Hot of the 1970s Press

Anyone interested in a little light reading about sketch US relations in Latin America has a hot new document to peruse: the recently released, 693-page CIA file on American support for the military coup conducted by dictator (that is, president) Augusto Pinochet in Chile. Known internally as the "family jewels," the file is described to detail CIA involvement and financial support for the overthrow of Salvador Allende's socialist government on September 11, 1973.

Apparently, this and other files cataloging the CIA's involvement with military coups during the Cold War were originally ordered by former director Jim Schlesinger in the wake of the Watergate scandal. His successor, William Colby, presented the files as "skeletons" in the CIA closet to Ford upon Nixon's resignation. The agency's charter specifically prohibits involvement in domestic operations abroad, though anyone familiar with Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, Iran, Italy, the Dominican Republic, Angola, Granada and Libya (to name a few examples) will realize the historic impotence of such a ban.

Until now, the closest the American public has been to full disclosure had been some incomplete testimony in a few weak Congressional investigations in the 1970s and some minor leaks to the press. Gen. Michael Hayden is truly taking a big step toward transparency with this move. Still, it is unlikely that anyone will take much notice: bigger, more recent intelligence scandals barely receive a blink these days, and everyone knows that history is irrelevant.