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Argentina's 'Dirty War', is the U.S. on the path to a 'dirty war'?

HumblePi

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The Dirty War is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. Juan Peron came out of exile and was elected President of Argentina in 1973. The period of state terrorism, known as the Dirty War, began around 1974.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War
The Dirty War (Spanish: Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina (Spanish: dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina) for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and security forces and death squads in the form of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA, or Triple A hunted down any political dissidents and anyone believed to be associated with socialism, left-wing Peronism, or the Montoneros movement.

Mike Wallace did a story on the 'Dirty War' and the 'disappeared' which explained this horrible period of military dictatorship in Argentina.



For years, the 'Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo' marched weekly holding photos of their missing children. "It was the only way we had." For years, the military was simply abducting anyone they thought was too liberal or political opposition. They piled them into helicopters and tossed them alive into the ocean. Some were dumped into mass graves with their heads cut off, or teeth missing, they were tortured before being killed.

The singing group ABBA had a hit recording called 'Chiquitita'. I loved the song then and still do today, but I discovered a version of ABBA's song Chiquitita song entirely in Spanish. However, the Spanish version was only released in Argentina, and I assume it was to comfort the mothers of the 'disappeared'. Singers, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, hired a tutor in order to learn the Spanish and to pronounce it properly.



For me, the story of the Dirty War in Argentina, is a warning to any democratic nation who believes their rights and their democracy are indestructible and infallible. Right now, we in the US really are a step or two away from martial law. In 2020, after losing the election, Michael Flynn publicly pushed for martial law along with other actions like suspending the Constitution, silencing the press, and holding a new election under military authority.

How far off are we from martial law? We might come to that if ICE starts rounding up and deporting U.S. citizens. Donald Trump has publicly suggested exploring the possibility of deporting US citizens who have committed certain crimes, referring to them as "homegrowns" or "homegrown monsters,". Specifically, he suggested sending them to prison in El Salvador.

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The Dirty War is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. Juan Peron came out of exile and was elected President of Argentina in 1973. The period of state terrorism, known as the Dirty War, began around 1974.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War
The Dirty War (Spanish: Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina (Spanish: dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina) for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and security forces and death squads in the form of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA, or Triple A hunted down any political dissidents and anyone believed to be associated with socialism, left-wing Peronism, or the Montoneros movement.

Mike Wallace did a story on the 'Dirty War' and the 'disappeared' which explained this horrible period of military dictatorship in Argentina.



For years, the 'Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo' marched weekly holding photos of their missing children. "It was the only way we had." For years, the military was simply abducting anyone they thought was too liberal or political opposition. They piled them into helicopters and tossed them alive into the ocean. Some were dumped into mass graves with their heads cut off, or teeth missing, they were tortured before being killed.

The singing group ABBA had a hit recording called 'Chiquitita'. I loved the song then and still do today, but I discovered a version of ABBA's song Chiquitita song entirely in Spanish. However, the Spanish version was only released in Argentina, and I assume it was to comfort the mothers of the 'disappeared'. Singers, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, hired a tutor in order to learn the Spanish and to pronounce it properly.



For me, the story of the Dirty War in Argentina, is a warning to any democratic nation who believes their rights and their democracy are indestructible and infallible. Right now, we in the US really are a step or two away from martial law. In 2020, after losing the election, Michael Flynn publicly pushed for martial law along with other actions like suspending the Constitution, silencing the press, and holding a new election under military authority.

How far off are we from martial law? We might come to that if ICE starts rounding up and deporting U.S. citizens. Donald Trump has publicly suggested exploring the possibility of deporting US citizens who have committed certain crimes, referring to them as "homegrowns" or "homegrown monsters,". Specifically, he suggested sending them to prison in El Salvador.

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The US was actively supporting the Argentine junta throughout much of the Dirty War in the name of “fighting Russia.” The US government swept the murder of American citizens under the rug as part of the process, and Argentine secret police helped train the Nicaraguan Contra death squads the US supported so avidly.
 
The US was actively supporting the Argentine junta throughout much of the Dirty War in the name of “fighting Russia.” The US government swept the murder of American citizens under the rug as part of the process, and Argentine secret police helped train the Nicaraguan Contra death squads the US supported so avidly.
Yes, and little did any of us know about these heinous murders, estimated at 10,000 people vanished, and that's a low estimate according to some. It can happen again, but here.
 
