Andersen responds to Wall Street Journal editorial on Argentine dirty war

July 11, 2005 Mr. Ned Crabb Letters to the Editor The Wall Street Journal To the Editor: s a !re"uent reader o! the Journal#s editorial $a%es, & ha'e been 'ery $leased (ith those Mary nastasia )#*rady +olu,ns that ha'e !o+used on the +ontinued denial o! basi+ hu,an ri%hts in Cuba and ,yriad threats to re%ional de,o+ra+y and se+urity $osed by stron%,an -u%o Cha'e. in /ene.uela. Ms. )#*rady has !re"uently been ahead o! the +ur'e on those issues0and should be $raised in $arti+ular !or brin%in% u$ in+on'enient !a+ts about Castro#s %ula% e'en as they are i%nored in other ,edia. Whi+h is all the ,ore reason (hy & ha'e !ound her re+ent +olu,ns on r%entina so disturbin%, as they use distorted histori+al analysis to ,a1e other(ise unsustainable ar%u,ents. &n her July 2, 2005 +olu,n, 34on#t Count on r%entina to -el$ 5i%ht Terror,6 Ms. )#*rady de+ries, and is absolutely ri%ht in doin% so, the de+ision o! an r%entine 7ud%e not to %rant a re"uest !ro, nei%hborin% Chile to e8tradite Ser%io *al'arino $abla.a, a !or,er leader o! the Manuel 9odri%ue. :atrioti+ 5ront +har%ed (ith the 1idna$$in% o! a ne(s$a$er heir and the assassination o! a senator. The de+ision !ollo(ed u$on a May rulin% by the r%entine Su$re,e Court that re7e+ted the e8tradition o! an alle%ed terrorist belon%in% to the S$anish ;as"ue ET to that +ountry. E'en ,ore0le%iti,ate0reason !or +on+ern. Not +ontent to let the !a+ts s$ea1 !or the,sel'es, ho(e'er, Ms. )#*rady ser'es u$ so,e dubious statisti+s and o$inions to +reate both a lo$sidedly un!a'orable 'ie( o! the %o'ern,ent o! :resident Nestor <ir+hner and a +uriously indul%ent ta1e on a !or,er re%i,e that %a'e the (orld the S$anish (ord 3desaparecido60a $erson se+retly 1idna$$ed, tortured and 1illed by his or her %o'ern,ent. 5irst Ms. )#*rady %ilds the lily by sayin% that, durin% the 1=>0s r%entine le!tist %uerrillas 3ra+1?ed@ u$ o'er 1,500 'i+ti,s,6 (hen the nu,ber o! those a+tually 1illed (as around A00, i! that. ;andyin% about in!lated nu,bers about the si.e o! the %uerrilla threat is one (ay a$olo%ists !or the !or,er r%entine ,ilitary di+tatorshi$ 7usti!y (hy so,e 25,000 $eo$le, in+ludin% hundreds o! senior +iti.ens, $re%nant (o,en and +hildren, (ere tortured and 1illed in se+ret +on+entration +a,$s. No less than 9obert W. S+herrer, (ho, as the 5;& le%al atta+hB stationed in ;uenos ires durin% those years, (as res$onsible !or ,onitorin% 'iolen+e !or our e,bassy there, has
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(ritten: 3 +onsiderable $ortion o! the ,urders, 1idna$$in%s and e8tortions attributed to the %uerrillas (ere +aused by other ele,ents. C Terroris, in r%entina (as serious and deadly but its s+o$e (as e8a%%erated. C Dit (asE a +on'enient 'ehi+le !or irres$onsible ele,ents o! the ,ilitary and their +i'ilian +ounter$arts to see1 retaliation a%ainst real or i,a%ined (ron%s.6 Ms. )#*rady then (rites: 3Today, r%entina allo(s ,any 1no(n