“Watch what we do, not what we say” – John Mitchell, 1969

Whatever PEBO and Blair say about torture and death squads, what Admiral Blair actually did was to conspire with Indonesia’s death squads commanders against the express instructions of the US Government: certainly insubordinate, arguably treasonous.

If PEBO wants an intelligence chief whose shown he’ll prioritize continuing torture, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity over a mere trifle like duly constituted Executive Branch authority, than PEBO’s got his man.

Isn’t the change of Imperial leaders glorious?

ALLAN NAIRN: Well, Admiral Blair was involved in supporting the Indonesian armed forces as they were massacring churches in East Timor, as they were killing civilians in 1999 in the run-up to a UN-sponsored free election. That election was due to decide whether East Timor would become independent. The Indonesian army was trying to stop the occupied Timorese from voting for independence, so they set up militias, which went on rampages.

In one incident, they went into a church in Liquica where refugees were hiding. They massacred them with machetes. Their flesh was found plastered to the walls. Two days after that, Admiral Blair went to meet with the Indonesian commander, General Wiranto, and he gave him reassurances that the US was still behind him. He offered him new US military aid. And even though Blair had been told by the State Department and the White House to tell Wiranto to stop the massacres, Blair did not do that. This is according to classified US cables which I obtained in 1999 and reported in The Nation magazine.

After that, when people at the State Department heard about what Blair had done, he was told to talk to Wiranto again. He again spoke to Wiranto, on the phone, and again reassured him, offered him new US military aid. Blair even offered Wiranto aid for the specific unit, the Brimob, the paramilitary police who had gone into that church as they chopped up the refugees and chopped up the clergy who were hiding there. General Wiranto naturally took this as reassurance. He escalated the attacks. Wiranto was later indicted for crimes against humanity. Blair has not been held to account.

Ambitious intel folks take note: now PEBO wants to make him intel chief. Job well done, Admiral Blair! That’s the way to show America won’t tolerate torture, right?

Watch what PEBO does, not what he says.

thanks kirk – i put a quick comment in spencer’s post on the subject. but i don’t think it got any attention… not enough people listening to democracy now!