Sep 23, 2023·edited Sep 23, 2023Liked by Kyle Orton
Ah yes, the invariable game of generals on thrones that comes with supression of communists in the Cold War. Prior to the events of 1973 the words "Jakarta is coming" appeared as grafitti around Santiago. In fact the CIA had distributed what might be called a "playbook" of methods developed by Indonesians in their genocide (or politicide) of +500,000 communists in 1966-67. I studied the historiography of that episode and see many parallels with the Chilean example. No one knew which way Suharto would go; in fact, his communist friends in the general staff thought he was their pal right up to the end. He had attended the wedding of Colonel Untung, a former subordinate who started the botched 30 September coup. Both the UK and the CIA (with Australian help) "created the conditions" by creating a friendly media environment (radio, largely) for Suharto across the archipelago. Indeed, the UK may be held more responsible for creating those conditions through the defeat of Sukarno's forces in Malaysia. Both powers even facilitated events later by providing secure radio communications. However, neither the US nor the UK had foreknowledge of the events of 30 September. Benedict Anderson even suggests that the communist officers who launched the failed coup did so after staying up all night conducting divinatory mystic rituals. No intelligence agency could ever see such a chain of events coming. Rather, the art of covert operations in such situations is agile reaction to events. Suharto made a private agreement with the UK to withdraw troops from Kalimantan within 48 hours, but that still came after events that MI6 could neither foresee nor control. The CIA set out to learn from the Indonesians and pass on their lessons, they did not start the events or invent the methods.
Ah yes, the invariable game of generals on thrones that comes with supression of communists in the Cold War. Prior to the events of 1973 the words "Jakarta is coming" appeared as grafitti around Santiago. In fact the CIA had distributed what might be called a "playbook" of methods developed by Indonesians in their genocide (or politicide) of +500,000 communists in 1966-67. I studied the historiography of that episode and see many parallels with the Chilean example. No one knew which way Suharto would go; in fact, his communist friends in the general staff thought he was their pal right up to the end. He had attended the wedding of Colonel Untung, a former subordinate who started the botched 30 September coup. Both the UK and the CIA (with Australian help) "created the conditions" by creating a friendly media environment (radio, largely) for Suharto across the archipelago. Indeed, the UK may be held more responsible for creating those conditions through the defeat of Sukarno's forces in Malaysia. Both powers even facilitated events later by providing secure radio communications. However, neither the US nor the UK had foreknowledge of the events of 30 September. Benedict Anderson even suggests that the communist officers who launched the failed coup did so after staying up all night conducting divinatory mystic rituals. No intelligence agency could ever see such a chain of events coming. Rather, the art of covert operations in such situations is agile reaction to events. Suharto made a private agreement with the UK to withdraw troops from Kalimantan within 48 hours, but that still came after events that MI6 could neither foresee nor control. The CIA set out to learn from the Indonesians and pass on their lessons, they did not start the events or invent the methods.