The Chris Hedges Report: Journalism and Argentina's Dirty War

In the late 1970s and 1980s, Argentina's civic-military dictatorship disappeared over 30,000 people, using death squads trained by the US as part of the now infamous Operation Condor. The victims were held in secret prisons, savagely tortured, and murdered. To this day, many families do not know the fate of their loved ones. In this episode of the Chris Hedges Report, former Buenos Aires Herald editor Robert Cox joins the show to recount his experiences reporting on the disappeared during Argentina's "Dirty War."
Robert Cox is a British journalist who served as editor and publisher of the Buenos Aires Herald, an English-language daily newspaper in Argentina. Cox became famous for his criticism of the military dictatorship (1976-1983); he was also targeted by police forces and was detained and jailed, then released after a day. During this time, he received multiple threats against his family; eventually, Cox and his family left Argentina in 1979 and moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he became an editor of The Post and Courier. In 2005, the Buenos Aires legislature recognized Cox for his valor during the dictatorship.

Chris Hedges interviews writers, intellectuals, and dissidents, many banished from the mainstream, in his half-hour show, The Chris Hedges Report. He gives voice to those, from Cornel West and Noam Chomsky to the leaders of groups such as Extinction Rebellion, who are on the front lines of the struggle against militarism, corporate capitalism, white supremacy, the looming ecocide, as well as the battle to wrest back our democracy from the clutches of the ruling global oligarchy.
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[@DanielJohnson-vr9mw]

Mr Cox, The Buenos Aires Herald. ...part of my youth...yes we were all relieved when the military took over, we thought that the violence would stop, and then, some of my friends started to vanish. I have never seen them again. Dropped drugged into the sea. Mr Cox, you are one of the bravest persons that I know. You and Andrew Graham Yool.Thanks to you, we learned about what was going on. I have never met you, but as we say in Argentina: "te llevo en el alma". I carry you in my heart. (Sorry for getting so emotional)

[@kinglear5952]

Extraordinary story of one of my all time heroes. What humanity.

[@ceciliaromia]

Thank you so much from Argentina, Chris! I am horrified by what happened in my own country.

[@scenFor109]

Thank you Chris, for your magnificent service.

[@russiatellsonlytruth373]

Russia 🇷🇺 is profoundly grateful.

[@salvatorefarmerson3226]

Thank you for the interview

[@trevorsmith8950]

Thank you for highlighting the Argentinian Dirty War! This is real journalism.

[@kenharris5390]

To have a man, with such high moral principles, living and working with his family in such a dystopian hell is an inspiring example of humanity at its best. The women, that went to the US Embassy, must have had an inkling that their entering and leaving would have been noted, and action could be taken against them and their families, yet they still went. Thank you Chris, I would like to add two quotations from an author who we both admire, George Orwell.

[@kenharris5390]

Thanks for the like, uptick. A thought has just occurred to my Gin-addled brain, should the space cowboys, so-called because they are not on the same planet as us mere taxpayers, Republican Party regain the White House, what nefarious means will they use to silence Chris? They have so many arms of government to choose from.

[@techwriter398]

Good to see Chris found a channel.

[@robertcox14]

There's a Bob Cox who is editor at The Winnipeg Free Press. I'm in Montreal, there's a lot of us. "We are very much in an "environment" of Surface Materialism, and those of us philosophers who analyze the depths of meaning are being attacked as having "mere opinions" that are no different than the non-thinking universe of pre-fab words spelled correctly, but left abandoned as relics of a lost world of meaning. I am here trying to "embody" my anger and fear at being dismissed and demeaned as "just another opinion" in a world without real meaning - the quickest tweet/text with the fewest letters and the fastest reply with no thinking. That's a full retreat from "discourse" and dialogue. The worst part is the unnoticed abridgement of rationality and reason that are deemed as "clutter" and verbosity. "There's no time for that." Texting shorthand is a quicker message with less substance, ideally encouraging tiny thoughts without any nuance. Wat hath Gawd rot?

[@InTheBleakMidwinter]

Absolutely essential journalism

[@mericanignoranc3551]

...wasted on mericans doing absolutely nothing and whom remain obedient to the fascist state.

