Henry A. Kissinger Quotes
I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people.
The 40 Committee was a secret committee of officials to deal with major national security covert operations possibilities. Chile had democratically elected Salvador Allende, a strong socialist, as President. He then, as he had promised in his campaign, begun to nationalize mining and other heavy industry and nationalized the very large farms. Kissinger and some others thought that Allende might probably transform Chile to communist state. The committee was discussing whether or not the United States should, via covert operations, try and destabilize or overthrow the Allende government. There was a strong minority aristocracy of the wealthy who would definitely support such an activity. Kissinger argued for intervention and some others observed that Allende had been fairly elected as a leftist by the people. Kissinger made this famous statement, and America covertly though the CIA worked with the Chilean right wing and fascists to overthrow Allende. The military, having been given the “green light” started attacking the Presidential Palace. Allende made a radio speech to the nation. A few hours later, the military seized the palace and reported that Allende had committed suicide.
Kissinger stating that the US should “correct” the election “mistakes” of other countries was of course Top Secret and the official US position was to support the right of any people to elect their preferred leaders. Normally, the public would never have seen the transcript of the meeting until many decades had passed but part of the transcript found their way to a manuscript of a book about the CIA. That agency went to the courts to block the publication and Kissinger’s statement. However, although the quote was removed from the book, enough people had now seen it, and the quote was leaked.
The quote is historically important for the real story of what really happened in Chile as General Pinochet who seized power turned out to be guilty of Crimes Against Humanity and Allende is today a national hero and martyr. In addition, it is a wonderful example of “overclassification”. After the action was completed, why should the American Public not know that its Secretary of State did not believe in democratic elections if the people would elect communists? --especially when the official stated policy he was presenting was just the opposite. The argument faded when the Watergate Scandal broke and consumed America’s attention.
Henry A. Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State (Republican), U.S. National Security Advisor, Nobel Peace Laureate, Secret Meeting of the "40 Committee" on covert action in Chile, June 27, 1970
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
At the time, the CIA was covertly financing and organizing opposition to Allende. Nonetheless, he won the election but the CIA organized a coup d’etat and removed him.
Hoover in his early career led the American relief effort to feed the starving of Europe after World War I. In addition to the major purpose of feeding people:
In Chile’s first Democratic election, to the chagrin of our Ambassador Korry and others in the U. S. Government, an avowed Socialist, Allende, was chosen by the people. Korry and others then stopped any U. S. Aid and did what they could to have the Allende Administration. However, Henry Kissinger and the CIA did not want to wait for economic sanctions to work. Keeping our Ambassador in the dark, they helped the right wing Chilean Military organize a coup to remove Allende. Allende committed suicide rather than be captured by General Pinochet and other military who commonly tortured political enemies and killing many. The result was an end to socialism, but the cost was tens of thousands of Chileans, murdered, tortured and disappeared by Pinochet and his forces. Pinochet was finally convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The president was surprised by the rapid spread and expansion of the anti-war movement at the time was convinced that the communists were organizing the effort. After all the investigations and histories, it was an extremely fast growing movement—perhaps the first of the digital political movements as e-mail was one of the tools used in the universities where e-mail was then coming into use.
Henry Alfred Kissinger KCMG is an American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. A Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938, he became National Security Advisor in 1969 and U.S. Secretary of State in 1973. For his actions negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam, Kissinger received the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize under controversial circumstances, with two members of the committee resigning in protest.
