The Shock Doctrine

[123everton]

Has anyone else watched this show on More 4? I highly recommend it. I enjoyed the analogy of western foreign policy being not unlike Chilean (under Pinochet) etc domestic policy (I kind of already felt that way about it in certain aspects) but what surprised me was the genuine revelation (to me) about the anti Yeltsin/parliament battle. I pride myself on my history and I seem to remember that this event was recorded as a coup attempt in the media here (a bare faced lie), I wasn't suckered by the media machinations in the recent Russo Georgian war, but I wondered what other things have we been lied to about, B.B.C included? Any other thoughts on this very interesting documentry are welcome also.

[jake-the-peg]

Given that Pinochet was responsible for the abduction and murder of thousands of Chileans I'd be fascinated to know which thousands of foreign civilians western countries have kidnapped and murdered.

Certainly many have died as a result of western foreign policy but that's rather different from the "knock at the door at 2am" and the 30,000 tortured under his regieme

Pinochet also ruthlessly supressed democracy and opposition in his country whereas western foreign policy has always encouraged it.


So perhaps for those of us without the patience to sit through an hour of sensationalist claims you'd like to give a few details of how they make that comparison

[123everton]

Erm Guantanomo Bay, extraordinary rendition, Abu Gharib (spelt right?), water boarding etc.
I said it was similar, not the same, the actions have a similarity.
The support for democracy is a truism, but how many parties in Iraq or Afghanistan stood on the platform of foreign troops go home?
Plese I don't want this thread to become about Iraq or Afghanistan.

[jake-the-peg]

I think to compare these two down plays how attrocious Pinnochet's regieme was.

In Guantanamo you have a relativly small nmber of people picked up in suspicious circumstances and held and treated in a really bad way.

In Chile huge numbers of people were arrested held and tortured totally arbitarily.

I'd love to know if the program has ever been shown in Chile - I rather suspect it would cause a national outcry

Thousands of people simply "disappeared".

No dissent was allowed.

There really is no comparison - and to try to force one really undermines the seriousness of Pinochet's crimes.

Western behaviour in the developing worl has been really bad in places but trying to make a sensational argument like that actually undermines the debate and causes people to just reject it out of hand.

[123everton]

Not quite, the show was about the economic policies of what it called "the Chicago school" it utilised Chile because Pinochet's economic policies were apparently formulated by people schooled in this form of economics.
In essence and in principle extraordinary rendition is a form of disappearing, the numbers may be fewer, the aims may (arguably) be more noble but it is still similar in practice.
It did feel slightly conspiratorial (although far more eloquent than most such theories) but it's thrust was about monetry policies and what it called disaster capitalism, it was an interesting show, you should look out for it.