The War on Terrorism we refused to fight

I vividly remember the following incident, retold here by Christopher Hitchens. It left an imprint in my mind because I regard Washington, DC as my real hometown.

Just a short walk from my apartment in Washington, D.C., is the memorial at Sheridan Circle to the murdered Orlando Letelier, a Chilean exile and former foreign minister who was blown up by a car bomb in rush-hour traffic on Sept. 21, 1976. It did not take very long to establish that this then-unprecedented atrocity on American soil, which also took the life of a U.S. citizen named Ronni Moffitt, was carried out on the orders of the late Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Indeed, we have the testimony of his own secret police chief, Gen. Manuel Contreras, that such was the case.

This was a blatant act of state sponsored terrorism committed in the capitol of our country against a legal guest and an American citizen.

The response from our government: NADA.

But, you can wander over to National Review and see their encomia to the late General Pinochet. If I remember correctly, he was the only world leader to attend the funeral of that other famous Latin general to betray his country and his civilization: Francisco Franco.

I guess there is terrorism, and then there is terrorism.