Shorly after 9/11, Paul Wolfowitz began advocating an attack on Iraq, establishing “what amounted to a separate government” to push for war. He invited journalists to secret meetings, laying out the foundation for his plans. Former counterterrorism official Richard Clarke recounts one particular meeting:
“I began saying, ‘We have to deal with bin Laden; we have to deal with al Qaeda.’ Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, said, ‘No, no, no. We don’t have to deal with al Qaeda. Why are we talking about that little guy? We have to talk about Iraqi terrorism against the United States.‘”
Last night on the Charlie Rose show, Wolfowitz denied being “an architect” of the catastrophic decision to go to war. “I’m not an architect of anything,” he said. Rather, he clarified that he was someone who was “closely associated with a controversial Iraq policy,” and that his involvement with Iraq is what doomed his reign at the World Bank.
Watch it:
Unlike Richard Perle, Wolfowitz revealed that he has not given up hope in the neoconservative dream of transforming Iraq through U.S. occupation. Comparing Iraq to El Salvador, Wolfowitz said, “El Salvador fought a terrible, terrible civil war for more than 10 years. … And today El Salvador is one of the most successful economies in Central America.”
But the U.S. never occupied El Salvador. While El Salvador grapples with problems today, it serves as an example of the fact that a long-term U.S. occupation is not a requirement for the democratic transition of a country.
Instead of learning the lesson of El Salvador, Bush is more interested in the Korean model. Yesterday, Bush said he envisions an occupation of Iraq similar to that of South Korea, where U.S. troops “have helped keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years.”
Transcript:
WOLFOWITZ: Maybe it was — look, maybe I could have done it differently. Maybe I could have consulted more. Maybe if it weren’t me and somebody else doing it, look, I’ve said from the beginning…
ROSE: Somebody who’s not an architect of the war, and all that.
WOLFOWITZ: I’m not an architect of anything, but somebody who is not so closely associated with a controversial Iraq policy, yes.
[…]
ROSE: And has the — have we failed in Iraq?
WOLFOWITZ: I think we’re trying to do the right thing. I hope it will succeed. I don’t…
ROSE: Hope and we’re trying, and hope — I mean, there’s a reality on the ground there. And there’s a reality for Americans and there’s a reality for Iraqis. And it’s beyond trying and hoping, isn’t it? WOLFOWITZ: Well, that’s another whole subject. But…
ROSE: But give us some sense of, I mean, you know, you’re…
WOLFOWITZ: I still believe — and I think the evidence is strong — that the majority, great majority of Iraqis would like a peaceful, stable country. That what we’re fighting is not the majority of the people.
ROSE: Really? And is what we have done the best way for them to achieve that?
WOLFOWITZ: That’s another whole subject. There’s too much — no, obviously there are things that should have been done differently. But it’s a tough environment.
ROSE: Are you the least bit — the least bit believing that the things that you hope would accomplish would be accomplished? The least bit — in Iraq?
WOLFOWITZ: Oh, yes, the least bit. But…
ROSE: But not much more, or…?
WOLFOWITZ: I’m not here to measure. I’m not current on it. I, you know, El Salvador fought a terrible, terrible civil war for more than 10 years. I think 5 percent of the population was killed, which would mean a little more than 13 million people in the United States, and I think it finally ended in 1992. And today El Salvador is one of the most successful economies in Central America. I’m not saying that’s going to happen in Iraq. I’m just saying it’s a tough environment. It’s hard to know at this stage what the future is going to be like. But let’s also remember, there were no good choices there, given the regime that they had.

Man, is this guy f*cked up. What a psychotic loser.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:25 pmArchitect of his own hubris. Architect of his own downfall.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:28 pmsuuuuuuure. In fact he’s never done anything, whatsoever. He never worked for the US government, never wanted a war in Iraq, never worked for the world bank. nada. nothin’.
The arrogance of these people is just amazing. Blatant lie after blatant lie. It never seems to end.
The problem we face is power - people like Wolfowitz, Cheney and the rest had too much power for far too long. The only way this country will ever have peace and prosperity again is to strike the root of this problem - take away their power….