[@strezztechnoid]

Thank you Mr. Hedges, I've wondered what has inspirited your heart-felt commitment to the truth and what journalism looks like. You have shown that you are not alone and that despair, the coin of the U.S. press, is not a given. The political class in the U.S. have demonstrated quite the opposite, a cynical and dismissive cabal of power brokers that serve only their hubris.

[@AveCaesar2112]

Very nice. Now get out on the street and protest.

[@jennyrokeach523]

Thank you for sharing your profound experiences.

[@pinzgauernorcal]

thanks for the content.

[@karenjensen6642]

Thanks buddy for trying to help me out on the live stream

[@karenjensen6642]

My son doesn't like me to get involved because we just got rid of the guys in black that check up on us a couple of times a year and he doesn't want them to come back

[@karenjensen6642]

Just subscribed to your channel

[@beeamendola]

THANK YOU CHRIS HEDGES FOR ALL YOU DO IN GETTING THE TRUTH OUT FROM GROUND LEVEL SOURCES!!!

[@oldhollywoodbriar]

Real New Network has been kinda trash lately but Hedges can save it!

[@solidaritytime3650]

I refuse to have heros. That said, Chris is as close to a heroic figure as I can conjure.

[@AveCaesar2112]

How emblematic. Grow up.

[@solidaritytime3650]

@@AveCaesar2112 lel, I can't tell if this is sarcasm or if you utterly fail to recognize the irony of your statement.

[@AveCaesar2112]

@@solidaritytime3650 It’s spelled udderly... Read a book, nerd!

[@solidaritytime3650]

@@AveCaesar2112 thank you for the clarification. :)

[@biff408]

No celebrity or "leader" from the outside will save us. Either each of us will save ourselves, or we won't. It's that stark and that simple.

[@wmmillet8374]

Thanks for Real News!!!!

[@3_2_1]

Thanks for the video. I find Argentina a very complicated subject to cover even within tens of books. The left in Argentina and Che Guevara never got on to the point he left his country and ended up in Cuba. Argentina has been exposed to constant foreign interventions up to now. I tried to understand today's Argentina's government and my head almost exploded. I haven't seen as many forces, interest groups, foreign factors within a political system. The gentleman mentioned Nazis in Argentina, same country hosts the largest Jewish population in Latin America. I was going to explain Andinia Plan but it seems it was a conspiracy theory. That's how complicated it is.

[@kathleankeesler1639]

Thank you.

[@bohditony]

Tremendous. After all that has happened. History keeps repeating .

[@mikestander2413]

Chris Hedges, I saw Jimmy Dore in concert last night and he mentioned your name when someone asked him who he'd like to see run for President. Maybe we could see a Hedges/Dore ticket for the Green Party in '24?

[@strezztechnoid]

Have a colleague in Argentina, a mathematician but also a friend. The experiience of my friend is concerning, in 2014 I contacted the alumni organization to reach out and find out some sort of status relative to. their situation. The government had initiated a intimidation campaign and it became obvious that our relationship could not be sustained. This is tragic and horrific. Two individuals unable to share ideas and thoughts as our discourse (academic in tenor) fell in the conflict. And this is contemporary, not the far past.

[@henryrollins9177]

2014? Hard to understand what you are trying to imply...

[@huwpatt3817]

It seems authoritarians still.rule A.

[@BernieHollandMusic]

The role of the 'covert operations' branch of the CIA in 'destabilising' legitimate governments by means of various sponsored terrorist groups cannot be underestimated, a notable case being the overthrow of the Chilean revolutionary democrat Salvador Allende and his betrayal by Pinochet - which was a co-op by Washington and London. What was Allende's crime ? It was to nationalise Chile's copper and nitrate industries in order to fund social programmes throughout the country.

[@felixdevilliers1]

Of course I knew what happened in Argentina but this more detailed account is terrifying.

[@felixdevilliers1]

I had other things to say about the indifference your guest talks about but this has been censored.

[@ct371006]

Please watch such movies as "Imagining Argentina" and "Death and the Maiden". No rehabilitation for war criminals. No "reconciliation" administrations. Only prosecutions!