Yes, and little did any of us know about these heinous murders, estimated at 10,000 people vanished, and that's a low estimate according to some. It can happen again, but here.
The US absolutely knew about it. Kissinger is on record basically urging the junta to kill faster. American citizens were amongst those “disappeared”, and the American ambassador was appalled at the lack of help from DC in putting an end to such actions
 
The US absolutely knew about it. Kissinger is on record basically urging the junta to kill faster. American citizens were amongst those “disappeared”, and the American ambassador was appalled at the lack of help from DC in putting an end to such actions
'We' as in, the average American, had no clue.
 
When I first met my husband he was involved with a group of Argentinian refugees in Los Angeles. A number of them had been imprisoned and tortured, but managed to be accepted in the US as refugees, and then gained permanent resident status; others had had family members disappeared. There were also a few Chileans - refugees from the Pinochet government. Most returned to their country after civilian rule had firmly been restored.

Their experiences in the prisons were horrifying; one location where three sisters were held had regular torture sessions at night. The military responsible for torturing weren’t there alone as those imprisoned could hear typing whenever there was to be a session. One survivor said she couldn’t ever type again, not even word processing, because of the association.

Ariel Dorfman’s play, then film, Death and the Maiden, deals with the aftermath of a military junta whose members are not held accountable by successive civilian governments. We saw the film with friends from Argentina. My husband asked our friend what she would do if she were to meet one of her torturers as does the protagonist in the film. She was unequivocal - I would kill the b@st@rd.

Another film dealing more obliquely with the junta during Argentina’s Dirt War is The Official Story.
 
'We' as in, the average American, had no clue.
Then you weren’t paying attention, because Argentina was far from the only country where America was helping carry out such atrocities in the name of “fighting Russia”.
 
Then you weren’t paying attention, because Argentina was far from the only country where America was helping carry out such atrocities in the name of “fighting Russia”.

Do you have a source for the average American having any clue that the Argentinian government was killing American citizens?
 
Do you have a source for the average American having any clue that the Argentinian government was killing American citizens?
Do you have a source for your claim that the average American didn’t know about the mass murder the US government was helping carry out across Latin America?

Or is this more of your desperation to defend the US at all costs?
 
Do you have a source for your claim that the average American didn’t know about the mass murder the US government was helping carry out across Latin America?

Or is this more of your desperation to defend the US at all costs?

Why are you moving the goalposts?
 
Why are you moving the goalposts?
I’m not moving the goalposts at all. The only way someone could fail to notice the mass murder campaigns the US was helping carry out in a dozen separate countries across Latin America and the Caribbean is if they weren’t paying attention.

Ford and Citibank were collaborating with the junta to murder workers involved in unions. Are you going to pretend the Americans working for those companies didn’t know what was going on either?
 
I’m not moving the goalposts at all. The only way someone could fail to notice the mass murder campaigns the US was helping carry out in a dozen separate countries across Latin America and the Caribbean is if they weren’t paying attention.

Ford and Citibank were collaborating with the junta to murder workers involved in unions. Are you going to pretend the Americans working for those companies didn’t know what was going on either?

You are. I specifically was talking about the Argentinians killing US citizens. You moved the goalposts from that. Why can't you simply admit that the average American didn't know the Argentinians were killing American citizens? Does your hatred of the US run that deep?
 
You are. I specifically was talking about the Argentinians killing US citizens. You moved the goalposts from that. Why can't you simply admit that the average American didn't know the Argentinians were killing American citizens? Does your hatred of the US run that deep?
In other words, you were frantically trying to downplay what the US was happily doing, in Argentina and across Latin America, because your number one priority is defending the US government and its actions at all costs.
 
The Dirty War is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. Juan Peron came out of exile and was elected President of Argentina in 1973. The period of state terrorism, known as the Dirty War, began around 1974.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War
The Dirty War (Spanish: Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina (Spanish: dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina) for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and security forces and death squads in the form of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA, or Triple A hunted down any political dissidents and anyone believed to be associated with socialism, left-wing Peronism, or the Montoneros movement.

Mike Wallace did a story on the 'Dirty War' and the 'disappeared' which explained this horrible period of military dictatorship in Argentina.



For years, the 'Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo' marched weekly holding photos of their missing children. "It was the only way we had." For years, the military was simply abducting anyone they thought was too liberal or political opposition. They piled them into helicopters and tossed them alive into the ocean. Some were dumped into mass graves with their heads cut off, or teeth missing, they were tortured before being killed.

The singing group ABBA had a hit recording called 'Chiquitita'. I loved the song then and still do today, but I discovered a version of ABBA's song Chiquitita song entirely in Spanish. However, the Spanish version was only released in Argentina, and I assume it was to comfort the mothers of the 'disappeared'. Singers, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, hired a tutor in order to learn the Spanish and to pronounce it properly.