Some further thoughts:
May 31st, 2007 at 1:29 pm“Leaders Don’t Kill People…”
http://www.populistamerica.com/leaders_dont_kill_people
An anonymous person said of Wolfowitz, He’s a smart guy, but he “couldn’t run a two car funeral.”
So he could be an “architect,” but he wouldn’t be a good one.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:32 pmtalk about a man in a bubble.
bush says south korea, wolfowitz says el salvador, what is next?
we are at the mercy of the 28 percenters
May 31st, 2007 at 1:32 pmAn architect designs structures, so I think Wolfowitz is technically correct. Arsonist is probably a better term to describe someone who helped design our strategy in Iraq.
And George Bush is still an enormous douche.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:33 pmBeen a tough year for Wolfie, lost his job, girlfriend dumped him, oh wait those were interconnected. lol
I just can’t seem to find any sympathy for the man.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:34 pmrevisionist history… brace yourselves… there’s a lot more comin’ atcha…
May 31st, 2007 at 1:36 pmAnd, yes, I DO take it personally
Deny it all you like, Paul, but your name is at the bottom of “Rebuilding America’s Defenses“.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:37 pmWolfowitz is a George Costanza-type architect.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:45 pmp.s. how dare he present el salvador as something that turned out for the better after the military there, trained at u.s. hands, presided over one of the most horrible slaughters in the modern age… what a sorry sack of shit…
And, yes, I DO take it personally
May 31st, 2007 at 1:45 pmGee, all I did was put the gun in his hand, load the bullets, show him where to aim, help steady him, and tell him when to pull the trigger….
its not like I shot the guy….
May 31st, 2007 at 1:47 pmSo I guess it’s not his fault. You know, because he’s not “an architect”. He was just closely involved.
Right. So he’s not an architect of the war because he didn’t design the plans…he’s just the chief engineer in charge of construction.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:47 pmAs an actual architect, I appreciate Mr. Wolfowitz clearing that up. And every time the media uses that expression “Architect of the War in Iraq” it makes me like them (both the Bush Administration and the media) less and less.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:50 pmWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is among the least peaceful nations in the world, ranking 96th between Yemen and Iran, according to a new index released Wednesday that evaluates 121 nations based on their peacefulness.
According to the Global Peace Index, created by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Norway is the most peaceful nation in the world and Iraq is the least, just after Russia, Israel and Sudan.
“The objective of the Global Peace Index was to go beyond a crude measure of wars by systemically exploring the texture of peace,” said Global Peace Index President Clyde McConaghy.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:52 pmhttp://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnN30417228.html
May 31st, 2007 at 1:52 pmI would concur with Wolfie on this one - He’s incapable of any form of legitimate “architecture” because everything he’s touched has turned to rubble and destruction. So, on that point, I heartily concur! He’s a disastrous failure on all fronts - whether he’s even capable of the “creation process” which implies at least a modicum of actual creativity, I would suspect that he’s impotent totally on that front.
Certainly, Wolfie can be dubbed “the instigator” or “the manipulator” as his actions certainly were intended to deceive or reset the agenda (cook the books to reflect the already-established plan which was conceived by the Bush Cabal.
I might be inclined to give the moniker of “barker” as in the old three-ring circus which would come to town. You know - the big loudmouth out front who doesn’t have enough brain power to think himself out of a paper bag, probably drunk on his own egoic power being the “front man” - or sipping on some of the “snake oil” potion he was trumpeting?? Regardless of how it shakes down, Wolfie was “front and center” in the lies and propaganda being fed to congress and the american public in the pre-war spin and needs to be held personally accountable for the crime involved in all of this - just like the rest of the bold-faced liars who are essentially responsible for some 3,500 deaths of our innocent children (slaughter of the innocents??) as well as some 600,000 iraqi citizens whose country was illegally occupied.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:53 pmsad little heartbroken man. he just needs to taste the comb.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:54 pmF*** off Wolfy, and make sure to keep Holland off your travel itinerary - although the Hague is nice this time of year.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:54 pmThey will forever be totally committed to Iraq occupation and they will never ever change. Their committment is to distablize the whole of the middleast so that Israel may operate with impunity.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:55 pmThe oil and water resources of Iraq are a bit of icing on the cake. Oil for the big oils companies and water for the Israelis.