[@henryrollins9177]

Of course! And punishment in standard prisons until death. What is expected for genocidal dictators?

[@Aurinkohirvi]

I wonder about the people who decided about the mass murdrers and tortures. Horrible monsters.

[@toinpituba6590]

Untold epic stories, there is no way to thank you for bringing such important facts to light and making us aware of these extraordinary figures who saved so many lives, as well as showing the true face of demonic characters that permeate our fragile democracies. And not to forget that no matter how much we promote our evolution, we will still be capable of committing barbarities and colluding with them through silence or neglect.

[@tetrahead72]

fear locks people down

[@tfjackson617]

So glad I found this channel.Thank God Studying if or how much this was in part a result of the US policies adopted in 1975 ...( the year America most her soul).

[@Hoppenoffer]

Chris, for goodness sake, use the guests full name at the end of your show. “That was…“

[@geoffreynhill2833]

And what did we get in the UK when this savagery was taking place in Peron's Argentina? The musical "EVITA", a slushy tribute to Peron's wife by a couple of posh English private school boys, and the world snorted it up like cocaine. (from Green Fire)

[@henryrollins9177]

Nope! This wasn't Peron's Argentina. Dictatorship started overthrowing Peron from 1955 to 1972 and Perón ruled again since '72 to '74 ...when a new US dictatorship took control until 83' .

[@geoffreynhill2833]

@@henryrollins9177 Ignorant as I am on the details - I confess it - I think my point still stands. (I trust you're keeping well.)

[@geoffreynhill2833]

@@henryrollins9177 PS: Bernie for President! Or Marianne!

[@EE-ve3vh]

@@geoffreynhill2833 Bernie is too busy financing the war in Ukraine and promoting ww3 too busy.

[@szymborska]

Note- never use the Fa*k word in Argentina. In Spanish, and in Argentina, they are known as The Malvinas Islands.

[@nihleigleca6702]

Commenting to help the algorithm

[@tegusentertainment8021]

I'll reply for the same reason

[@YenkammaNe]

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT BEING A HINDU? By Francois Gautier. *Diversity in Divinity and Unity in Spirituality.* 1) Believe in God ! - Aastik - Accepted 2) Don't believe in God ! - You're accepted as Nastik 3) You want to worship idols - please go ahead. You are a murti pujak. 4) You dont want to worship idols - no problem. You can focus on Nirguna Brahman. 5) You want to criticise something in our religion. Come forward. We are logical. Nyaya, Tarka etc. are core Hindu schools. 6) You want to accept beliefs as it is. Most welcome. Please go ahead with it. 7) You want to start your journey by reading Bhagvad Gita - Sure ! 8) You want to start your journey by reading Upanishads - Go ahead. 9) You want to start your journey by reading Purana - Be my guest. 10) You just don't like reading Puranas or other books. No problem my dear. Go by Bhakti tradition . ( bhakti- devotion) 11) You don't like idea of Bhakti ! No problem. Do your Karma. Be a karmayogi. 12) You want to enjoy life. Very good. No problem at all. This is Charvaka Philosophy. 13) You want to abstain from all the enjoyment of life & find God - jai ho ! Be a Sadhu, an ascetic ! 14) You don't like the concept of God. You believe in Nature only - Welcome. (Trees are our friends and Prakriti or nature is worthy of worship). 15) You believe in one God or Supreme Energy. Superb! Follow Advaita philosophy 16) You want a Guru. Go ahead. Receive gyaan. 17) You don't want a Guru.. Help yourself ! Meditate, Study ! 18) You believe in Female energy ! Shakti is worshipped. 19) You believe that every human being is equal. Yeah! You're awesome, come on let's celebrate Hinduism! "Vasudhaiva kutumbakam" (the world is a family) 20) You don't have time to celebrate the festival. Don't worry. One more festival is coming! There are multiple festivals every single day of the year. 21) You are a working person. Don't have time for religion. Its okay. You will still be a Hindu. 22) You like to go to temples. Devotion is loved. 23) You don't like to go to temples - no problem. You are still a Hindu! 24) You know that Hinduism is a way of life, with considerable freedom. 25) You believe that everything has God in it. So you worship your mother, father, guru, tree, River, Prani-matra, Earth, Universe! 26) And If you don't believe that everything has GOD in it - No problems. Respect your viewpoint. 27) "Sarve jana sukhino bhavantu " (May you all live happily) You represent this! You're free to choose, my dear Hindu! This is exactly the essence of Hinduism, all inclusive .. That is why it has withstood the test of time inspite of repeated onslaught both from within and outside, and assimilated every good aspects from everything . That is why it is eternal !!! There is a saying in Rigveda , the first book ever known to mankind which depicts the Hinduism philosophy in a Nutshell -" Ano bhadrah Krathavo Yanthu Vishwathah"- Let the knowledge come to us from every directions

