Nixon, Kissinger, and Allende: U.S. Involvement in the 1973 Coup in Chile

by Lubna Z. Qureshi

Overview

Detailing the heavy involvement of the Nixon administration in the 1973 coup against the democratically-elected President Salvador Allende of Chile, Qureshi provides the reasons for the coup including the threat Allende posed to the United States' notions of hegemony in Latin America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739126561
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	12/21/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	1,016,162
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Lubna Z. Qureshi earned her doctorate in history from the University of California-Berkeley in 2006. She also holds an M.A. from Temple University and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her areas of research are U.S. diplomatic history and international history.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Nixon and Latin America Chapter 3 Early U.S.-Chilean Relations Chapter 4 Opposing the Election: 1970 Chapter 5 Undermining the Chilean Experiment: 1971 Chapter 6 Allende's Fall: 1972-1973 Chapter 7 Afterword: Two American Victims

What People are Saying About This

Margaret Power

Qureshi's elegantly written study offers a fresh and well-researched interpretation of U.S. foreign policy toward Chile during the Allende presidency. This book explains U.S. opposition to the Allende government by highlighting Nixon and Kissinger's imperial disdain for Latin America in general and Chile in particular, their fundamental ignorance of the region, and the influence of the U.S. business community. Qureshi draws on an array of sources, including the Nixon tapes, U.S. and Chilean government documents, and secondary sources to shed new light on a pivotal moment in U.S. history. She also discusses the history and importance of Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, two North Americans killed by the Chilean military (with possible U.S. government complicity) following the September 11, 1973, coup that overthrew Allende. For anyone who wants a clearer understanding of U.S. foreign policy toward Chile during the Nixon presidency, this book is essential reading.

Diane S. Clemens

Using freshly released U.S. tapes and documents and Chilean sources Lubna Qureshi has written a fresh analysis of the United States' 1973 intervention to overthrow the freely elected government of Salvador Allende. Qureshi demonstrates that the Nixon administration did not truly perceive Allende as a threat to U.S. national security in the overall context of the Cold War. Rather, Nixon and Kissinger feared Allende's socializing and nationalizing actions would encourage other Latin American nations to challenge American hegemony. The major impelling force behind the US intervention in Chile that lead to a dictatorship came from the corporate concerns of President Nixon and pressures from powerful business clients to control the civilian economy.. Woven into this convincing interpretation are episodes of concise narrative including the CIA assisted assassination of General Schneider, the last constitutionalist military leader protecting civilian government against the coup d'etat by General Pinochet, and a discussion of U.S. victims of the vicious aftermath, among them Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi. Qureshi's volume is a significant revisioning and recontextualization of a grim episode from which the thriving, redemocratized, and pace setting Chile has only recently emerged.

Editorial Reviews

For anyone interested in the economic motivations that led the Nixon administration to intervene in Chile, or how Nixon spoke about Latin America and the issue of democracy in private, this is nevertheless a useful book. It is a good book for those wanting to examine the role that dependency and capitalism played in Chile and it will be helpful alongside books on the same subject by scholars like Haslam and Kristian Gustafson for encouraging students to explore different arguments related to U.S. involvement in Chile.


Qureshi's elegantly written study offers a fresh and well-researched interpretation of U.S. foreign policy toward Chile during the Allende presidency. This book explains U.S. opposition to the Allende government by highlighting Nixon and Kissinger's imperial disdain for Latin America in general and Chile in particular, their fundamental ignorance of the region, and the influence of the U.S. business community. Qureshi draws on an array of sources, including the Nixon tapes, U.S. and Chilean government documents, and secondary sources to shed new light on a pivotal moment in U.S. history. She also discusses the history and importance of Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, two North Americans killed by the Chilean military (with possible U.S. government complicity) following the September 11, 1973, coup that overthrew Allende. For anyone who wants a clearer understanding of U.S. foreign policy toward Chile during the Nixon presidency, this book is essential reading.

Using freshly released U.S. tapes and documents and Chilean sources Lubna Qureshi has written a fresh analysis of the United States' 1973 intervention to overthrow the freely elected government of Salvador Allende. Qureshi demonstrates that the Nixon administration did not truly perceive Allende as a threat to U.S. national security in the overall context of the Cold War. Rather, Nixon and Kissinger feared Allende's socializing and nationalizing actions would encourage other Latin American nations to challenge American hegemony. The major impelling force behind the US intervention in Chile that lead to a dictatorship came from the corporate concerns of President Nixon and pressures from powerful business clients to control the civilian economy.. Woven into this convincing interpretation are episodes of concise narrative including the CIA assisted assassination of General Schneider, the last constitutionalist military leader protecting civilian government against the coup d'etat by General Pinochet, and a discussion of U.S. victims of the vicious aftermath, among them Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi. Qureshi's volume is a significant revisioning and recontextualization of a grim episode from which the thriving, redemocratized, and pace setting Chile has only recently emerged.

From the Publisher

Using freshly released U.S. tapes and documents and Chilean sources Lubna Qureshi has written a fresh analysis of the United States' 1973 intervention to overthrow the freely elected government of Salvador Allende. Qureshi demonstrates that the Nixon administration did not truly perceive Allende as a threat to U.S. national security in the overall context of the Cold War. Rather, Nixon and Kissinger feared Allende's socializing and nationalizing actions would encourage other Latin American nations to challenge American hegemony. The major impelling force behind the US intervention in Chile that lead to a dictatorship came from the corporate concerns of President Nixon and pressures from powerful business clients to control the civilian economy.. Woven into this convincing interpretation are episodes of concise narrative including the CIA assisted assassination of General Schneider, the last constitutionalist military leader protecting civilian government against the coup d'etat by General Pinochet, and adiscussion of U.S. victims of the vicious aftermath, among them Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi. Qureshi's volume is a significant revisioning and recontextualization of a grim episode from which the thriving, redemocratized, and pace setting Chile has o

Diane S. Clemens

For anyone interested in the economic motivations that led the Nixon administration to intervene in Chile, or how Nixon spoke about Latin America and the issue of democracy in private, this is nevertheless a useful book. It is a good book for those wanting to examine the role that dependency and capitalism played in Chile and it will be helpful alongside books on the same subject by scholars like Haslam and Kristian Gustafson for encouraging students to explore different arguments related to U.S. involvement in Chile.

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online

Qureshi's elegantly written study offers a fresh and well-researched interpretation of U.S. foreign policy toward Chile during the Allende presidency. This book explains U.S. opposition to the Allende government by highlighting Nixon and Kissinger's imperial disdain for Latin America in general and Chile in particular, their fundamental ignorance of the region, and the influence of the U.S. business community. Qureshi draws on an array of sources, including the Nixon tapes, U.S. and Chilean government documents, and secondary sources to shed new light on a pivotal moment in U.S. history. She also discusses the history and importance of Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, two North Americans killed by the Chilean military (with possible U.S. government complicity) following the September 11, 1973, coup that overthrew Allende. For anyone who wants a clearer understanding of U.S. foreign policy toward Chile during the Nixon presidency, this book is essential reading.

Margaret Power