Architects draw lines.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:55 pmBush & Wolfoshitz have a line drawn between Americans.
That’s their plan.
You have to admit, to date, they’ve been quite successful.
Go soak your wolfie head in de Nile, preferable while there’s large, hungry aquatic reptiles lurking about.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:56 pm…yez wolfie….and I am a Sanitation Engineer Specialist
May 31st, 2007 at 2:01 pmNice try.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:02 pmWait a minute. Isn’t El Salvador now run by the guy they tried to take out in the 80’s?
May 31st, 2007 at 2:05 pmNot the architect of anything, eh Wolfie?
Sure you are, you are the architect of your own demise.
thug
May 31st, 2007 at 2:08 pmso, does that mean wolfowitz sees the value of el salvador’s truth commission.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:08 pmYeah, favoritism for your f*ck buddy had nothing to do with it.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:09 pmWait a minute. Isn’t El Salvador now run by the guy they tried to take out in the 80’s?
Comment by whenwego
You’re probably thinking of Nicaragua. Ortega was re-elected recently.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:09 pmVeritas,
I want to thank you and tell how much I enjoy reading your posts.
Your posts are very insightful and well thought out.
–kay
May 31st, 2007 at 2:10 pm“Not me,” says Wolfowitz … it’s the media’s fault, don’tcha know.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:11 pmthe things are going and those responsible are allowed to present them selves, it looks like GW/Cheny after 2008 come out and will say “We did not started Iraq war, don’t know who told our soldiers to go to Iraq and fight ?”
sigh !!!
May 31st, 2007 at 2:12 pmBased on the Korean model? Troops in South Korea are on bases at the DMZ separating the communist North from the ‘democratic’ (used very loosely) South.
How can one be compared to the other? We went into Korea, not to overthrow the Korean government (I’m sure some would argue that point), but rather to push back Chinese communist aggression. And that is supposedly why we remain there today (as if South Korean forces couldn’t do it themselves at this point).
What a lame example from Bush (an attempt to have ignorant Americans jump up and say ‘oh, now I understand’) and I am surprised, well I take that back, I am not surprised the Media hasn’t challenged that ‘model’. Once again, Bush shows his worldly ignorance.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:19 pmHow’s that free-market system working out for the neocons in Iraq? Now how is it working out for the Iraqis themselves? Funny how he confuses democracy with economic “success”.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:21 pmThink Progress is being less than truthful when it comes to the United States’s role In El Salvador. While the U.S. did not occupy El Salvador, Think Progress conveniently neglects to mention that Jimmy Carter was instrumental in giving military and political support to the repressive government in El Salvador, during which time in the 1980s the El Salvadoran government systematically took part in assassinating students, clergy, peasants, and union organizers. The majority of military commanders were involved in atrocities in that country and most of them were taught to torture and kill by the U.S. government.
In 1982, the New York Times reported on the massacre of hundreds of children, women, and men in El Mozote which was carried out by the elite Salvadoran, U.S.backed Atlacatl Battalion. Also, Think Progress failed to point out that under Reagan during the 1980s several thousand American military personnel took part in combat operations such as calling in lethal air strikes against the Salvadoran people. One should not overlook the fact that simply because the United States did not occupy El Salvador is not a reason to turn a blind eye to the militaristic and imperialistic aims of the United States.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:25 pm“But the U.S. never occupied El Salvador. While El Salvador grapples with problems today, it serves as an example of the fact that a long-term U.S. occupation is not a requirement for the democratic transition of a country.”
Right. The US trained Salvadoran death squads at the School of Americas at Ft. Benning, GA, but never occupied the country. The ORDEN killed or disappeared hundreds of thousands of people including US citizens during the ‘civil war.’
That’s what Iraq needs: Less occupation and more arming and training of death squads.
