfit to stand trial’ excuse, and the refusal of the British to extradite him.

Read about it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/2/newsid_2771000/2771229.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2080500.stm

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/bb8f36622bc75ea495994d2e70fbec49.htm

You bleeding heart liberals, I am tried of anyone who wants to save this fifthy pigs life I wish this person and anyone who wats to save him from this fate eternal happiness in the burning pits of the deepest hell, have you forgotten not only the 148 he is guilty of murdering but the 1000’s he killed as guinie pigs in chemical tests his own people… and yet there is some of you who believe in the peace house (do away with the milarty) yea that is a good ideal then we can just open the door to these Ragheads… (not all people from here are that) and let them kill us all. yea you may find misspellings in here because of my handicap but at least I am not as dumb as you.

Both Hussien and Pinochet we CIA stooges installed like many others during the cold-war. It is the same story throughout the world where we’ve toppled democratic governments that we didn’t control and installed dictatorial deathquead puppet regimes. Our legacy of mass graves and dissappeared has created the nemies we have today.

The war against communism and hunger in Chile left aproximately 3000 dead.
US war versus terrorism, how many?
Consider facts within context, please.

Barry, i think you are soo mistaken if you think you can compare pinochet with hussein. That only shows your absolute ignorance on what pinochet meant to my country. “a ruthless, corrupt dictator”???, common!, he was never proven corrupt, because there was never any evidence to support such clames, plus, did you happen to hear about the 9 tons of gold they wanted to process him for in chile?, something which turned up to be absolutly wrong. dictator?, maybe, but he handed the power when the people voted against him after 17 years without any problems, and he stayed that much time in power because the people voted in favoure of his constitutional reforms. Please,
Mr. Barry, have the decency to inform yourself before you adress issues you dont know. May i remind you that in todays papers there was a full report on how pinochet managed to save the country from economical desaster, he was a man of peace who avoided not one, but two wars with our neihgbors. he has been the only president in the history of chile to aknowledge bolivias right for sea, but peru didnt let it happen. He made profound reforms in pro of the poorest classes in chile, educational and in health. The list goes on and on, and finally i would like to add that in Chile after allendes fall (the true person to blam e for chiles insuperable and change-demanding condition) an left handed extremist group had organized in arms and was functioning within the country. These groups commited several murders, and actually attempted against pinochets life, leaving 5 of his bodyguards dead. So you see, one has to put himself in the national context of the moment. By no means is hussein and pinochet comparable, maybe only that they are the most famouse people from there respective countrys. I beg you inform yourself as it is your job, and not go around loud-mouthing unsustainable arguments.

Alfonso l.

These two tyrants and King George will make a new “three stooges”.