Sept. 11 offers us a perfect opportunity to pause as a nation and reflect. It allows us to mourn all of those who lost their lives and thank the first responders, many of whom are suffering from mental and physical afflictions. It is a time to celebrate the stories of selflessness and sacrifice of ordinary people for whom fate cast a larger role. Even though I was very young, I vividly recall watching the video of the planes striking the towers, a horrifying sequence looped hundreds of times that will haunt my memories for the rest of my life. As I grew up, I learned of another Sept. 11, one that didn’t involve the same heroism and sacrifice that manifested itself in 2001. The other Sept. 11 to which I’m alluding occurred in 1973, in Chile.
On that day, the United States engineered a coup that overthrew the government of Salvador Allende, installing Gen. Augusto Pinochet, a brutal dictator whose government tortured over 28,000 and killed several thousand people. Declassified documents reveal that the U.S., in an operation dubbed “Project FUBELT,” attempted to destroy the Chilean economy and foment a coup. In 1973, the CIA got its wish. Many people attempt to delegitimize Allende’s government by arguing that the coup represented the will of the people, but these, among other common criticisms of Allende, are biased. While it’s true that only a plurality of voters elected him, he captured the largest percentage of votes among his competitors. Despite fragile coalitions and economic instability, caused in part by U.S. machinations, the buying power of the working class and support for his government increased during his rule.
Whether we laud Allende, curse his politics or view him as neutral is not the important issue. What matters is the fact that we had no justification to mold a regime there that fit our interests. Sadly, Chile was not the only country touched by the CIA. Driven by its desire to suppress any government that may have aligned with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the U.S. intervened in Guatemala, Ecuador, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Nicaragua (the coup that received funding as part of the Iran-Contra affair), Honduras and El Salvador, among others.
The U.S. government’s policy of containment during the Cold War caused the suffering of people across the continent, and its lingering effects have played a role in creating the instability that still exists there today. Consider the thousands of children crossing the border illegally, an issue that polarized the country this past summer. Although many attribute this wave of illegal immigration to the economic opportunities that America can provide migrants, such explanations overlook the role that U.S. intervention during the Cold War played in creating a violent environment, especially in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, from where the greatest number of children are coming.
While mourning those who lost their lives, supporting those whose families were torn apart and visiting memorials, such as the one in Binghamton University’s Fine Arts courtyard, we must take the time to consider America’s larger sociopolitical position. In the wake of such a senseless tragedy, it’s important to reflect on the way that America has used and continues to exercise its power.