Do you truly believe that the US would be less morally culpable for the carnage and chaos in Iraq if they merely trained and funded the killers, rather than occupying the country.
Prof. G. E. Challenger
May 31st, 2007 at 2:28 pm“The Korean Model”….. Frankly, if we were to withdraw from S Korkea, the N Korean governent would probably collapse. We’re the N Korean’s whole reason for existing and without us, they have nothing to scare the N Korean people with.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:32 pmThe New Yorker had a story about neocons that may interest people.
Even Tom Delay was wrongly accused, so he says..
May 31st, 2007 at 2:32 pm“For those people who disagree with the things that they associate me with in my previous job, I’m not in my previous job. “, Paul Volfovitz
May 31st, 2007 at 2:34 pmhttp://web.worldbank.org/ WBSITE/ EXTERNAL/ NEWS/ 0,,contentMDK:21295972~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html
I vas only following orders.
nope, the problems at the World Bank had nothing to do with his own graft…
May 31st, 2007 at 2:35 pmThat’s true. Architects build things that don’t collapse…. Wolfie is a wanna-be HACK!
May 31st, 2007 at 2:43 pmUltimately what you see here annd everywhere you look in this administration is a total lack of accuntability, lack of responsibility. No one in this administration takes credit for anything they do that turns out to be not so good. There is a level of plausible deniability to anything you look at with these guys. Talk abotu being astand up guys who want to bring honor and integrety back to the white house.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:50 pmProf. Challenger at #36
Very well said. I always find it amazing how what purports to be liberal web sites will find ways to excuse the less than honorable actions of the United States.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:55 pmAmazing how those that pushed for this invasion and subsequent occupation were all gung ho until public opinion started to wain. Now it’s hard to find any of them willing to take credit for what has happened. Instead, they blame it on Democrats and those who oppose the war.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:56 pm“They fought a really bloody civil war and now their economy’s great!” Is that all that matters? The economy?
And why’s this guy saying something about a hypothetical civil war in the USA with 13 million dead? What’s his point exactly? That it could be great for the economy? That we’d just have to put it in a little perspective, to see the long-term upside? Stuff happens! Same with Iraq, and Iran, and and…
May 31st, 2007 at 2:59 pmWhoever signed that PNAC letter has blood on their hands that will never wash out.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:00 pmSuccess has a thousand fathers . . . failure is an orphan.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:07 pmSuccess has a thousand fathers . . . failure is an orphan.
Comment by Outis — May 31, 2007 @ 3:07 pm
A whopping number of Iraqi orphans at that!
May 31st, 2007 at 3:18 pmYou are all in denial about who is responsible for what’s going on in the world for centuries.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:19 pmRead about The Russian Revolution and get a clue.
The Russian names masked their true identities.
After the slaughter of Russian Christians, anti-semitism was punishable by death.
It really says something about the intellectual quality of our society and the pundit class’ worship of Reagan’s nightmarish and genocidal rampage through Central America (and this a qualitatively bloodier development of previously murderous policies) that anyone can react to a suggestion of El Salvador as a role model with anything other than projectile vomiting.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:24 pmBeginning in late December 2001, President Bush met repeatedly with Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks and his war cabinet to plan the U.S. attack on Iraq even as he and administration spokesmen insisted they were pursuing a diplomatic solution, according to a new book on the origins of the war.
The intensive war planning throughout 2002 created its own momentum, according to “Plan of Attack” by Bob Woodward.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:31 pmOMG, what a whiner. This man is not responsible for anything he has done. Well, karma’s a bitch and he is going to get his in the end. He already lost his job and his girlfriend. There’s no where to go but up for him and I seriously doubt that he is going to convince the public that he is anything other than a giant screw-up.
May 31st, 2007 at 4:16 pm#30 - Hi Kay!