For me, the story of the Dirty War in Argentina, is a warning to any democratic nation who believes their rights and their democracy are indestructible and infallible. Right now, we in the US really are a step or two away from martial law. In 2020, after losing the election, Michael Flynn publicly pushed for martial law along with other actions like suspending the Constitution, silencing the press, and holding a new election under military authority.

How far off are we from martial law? We might come to that if ICE starts rounding up and deporting U.S. citizens. Donald Trump has publicly suggested exploring the possibility of deporting US citizens who have committed certain crimes, referring to them as "homegrowns" or "homegrown monsters,". Specifically, he suggested sending them to prison in El Salvador.

View attachment 67572774

"Don’t forget, the U.S. was also conducting its own version of a 'Dirty War,' with J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI planting evidence and arresting Black Panthers, so-called 'undesirables,' 'communist agents,' and 'agitators.'

Let the freedom shine from sea to shining sea, as long as we all do the same, think the same, and say nothing too controversial!

Diving Mulalh
 
In other words, you were frantically trying to downplay what the US was happily doing, in Argentina and across Latin America, because your number one priority is defending the US government and its actions at all costs.

No, I'm specifically asking for what evidence exists that the average American had any idea that Argentina was killing US citizens. Can you answer that? Or does your hatred for America extend to the entire population?
 
No, I'm specifically asking for what evidence exists that the average American had any idea that Argentina was killing US citizens. Can you answer that? Or does your hatred for America extend to the entire population?
More wailing about my supposed “hatred for America” because, unlike you, I’m not willing to defend its bad behavior across the globe.

HumblePi didn’t only refer to the murders of Americans by the junta when they claimed Americans were unaware, so it’s fascinating you’ve discarded the rest of the victims in your desperate attempts to defend the US government’s actions.
 
More wailing about my supposed “hatred for America” because, unlike you, I’m not willing to defend its bad behavior across the globe.

HumblePi didn’t only refer to the murders of Americans by the junta when they claimed Americans were unaware, so it’s fascinating you’ve discarded the rest of the victims in your desperate attempts to defend the US government’s actions.

Correct. YOU referred to the Argentinian government killing Americans in response to the post about the average American being unaware.

Do you have any evidence that the average American had any idea that the Argentinians were killing Americans?
 
Correct. YOU referred to the Argentinian government killing Americans in response to the post about the average American being unaware.

Do you have any evidence that the average American had any idea that the Argentinians were killing Americans?
No, what I said was “then you weren’t paying attention, because Argentina was far from the only country where America carried out such actions in the name of fighting Russia”.

You are conflating two separate posts in a frantic attempt to defend American bad behavior, as usual.
 
No, what I said was “then you weren’t paying attention, because Argentina was far from the only country where America carried out such actions in the name of fighting Russia”.

You are conflating two separate posts in a frantic attempt to defend American bad behavior, as usual.

So if one was paying attention, the information that the Argentinians were killing American citizens was readily available?
 
So if one was paying attention, the information that the Argentinians were killing American citizens was readily available?
So if one was paying attention, the fact the junta was murdering thousands of innocent people was blatantly obvious, yes.

With the full support of the US government, as already established.
 
So if one was paying attention, the fact the junta was murdering thousands of innocent people was blatantly obvious, yes.

With the full support of the US government, as already established.

Again, you move the goalposts. Let me ask my question again: So if one was paying attention, the information that the Argentinians were killing American citizens was readily available?
 
Again, you move the goalposts. Let me ask my question again: So if one was paying attention, the information that the Argentinians were killing American citizens was readily available?
Again, the fact the junta was murdering thousands of innocent civilians— which is what HumblePi claimed Americans didn’t know— was readily apparent.

No amount of denial can change that.
 
Again, the fact the junta was murdering thousands of innocent civilians— which is what HumblePi claimed Americans didn’t know— was readily apparent.

No amount of denial can change that.

And YOU spoke about them disappearing American citizens. I'll ask my question again: So if one was paying attention, the information that the Argentinians were killing American citizens was readily available?
 
And YOU spoke about them disappearing American citizens. I'll ask my question again: So if one was paying attention, the information that the Argentinians were killing American citizens was readily available?
Your question is irrelevant, because even if what you claimed were true and people in the US didn’t know about the deaths of Americans specifically, the thousands upon thousands of other deaths wouldn’t go away.
 
Your question is irrelevant, because even if what you claimed were true and people in the US didn’t know about the deaths of Americans specifically, the thousands upon thousands of other deaths wouldn’t go away.

Why can't you simply just say that the average American had no idea that Argentina was killing US citizens and that the information wasn't readily available? It's the truth.
 
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