4 ms·
I would like to point out that the article, despite it's leading title, states that there's little evidence to suggest the agent was working for the CIA at the
by trekky1700 13y ago
I would like to point out that the article, despite it's leading title, states that there's little evidence to suggest the agent was working for the CIA at the time. He owned a security company and was hired by a South African government agency.
Title really should be: "The Day Mandela Was Arrested, With A Little Help From A Hired Private Security Contractor Who Happened To Have Worked For The CIA In The Past"
- scarmig 13y agoThis is inaccurate. Mandela was arrested in the 1962, and Shirley (the person in question) only retired from the agency a decade later, in 1973. http://www.salon.com/1996/11/14/news_577/ http://www.salon.com/1996/11/14/news_577/ I believe the confusion comes from when the training manuals for the South African security/intelligence forces were being developed by him, which came later, after his ostensible retirement.
- jokoon 13y agoMaybe the CIA should not have worked with those guys in the first place ? That's one part of capitalism I hate, paying fat checks, and knowing it will never backfire to you. When you're a government agency, when you hire somebody, there's espionage/politics involved, don't pretend the CIA is pinky pony. It's strategic moves from start to end. I've seen worse headlines.
- Shivetya 13y agoThis has nothing to do with capitalism and more to do with anything, colonialism and the Cold War. It was politics as usual, help allies to keep them. While it is easy to sit back and judge the past we have to realize that some actions were seen as prudent at the time. The nation Mandela came up in is far different from what it is today but so is the world. This by no means excuses actions of the past, but at the time who would have ever figured the transformation that took place in him at the time.
- the_af 13y agoWith this mindset, is it ever possible to judge anything? "At the time, it made sense to help racists (who happened to be our allies) imprison and possibly hang a black agitator. We now know it was wrong, but back then who knew?" Um, ok. So when is it right to denounce those who helped racist regimes?
- vasilipupkin 13y agoI agree with your general point, but at the time U.S. was locked in an existential struggle with the Soviet Union and essentially was taking all sorts of actions around the world against many parties sympathetic to communist causes. Not saying it's an excuse, but it does provide some context
- avenger123 13y agoSorry, this line is getting very very old. It's extremely tiresome to watch actions being justified because the "big bad" communists were out there. And what is this about an existential struggle? The only real struggle between the two nations was who would dominate the rest of the world. I don't consider this existential. China is doing just fine without wanting to take over the rest of the world. It's great revisionist history going on right now with Nelson Mandela's death. If you don't know the real history, you would think the States was right there beside Mandela fighting for freedom.
- vasilipupkin 13y agomakes me think you didn't live in the Soviet Union. Trust me, it was a very bad place
- dannypgh 13y ago"While it is easy to sit back and judge the past we have to realize that some actions were seen as prudent at the time." Not by black people.
- jokoon 13y ago