I’ve been out of town for a while and am just getting back into the political landscape here. In reality, the reprieve from all of the scandals and criminal behavior being outed daily was balm for my soul. Now it’s time to get back to reality, however, and, unfortunately, our reality is not a very appealing, pretty picture these days. The down side of “dropping out entirely”, however, becomes total apathy which doesn’t serve anyone very well. Thank you for your compliment. I attempt to think my comments through and base them on fact when/where possible and I’m thrilled that you take the time to read them and enjoy them. I try to ignore the pesky trolls but recognize that they, too, probably have a place in the landscape and may actually bring greater insight to readers merely by their lack of comprehension of the facts, their blind, lockstep thought processes, and their bigoted, hatefilled commentary. Perhaps they are the best recruiting tool the Democrats and Independents have these days so, in that respect, they, also serve a greater purpose.
I firmly believe that everything occurs for a reason (as Eclesiastes and “The Birds” (haha) stated (am I dating myself?)….and the lessons of violated trust and betrayal by those whom we’ve placed in the highest offices of power in this country will, undoubtedly, have a positive effect ultimately. Unfortunately, the regression we’ve experienced over the past 6 years both nationally as well as internationally will not be undone probably in any of our lifetimes. The days of the United States superiority are over now, thanks to the crooks and liars in whom we placed our trust. All we can do now is hope….and learn from these horrendous mistakes….and never again repeat them.
I content that unless/until the bush cabal is brought to the level of justice they deserve, this country will continue on it’s downward spiral into the abyss of irrelevancy and ultimately takeover by a foreign power. All we can probably do right now is say that “we allowed it” - just as we question those whom allowed the incinerations at the concentration camps, we’ve sat back and allowed this dictator carte blanche to destroy this country, kill our youth (genocide?), and reduce the morality of this country internationally to that of a pariah.
Thanks again, Kay….I enjoy all of your posts as well. Have a great evening!
May 31st, 2007 at 4:28 pmKorean model? 50 more years? Just goes to show how demented and out of contact with reality this fool on the hill actually is. His pathology is reaching embarrassing proportions now that he feels the need to exonerate himself and further convince others that he is right. There’s no fool like an old fool and there’s nothing more dangerous than a psychiatrically compromised individual in the white house.
May 31st, 2007 at 4:43 pmEl Salvador’s civil war had about 70,000 deaths over about 12-14 years.
El Savador is about 1/4 the size of Iraq.
So make that 280,000 deaths over a dozen years. That’s a death rate of of 23,000 a year.
How does that compare to Iraq? (Anyone know a way of coming up with accurate figures?)
The El Salvador figures do not count what would have to be an American security force of about 40,000. Anyone think a force that size couldn’t keep peace in El Salvador? The Iraq war by any standard is one of the most violent civil wars we have seen.
May 31st, 2007 at 4:53 pmPut a helmet on his pointed head and send his ass to Iraq for the summer. He might as well get a first hand look at the killing he is responsible for. These neo-fascists don’t have to look at the horrors of war, they only watch their bank accounts fill up.
This guy is a traitor to America and should be in Iraq fighting for what he sold the American public. There will be no end to the “surge” in September. They just want the war to go on and on so their buddies can clean up while our troops are killed.
Shameful Americans!! War profits are part of the RepubliCON party.
May 31st, 2007 at 5:58 pmUmmm…Wolfie says five percent of the US population is 13 million?
300 mil x 0.05 = 13 mil? (not.)
Maybe that’s why he didn’t do so good as a (world) banker.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:05 pmI cannot believe that America’s most honorable warriors were sent to war by such cowards.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:18 pmWorth repeating. As are many of the observations here about the US role in training death squads in El Salvador. Sometimes I feel like the only who recalls the massacre at El Mozote.
Some months I read a blog post where a guy flying into Washington DC mentions the Butcher of El Salvador International Airport. Good one, eh?
May 31st, 2007 at 7:26 pmIt wasn’t stated in the article at the ucla.edu link, but El Salvador’s top industry now is remittances from the US. In other words, the domestic economy of El Salvador is such a flop that the biggest money maker is to have people leave the country and work in the US and send money back to El Salvador.
