Michael McKnight's final column revealed his ignorance of U.S. foreign policy in his blind worship of conservative dogma. After praising Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., he goes on to ask in the very next paragraph how anyone "could sit by idly while millions are oppressed and brutalized under a murderous dictator." Helms was the most vocal U.S. supporter of Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet during his incredibly brutal 17-year regime.
Pinochet, after taking power in 1973 by overthrowing democratically elected President Salvadore Allende, imprisoned over 250,000 Chileans for political reasons, set up a secret police force and numerous concentration camps, replaced courts of law with jury-less military tribunals and murdered over 3,000 of his own citizens.
Recently, he was arrested and indicted in international court on charges of crimes against humanity, genocide, torture and terrorism. However, after personally meeting with Pinochet in 1986, Helms said, and I quote, "It is a myth that human rights are a problem in Chile" and aggressively blocked any attempts by the Reagan administration to investigate the horrendous abuses. Does McKnight claim that his conservative idols are champions of "human rights and individual liberty," as he puts it? Check the facts -- perhaps you and your conservative allies are the ones who could use, in your words, "a healthy dose of common sense."
Nick Shepard
Freshman
Undecided
