Former Top-Secret U.S. Government Document Fueling Left-Wing Attacks and Misinformation on Brazilian Efforts against Communist Terror in the 1970s

By Julio Severo

O Globo, one of the most prominent — in a usually left-wing prominence — Brazilian newspapers, said last week:

“A memo by former CIA director William Egan Colby on April 11, 1974, and addressed to then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger suggests how former President [Brazilian] Ernesto Geisel learned about and authorized the execution of hundreds of political opponents during the military dictatorship in Brazil.”

Folha de S. Paulo, another Brazilian newspaper with a usually left-wing prominence, said,

“A 1974 secret document released by the United States Department of State states that former President Ernesto Geisel (1974-1979) approved the continuation of a policy of ‘summary executions’ of opponents of the military dictatorship.”

All the Brazilian left is feasting on the declassified information made available on the U.S. State Department website.

Brazilian President Ernesto Geisel

Yet, what O Globo called innocent “political opponents,” the U.S. State Department called “the most dangerous subversives and terrorists.”

So what is the problem of the Brazilian military regime executing the most dangerous subversives and terrorists?

All of these terrorists were communists. They were not engaged in innocent political activities. They were engaged in killings, bank-robbing and many other violent crimes. Above all, they were killing to establish in Brazil a communist dictatorship.

There is a massive difference. While communist regimes around the world — including in the Soviet Union, China and Cuba — were randomly killing anyone pacifically opposing their dictatorship, the Brazilian military was not randomly killing people not involved in terrorist activities.

What did the State Department document say?

“[CIA director William] Colby reported that [Brazilian] President [Ernesto] Geisel planned to continue [former Brazilian President] Médici’s policy of using extra legal means against subversives but would limit executions to the most dangerous subversives and terrorists.”

This was top secret. Why is it now freely available for left-wingers to trash an unpleasant, but necessary event?

There is no problem in limiting executions to the most dangerous subversives and terrorists. If they had not been executed, these dangerous subversives and terrorists would overthrow the Brazilian government and not limit any of their executions: they would execute everyone and anyone, including the most innocent citizens.

The violence of these terrorists was not sparing even Americans in Brazil:

* “In October 1968 the VPR [Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária, a Marxist group] raised the stakes when they assassinated U.S. Army Captain Charles [Rodney] Chandler as he stepped outside his house in São Paulo. Chandler was taking university courses (at the highly conservative Mackenzie University) as part of his training to teach Portuguese at West Point.” (Thomas E. Skidmore, The Politics of Military Rule in Brazil, 1964-1985 [Oxford University Press, 1990], page 87.)

* Charles Burke Elbrick, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, was kidnapped and held for four days in September 1969.

So there is no point in defending the most dangerous subversives and terrorists, as the Brazilian press is doing. To treat the most dangerous subversives and terrorists as mere political opponents is to trample on the blood of their victims. As the old saying goes, he who saves the wolves sacrifices the sheep.

What else did the State Department say?

“The [State] Department informed the [U.S.] Embassy [in Brazil] that, given the rapid economic development of Brazil and congressional hostility to indefinitely continuing assistance programs, bilateral assistance (with the exception of narcotics and family-planning assistance) would be phased out.”

This was top secret. Its date was May 18, 1973.

Why was the U.S. government so intent on not phasing out its “family-planning assistance” to Brazil?

Mentioned prominently in the declassified document is Henry Kissinger, then State secretary, who was very worried about the Brazilian affairs. Kissinger was also, with the CIA, responsible for the NSSM 200 (National Security Study Memorandum 200). It is also called the Kissinger Report, and it was drafted during the Republican administration of Richard Nixon.

NSSM 200’s subject was “Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests” and treats the growth of the Brazilian population as a threat to the U.S. access to the Brazilian natural resources.

NSSM 200 identifies Brazil as one of the primary targets of the U.S. population control policies, which included the integration of the health care services for family planning and indoctrination.

A major victory of NSSM 200 was to integrate family planning in health care services. Before NSSM 200, family planning (which is a euphemism for population control) was not health care and was not integrated in health care services. Its integration was a population control victory of the Nixon administration, a Republican administration obsessed to reduce the world population and that, not surprisingly, saw abortion being legalized under the Republican noses.

Other powerful measures implemented directly from the NSSM 200 were indoctrination that the ideal family size was 2 children and that women should be “encouraged” or even pushed to work outside home, exactly to make it hard for them to have babies.