This situation also leaves the Salvadorans at the mercy of the US government as Bush Administration meddling in Salvadoran elections has shown. Bush Administration officials televising election commercials in El Salvador basically stating, “Elect a pro-Bush government or we’ll will shut off the flow of remittances from the US and grind your country’s economy in to the dust.”
May 31st, 2007 at 9:07 pmThere is NO analogy between the conflict in Korea and iraq. This is the same kind of warped thinking that has gotten entangled in Iraq.
Ya see, Dumbya, The North had uniforms and the south had uniforms. Yes, perhaps, there is a slight analogy in that the Chinese were funding and training the North Koreans, like Iran is assisting the Shia in Iraq.
It stops right there. There were no tribal wars inside of Korea. We KNEW who the enemy was and what they looked like. Over in that hellhole Iraq, our brave soldiers could be training an Iraqi National Army member during the day and at night they become insurgents who plan ways to kill our troops.
IT’S NOT WINNABLE.
North Korea did not have thousands of men who were willing to blow themselves up in a suicide mission.
W BUSH IS A LUNATIC: He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of “our country’s destiny.â€
What does this sick and demented war criminal mean by this? What could he possibly do to be able to backup that statement?
Does anybody get what he means here? Please respond if you do. Whatever it is, it would have to be a very chilling proposition.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:29 pmWolfie and the neo-cons may be shameless, incompetent war criminals, but they’re not down and out just yet. As the media goes goo goo over Bush’s new honcho at the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, they’ve failed to note that he was one of the neo-cons who signed the 1998 PNAC letter to Clinton, demanding an attack on Iraq.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:26 pmAh, yes. Nothing quite spells out credibility like a recently disgraced, comb-licking little partisan troll.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:36 pm#61 Comment by bushfatigue — May 31, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
Robert Zoellick… was one of the neo-cons who signed the 1998 PNAC letter to Clinton, demanding an attack on Iraq.
EXACTLY!
Plan A, better known as world domination, through complete control of the Middle East and the oil it contains. There is no Plan B folks, because they feel they are on track with Plan A. With Zoellic there is “change without change.”
Don’t be fooled by the magic.
Bush said it today…It is our “destiny.” Condi indicated it before a Congressional committee a short while ago.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:38 pmWolfie, see, he plays that absent minded professor schtick, not that well, but he plays it for all he’s worth. Maybe because he see’s a pair of glaring red lights, eyeball size, at the foot of his bed every night as he tries to settle down into his nest of pillows and blankets that comfort him with the soft caress of silk and satin, and this gives him the energy to continue with his evil lies. Him and Dougie and Dickie and Georgie and Condi and the rest of the lot.
The best thing that can happen is that the demons he unleashed turn their gaze on him, and torture the ever lovin shit out of his warped, dark, little mind.
He’s not a bubble boy, he’s not misguided or pathological, he’s a nasty, disgusting, disagreeable prick who has far exceeded his competence level, a sadistic little creep who deserves a fate worse than death, losing everything he “values,” his face rubbed in the consequences of his stupid and selfish wet dreams every day. Every effing day for the rest of his miseraable life.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:30 amClearly Mr. Wolfowitz knows nothing of the realities of the Salvadoran experience, neither details of the 12 year war nor its lasting imprint on this society. El Salvador’s current economic gap between its oligarchy and the rest of the population is enormous. Its lack of economic growth makes it one of the least successful Central American economies. And that’s saying something!
June 1st, 2007 at 12:27 pmThe reference to the civil war in El Salvador and the implication, in the context of our current involvement in Iraq, that we helped bring about their democracy made me sick to my stomach. The U.S. has a majority of the blood from that civil war on its hands. We trained the military and paramilitary death squads, we provided huge amounts of financial aid to keep the regime propped up, and we turned a blind eye as religious leaders, civilians, and even American citizens were slaughtered. Here is a quote from Wikipedia: “According to the 1993 United Nations’ Truth Commission report, over 96% of the human rights violations carried out during the war were committed by the Salvadorian military or the paramilitary death squads.”
June 1st, 2007 at 3:43 pmOur participation in El Salvador’s civil war is one of the most disgusting episodes of our shameful history in Latin America.