Argentine Military Terror - Essay Example

Argentine Military Terror In the early 1970s, terrorism became an issue of international concern. In this context, terrorism referred to issues that were aimed to threaten or intimidate political opponents. Argentina’s politics in 1970-1980 s was also influenced by tension between Russia and the United States. The period was also marked by left-wing terrorism or Marxist terrorism, which sought to overthrow the capitalist regimes and possibly replace them with socialist governments. The position of Cuba remained critical to the Russians in their efforts to instill communism in the United States.

Other than the communist and capitalist struggles, the Argentine military played a significant role in the dirty war, which targeted the citizens. This essay will therefore investigate how Argentina military became an integral element of the 1970-1980 s terrorism. The essay will also investigate factors that caused left wing and right wing struggles to degenerate into brutality. The dirty war had its origin in the early 1970 s where military officials played a key role in committing acts of genocide against the civilian population.

The operations were conducted under the leadership of Jorge Rafael Videla who took over from Isabella Martinez. Under Videla’s leadership, the Argentine military was ready to deal with anyone who opposed the authoritarian regime of Jorge Videla (Marvin web). Firstly, the military targeted trade unionists and college students, protesters and right wing activists. The military applied immediate tactics in dealing with protesters such as kidnappings and detentions without trials. In the late 1970 s, the target changed from those who opposed the government to those who were suspected to be against the regime or those who had conflicts with the regime (Marvin web).

The military is also accused of mass murder of dirty war victims most of whom were never accounted for. The Argentina’s dirty war is considered as the darkest moment of the country’s history. During this period, the government is accused to have killed between 9,000 and 30,000 argentines in its effort to curb social activism that came to be known as left wing movement. It is obvious that the argentine regime was part of the right wing faction. There are various reasons that led the left and right conflict to degenerate into a brutal confrontation.

Firstly, the US government offered support to the argentine authority in its effort to eliminate the right wing activism that was champion by the Russians. The independence of Argentina also introduced social differences between the people. Soon after gaining its independence, Argentina became segregated into two societies that were made of coastal urban residents and rural residents. The two groups had great social and economic differences. These differences became the basis of the right and left wing activism.

Economic hardships experienced by the Argentineans sparked violence that was soon hijacked by the right wing and left wing factions (Marvin web). Struggles to control the country were also a significant source of brutality between the two factions. Each of the two factions had external influence from parties that had interest in Argentina’s governance. Conclusion The argentine dirty war that lasted from 1970 s to 1980 s remains to be the darkest moment of the country’s history. The authoritative government used the military to commit atrocities that targeted people who opposed the government.

The military contributed to the terrorism through indiscriminate arrest, torture, and murder of political prisoners. Left and right wing factions were also critical in the conflict that resulted into a brutal confrontation. External influence from Russia and the United States also contributed to the confrontation. Social and economic differences between the two factions were also responsible for the brutal confrontation between right wing and left wing factions. Works Cited Marvin, Taylor. Class Conflict, Economic Stagnation, and the Road to Argentina’s Dirty War. 2011. Prospectjournal.

Web 12, May 2012.