excerpted from the book

The Real Terror Network

by Edward S. Herman

published in 1982 by South End Press

"In 1976 six National Security States of Latin America- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay- entered into a system for the joint monitoring and assassinating of dissident refugees in member countries. The program was directly initiated under the sponsorship of Chile and its head of the secret police (DINA), Manuel Contreras. Chile provided the initial funding, organized a series of meetings in Santiago, and provided the computer capacity and centralized services. However, the United States deserves a great deal of credit for this important development ...

In 1968, U.S. General Robert W. Porter stated that "In order to facilitate the coordinated employment of internal security forces within and among Latin American countries, we are...endeavoring to foster inter-service and regional cooperation by assisting in the organization of integrated command and control centers; the establishment of common operating procedures; and the conduct of joint and combined training exercises."

Operation Condor
South African Transnational Terrorism
Israel's Sacred Terrorism
The Economics of the National Security State
U.S. Sponsorship and Support of the System of National Security States
Terror as an Integral Feature of the National Security State
The Mass Media and the National Security State
Remedies for Terrorism

"The linkages between the United States and the NSSs [National Security States] are clear and powerful ... It is, once again, a testimonial to the power and patriotism of the Free Press that, not only is the terrorism of the NSSs underrated, but the role of the United States as the sponsor - the Godfather - of this real terror network is hidden from view ... the United States is portrayed as an innocent bystander, occasionally making mistakes in its anxiety to protect the citizens of Latin America from the evils of Communism, but regretful of any excesses that may sometimes occur there. This amazing pretense is carried through despite the historical record of an openly announced role of Godfather dating back at least to 1823 (the Monroe Doctrine), the more or less steady interventionism since then, the remarkable degree of homogeneity within the NSSs, and the recent record of our role in sponsoring and managing the terror network."

Edward Herman page