Montoneros ?le!t(in% %uerrillas@ to %o about r%entina (ith i,$unity. So,e are e'en in ?the <ir+hner@ %o'ern,ent.6 5irst, the Montoneros as an or%ani.ation ha'e not e8isted !or ,ore than t(o de+ades. Se+ond, !or,er Montoneros also ser'ed as hi%hFran1in% o!!i+ials in the +orru$tionFridden %o'ern,ent o! !or,er :resident Carlos Mene,, but one is hard $ressed to !ind any ,ention, ,u+h less +riti+is,, o! that !a+t in the Journal. Ms. )#*rady ,ade si,ilar +har%es in an e"ually loaded $ie+e, 3The )ther /illains in r%entina#s 4irty War,# $ublished last Mar+h 2502= years and a day a!ter the +ou$ in ;uenos ires. Writin% that it (as 3re,ar1able to +ount the nu,ber o! $eo$le $o$ulatin%6 the <ir+hner %o'ern,ent (ho are 3e8FMontoneros,6 she in+ludes erst(hile antiF+orru$tion 7ournalist -ora+io /erbits1y, (ho she +orre+tly identi!ied as 3a ran1in% ,e,ber o! the Montonero intelli%en+e a$$aratus.6 Surely Journal readers are entitled to 1no( that the $olyF!a+eted Mr. /erbits1y (as also the %host(riter, in 1=>>F1=>= ?in other (ords, durin% so,e o! (orst years o! the ,ilitaryFrun +landestine re$ression@, o! a boo1 $ublished by the o!!i+ial air !or+e $ublishin% house, r%entine ir :o(er, ?El Poder Aereo de los Argentinos@. Written by a retired senior r%entine air !or+e o!!i+er, not only did the boo1 $raise the r%entine air !or+e#s senior leadershi$ (hi+h (as at the ti,e $art o! the 7unta#s e!!ort to e8ter,inate real and i,a%ined !oes, it e8$li+itly sin%led out Mr. /erbits1y0(ho (as already a (ellF1no(n Montonero su$$osedly in hidin%0in its a+1no(led%,ents !or his 3e!!i+a+ious +ollaboration.6 That !a+t alone should +lue Journal readers in about the +a$ri+ious and o!ten ersat. nature o! the %uerrilla threat. -o(e'er, Ms. )#*rady e+hoes +har%es ,ade by 3dirty (ar6 a$olo%ists in r%entina that, a!ter Juan :eron died in July 1=>G, the %uerrillas (ere allo(ed to o$erate 3(ithout the least obsta+le60e'en thou%h ,any both le%al and ille%al obsta+les did in !a+t e8ist, in+ludin% 'i+ious death s"uad a+ti'ity res$onsible !or as ,any as 2,000 deaths. Then, +itin% a 1=>5 ar,yFled +a,$ai%n in the re,ote $ro'in+e o! Tu+u,an as bein% 3(here terroris, (as ,ost intense,6 Ms. )#*rady ne%le+ts to add that the ,ilitary#s o(n se+ret do+u,ents0$art o! the $ubli+ re+ord !or the last t(o de+ades0sho( that nor,al %uerrilla stren%th there (as bet(een A0F>0 $oorly trained and ar,ed ,ilitants, e8+e$t !or a t(oF(ee1 $eriod (here they nu,bered 120. nd that !or+e had been e!!e+ti'ely +rushed, by re%ular ar,y troo$s nu,berin% as ,any as 5,000, si8 ,onths be!ore the %enerals laun+hed their +ou$ under the $rete8t o! sa'in% the +ountry !ro, 3sub'ersion.6 Sin+erely,
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Martin Ed(in ndersen ndersen is the author o! t(o boo1s on re+ent r%entine history: Dossier Secreto: Argentinas Desaparecidos and the Myth of the Dirty War ?1==H@ and La Policia, a G55F $a%e history o! that +ountry#s $oli+e, (ritten in S$anish ?2001@. ffne!s.in!o: July 1>, 2005