I'm not an SF candidate. Regardless, I don't think finishing Robin Sage is a prerequisite for participating in a debate.
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Originally Posted by Peregrino
A national leader is judged on the success or failure of his country.
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I'll judge someone on more than just the sucess in raising the GDP.
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Originally Posted by Peregrino
I'm also certain that a majority of the 3,000+ killed/disappeard and 28,000+ tortured ran afoul of the authorities for acts that could be construed as dangerous to the government/state.
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No, and this is an important point. The majority
didn't pose a threat to Pinochet's totalitarian rule. There was little counter revolution. Most of those tortured and killed were leftists that were rounded up in the first days of his rule before any counter revolution could start. I never said Pinochet wasn't smart, just oppressive.
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Originally Posted by Peregrino
Sometimes they throw in the family, friends, neighbors, and even entire towns (Sadam) just to make sure the threat is eliminated.
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Yes, they do, and I don't support or apologize for those dictators either.
(And somehow I don't think telling St Peter "At least I didn't kill as many as Pol Pot" is going to help him any.)
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Originally Posted by Peregrino
(Keep an eye on Venezuela and Chavez to see what an unbridled Marxist is capable of.) I'm a pragmatist - sometimes a little evil prevents a much greater one. FWIW - Peregrino
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Strange to mention Chavez, since,
as of yet, his Marxism has kept the body count much lower in Venezuela. However, if Chavez was killing/torturing as Pinochet did, we would scream bloody murder, and rightly so. Being right wing doesn't give one a carte blanche to murder and opress a country for nearly two decades.
If one wants to defend Pinochet, he should just come out and say "Pinochet was a bastard, but he was our bastard" rather than pretending we give a damn about Chile's economy.
(It's a small irony that Pinochet knew little and cared less about fiscal and monetary policy, one of the few things we give him credit for. It's not as if he overthrew Allende in order to try out his cutting edge neoliberal ideas. The Chicago Boys came to him, and he was wise to let them run the economy, but let's give them the credit. Even they weren't such free marketeers as to privatized the copper industry.)