Obama honors victims of Argentina's 'Dirty War'; faults U.S. on human rights

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Thu Mar 24, 2016 12:59pm EDT

Obama honors victims of Argentina's 'Dirty War'; faults U.S. on human rights

BUENOS AIRES | BY HUGH BRONSTEIN AND JEFF MASON

President Barack Obama said the United States was too slow to condemn human rights atrocities during Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship as he honored victims of the "Dirty War" on Thursday, but he stopped short of apologizing for Washington's early support for the military junta.

Obama's state visit to Argentina coincided with the 40th anniversary of the coup that began a seven-year crackdown on Marxist rebels, labor unions and leftist opponents, during which security forces killed 30,000 people.

"There has been controversy about the policies of the United States early in those dark days," Obama said while visiting a memorial park in Buenos Aires dedicated to victims of the dictatorship.

"Democracies have to have the courage to acknowledge when we don't live up to the ideals that we stand for. And we've been slow to speak out for human rights and that was the case here," he said.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-argentina-idUSKCN0WQ0I9

[forest444]

1. Good for him. But Obama missed a good opportunity to fault Kissinger and commend Jimmy Carter.

It would have made good political sense (since Carter is a Democrat and Kissinger is, besides being a Republican, the author of many of the most infamous GOP dirty tricks since 1968), and it would have moreover been the historically accurate - and fair - thing to do.

Kissinger's acquiescence:

Carter's efforts:

Thanks for posting this, Eugene!

[Judi Lynn]

2. It would certainly been far more accurate showing the difference between US actions

undertaken by Democratic or Republican officials. It would have set the record right, for a change, after so many, many lies.

Kissinger looked as if he had just wet his powerful slacks after talking to Videla. It must have been hard for him to talk with his conscience shouting angrily at him, calling him every name in the book. He seemed very mealy-mouthed, didn't he, as if he knew, for sure, he had been up to no good? He can never compensate for all the evil he has perpetrated, not in a thousand lifetimes.

Wonderful hearing the accounts of Mr. Reata and Mr. Deutsch regarding what former President Carter was able to do for them, getting them out of the place of no return, where they had been thrown with the encouragement from Henry Kissinger.