[@stevedixon4787]

I assume Henry Kissinger caused all of this?

[@susanmercurio1060]

1:34 Gosh, being held in secret prisons and tortured? Sounds just like the US today.

[@davidschlessinger9945]

didn't his own country britain carry out an imperialist war in Argentina in the Falklands?

[@Bisquick]

0:45 Chris, you really shouldn't be eating newspapers.

[@jeffreydrhodes]

i always watch the first 30 minutes on youtube low bandwidth and the 10 minutes for members only I guess where the last 10 minutes are

[@biff408]

during these perilous times with so many important items, I suggest that this topic is at the bottom of the list. Argentina has been corrupt long before the noted time period and hasn't stopped the corruption till the present day. This program needs to focus on more immediate concerns.

[@breastfed6128]

👌

[@andreadaleyutronebel5894]

Dirty War? What War is not dirty? War sure aint' clean.

[@mikecorbeil]

What, no mention of the current RCC Pope Francis? I read that he was a RC bishop at this period in Argentina and that he contributed to these many killings, for which he has never been held accountable, You make no mention of this, but I read about it starting before he was appointed Pope. Something needs to be clarified about this.

[@DanielJohnson-vr9mw]

No, he did not contribute. Yes, he was not brave enough to confront the military. In that he failed miserably. The contrast with Robert Cox is substantial.

[@MrZakatista]

Nor was he a bishop.

[@davidschlessinger9945]

"saw coup as a relief". Sounds like unspeakable naivity

[@averayugen8462]

America expected Iraqi's to welcome them with tickertape parades

[@DanielJohnson-vr9mw]

Yes David, we were incredibly naive. In our defense I can say that nothing in previous military coups prepared us for what happened in 1976.

[@lordsummerisle3139]

@@DanielJohnson-vr9mw Daniel. Can I ask what’s your opinion on the guerilla movements that were agitating for several years before the coup happened? Do you have sympathy for what happened to them at the hands of the military? Or were argentines relieved when the coup happened because they were sick of guerrilla violence? (I’m not trying to start an argument here, I find the dirty war period fascinating and am interested in what you and other Argentines think).

[@felixdevilliers1]

I think the Argentinians could be excused for initially feeling relief because they thought this regime was bringing order not the destruction of it. I am surprised by the indiffrence one guest describes, but not entriely, as much indffierence of that kind - or simply not wanting to know, - prevails in our times.. Many people, once friends, have turned against me for reporting truths like the ones above. My battle is a lonely one but I will not stop it and there are a small number of friends who agree with me. It consoles me to see that Hedges and Jinny Dore have a lot of support.

[@rawhorley5977]

Wonder what younger Pope Francis role was at that time frame ? Anyone Know ? Please Reply !

[@gracelynne3918]

Depends on what ones' politics are.

[@MrZakatista]

He was the Provincial of the Argentine Jesuit Province.

[@EE-ve3vh]

Good question. There's Lots of info on the matter.

[@alloomis1635]

there are secular saints, but many are directed to do good by a message from god. either way, homer sap must be grateful. the result is not always great, or even visible, but i suspect without the efforts on these good people, humanity would have eaten itself long ago. i disassociated myself from the usa long ago, as an act of personal salvation, and i recommend leaving for there are many better places to live. but staying and resisting deserves great respect.

[@MrSuperGamerz]

Comment for algorithm

[@notduhpopo]

Journalism is dead..