While the Brazilian government was working to execute the most dangerous subversives and terrorists — a necessary measure that would not displease any decent man and woman —, the U.S. government was working to “execute” new Brazilian generations through stealth population control intended to reserve Brazilian natural resources not to the next generation of Brazilians, but to the next generation of Americans.

Meanwhile, the same Brazilian left-wing media that has been careful not to call communists actively engaged in violence and terrorist attacks as dangerous communist subversives and terrorists has been equally careful not to expose and attack population-control efforts from the U.S. government.

The State Department document said,

“Crimmins informed the [State] Department that the Brazil-FRG [Federal Republic of Germany] agreement on nuclear cooperation reflected Brazil’s desire for major power status. The Ambassador concluded that if Brazil became a nuclear power, it would strain its ties to the United States.”

If Brazil wants a peaceful co-existence with the United States, it cannot achieve a major power status. I know this because in 2008 U.S. prophet Chuck Pierce prophetically said to me and a group of Brazilian Christian leaders that if Brazil supported Israel, God would raise Brazil as a power and the result would be jealously and opposition from the United States. You can read my full report here. Currently, as a nation that does not respect Israel, Brazil does not deserve to become a power.

The State Department document said,

“The [U.S.] Embassy commented on the election of Geisel as President, noting that the return to representative government promised by the Médici regime had not taken place.”

I support, in the U.S. context, representative government for the US, because its institutions are strong. But in the Brazilian context of the 1970s, when the Brazilian institutions were seriously under threat from subversive and armed actions from communists funded by foreign communist dictatorships, a representative, peaceful and democratic government to fight armed communist violence and guerrilla would be national suicide. Communists themselves were demanding “representative government,” as if they wanted democracy. In the Brazilian context, representative government would be a springboard for communist chaos and revolution.

Even so, the U.S. government was worried about a lack of such representative government, even though it has never pressured in any way its great ally, the Islamic dictatorship of Saudi Arabia, to have a democratic government.

The State Department document said,

* “[U.S. Ambassador to Brazil] Crimmins discussed the prospects for political liberalization in Brazil. He concluded it would be a continuing source of difficulty for the Geisel administration.”

* “Crimmins suggested possible topics for Kissinger’s prospective trip to Brazil. Specifically, the Ambassador requested that the Secretary raise with Geisel political liberalization, in particular human rights abuses.”

* “Crimmins maintained that it was unlikely that direct U.S. Government assistance programs could be used to mitigate human rights abuses, but that regional assistance efforts could be effective.”

* “Ambassador Crimmins reported on steps taken by the Embassy to impress upon Brazilian officials the U.S. Government’s concern regarding human rights abuses.”

* “The Department instructed the Embassy to deliver a démarche to [Brazilian] Foreign Minister Silveira to inform him of congressional concern over human rights abuses.”

* “In telegram 45319 to all diplomatic posts, February 25, the Department requested information and analysis regarding human rights abuses in countries receiving U.S. economic development or military assistance.”

* “The Embassy recommended that an invitation for the head of the Brazilian Army Intelligence Center to visit the United States be deferred in light of concerns over human rights and Operation Condor.”

What is striking in this communication under a Republican, conservative administration is that the whole document of the State Department contains no expression of worry about human right abuses committed by communist terrorists against Brazilian citizens. There is no such worry by Henry Kissinger, the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, the CIA and the State Department.

How could the Brazilian military government deal democratically with communist terrorists, who were already committing all kinds of violence, without “abuses” on their human rights?

While the Brazilian military government was dealing with communists — who with Muslims are par excellence human-right abusers —, the U.S. government was taking the Brazilian government to task for human-right abuses against communists. Had the State Department doubts that communists sought to establish in Brazil a human-right abuse dictatorship against the Brazilian population?

I want to make it very clear that, as an evangelical, between the anti-Israel Brazilian military government and the pro-Israel U.S. government, I would prefer the U.S. government. But between revolutionary communists intent on overthrowing the Brazilian government and the Brazilian military government, what were the innocent Brazilian citizens to choose?

I can understand today the Obama administration worried about human right abuses of the Brazilian military government in the 1970s, but I cannot understand how the same Republican, conservative administration of Nixon that tolerated all kinds of terrible human right abuses in Saudi Arabia complaining about the Brazilian military government not respecting the human rights of communist terrorists.

The Republican Party and its Nixon administration were not kind and fair to Brazil in the 1970s. I am not defending everything done by the military government under General Ernesto Geisel, the Lutheran president. In fact, the was the first Protestant president of Brazil.

The State Department document also said,

“In telegram 43532 to all diplomatic posts, February 26, the Department informed posts in countries receiving U.S. security assistance that ‘human rights factors must, under existing Department of State policy, be carefully considered in planning and carrying out our Security Assistance Programs.’ (Ibid., D750069–0367) Crimmins raised the cases of Kucinski and Wright in a meeting with Araujo Castro on April 25. (Telegram 7073 from Brasília, August 14; ibid., D750281–0294).”

Probably, Crimmins meant Paulo Stuart Wright, born in Brazil to U.S. missionaries. Wright was a Brazilian politician actively engaged in socialist activities. The Brazilian military government made him “disappear.” His brother was Jaime Nelson Wright, a Presbyterian minister actively engaged in socialist propaganda, especially in the Social Gospel (known in Brazil as Theology of Integral Mission). Even though he was not involved in armed violence, his propaganda supported communists involved in such violence.

As a conservative evangelical, I do not support Wright’s left-wing political militancy and equally I do not support what the Brazilian military government did to him. Even though armed violence is fought with armed answer, bad propagandas are fought with better propagandas — especially the Gospel, which is enough to counter atheistic or “Christian” socialism. If Wright was involved only in socialist propaganda, not in armed violence, the government should have found another way to deal with him. Jaime Wright, who became a human right advocate for Brazilian socialists, was fundamental in pressuring the U.S. government to make the Brazilian government accountable for the disappearance of his brother. He was successful in such pressure only because his parents were Americans.

Both Wrights could have avoided much personal suffering if, instead getting busy with socialist activism, they had got busy only with the mission of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and expelling demons in the name of Jesus.

But, again, if the U.S. government could tolerate Saudi Arabia, a champion of human right abuses, why not tolerate the lesser abuses in Brazil?

In the U.S. context, with many evangelical churches influencing the U.S. government, it was possible to fight communism with democracy. But in the Brazilian context, it was impossible to fight communism with democracy.

I understand the Democratic Party and its socialist administrations of Carter, Clinton and Obama not being kind and fair to the Brazilian fight against communist terrorists. But why were the Republican Party and its Nixon administration equally unfair?

Why were the Republican Party and its Nixon administration worried about the human right abuses of communist subversives and terrorists in Brazil?

Now, the Brazilian left is using the complaints of the Nixon administration, as made available in the State Department website, as a confirmation that the Brazilian military government committed human right abuses against communists.

This is by far one of the greatest disservices of the U.S. government to the anticommunist fight in Brazil. The other great disservice was the U.S. population control campaign, launched by a Republican administration, to target the Brazilian population for reduction and indoctrination.

I confess that I was myself a victim of this indoctrination, being taught that birth control and family planning are a human right — just as NSSM 200 teaches. But after contact with Mary Pride (especially her excellent book, “The Way Home,” published by Crossway Books in 1985) and Dr. Paul Marx, the founder of Human Life International, I understood that my pro-birth control mindset was a result of the population control indoctrination initiated long ago in Brazil by a U.S. Republican administration and its NSSM 200.

My first contact with Paul Marx was through Last Days Ministries in 1986. I had already contact with Last Days Ministries, of Keith Green, before, being much blessed by its evangelistic, devotional, inspirational and pro-life literature. By reading its pro-life literature, I became fully pro-life and I asked its help to report an illegal abortion clinic in Brazil. Because Last Days Ministries had no office in Brazil, they gave me the contact of Paul Marx, whose Human Life International had Catholic contacts in Brazil. Even though ultimately these contacts could not help me close the abortion clinic in São Paulo, my mother and I were able to do it.

By revelation of the Holy Spirit, we were divinely warned not to report to the local police, which was in some way connected with the clinic. A police station of another region was contacted.

I thank God that there are Americans fighting hard to educate people around the world about the evils that the U.S. government, under Republican and Democratic administrations, do against other nations through its stealth population control efforts.

Portuguese version of this article: Documento do governo dos EUA que era extremamente secreto vem alimentando ataques e desinformação da esquerda sobre esforços brasileiros contra o terrorismo comunista na década de 1970

Source: Last Days Watchman

Recommended Reading:

U.S. Betrays Military Men Who Protected Brazil from Communist Threat

Exposing the Global Population Control Agenda

Brazil, the Next (Regional or Global) Threat to the U.S. Economic Supremacy?

The Religious War between CIA and KGB in Latin America

Amid Crisis in Brazil, Evangelicals Emerge as the Main Conservative Power