Chile: the balanced view : a recopilation of articles about the Allende years and after

hes that offers 01 financial aid aimed at stopping Allende were made by ITT president Harold S. Geneen to the CIA in July 1970 and lo Henry Kissinger's office in September. The record indicates that the July offer was rejected by the CIA and Ihat the September offer was never passed on to Kissinger by the assistant who received it. However the ITT papers also include a report to Geneen lrom his senior vice president, E. J. Gerrity, describing a discussion on September 28 with William Broe 01 the Clandestine Services Division of the CIA, in which Broe outlined a program "aimed at inducing economic collapse" in Chile before the congressional runoff election in late October. The Broe proposals, said Gerrity, included nonrenewal 01 bank credits, a slowdówn in deliveries of spare parts, pressure on Chilean savings and loan companies, and withdrawal of technical help by private compa– nies. Gerrity reported to Geneen that lollowing his conversation with Broe, ITT's New York office had contacted several other companies about the plan, but those companies had responded that "they had been given advice which is directly contrary lo the suggestions I received." Broe himself testilied to the Senate committee tha! Gerrity had been negative about his plan, and subsequent documenls confirm that the other companies were unwi– lling to cooperale. When questioned by the Senators, Charles Meyer, Assislant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs at the time, insisted that U.S. policy had been stric! nonintervenlion and described the Broe conversations as merely an exploration 01 "the possibility 01 a series 01 possibilities which might have been inputs to changed polícy but were no!." The only contrary evidence in the papers and hearings is a report on October 15 to the ITT Washington office by its Chilean representative that the American ambassador, Edward Korry, had indicated tha! he was reducing the amount 01 U.S. aid "already in the pipeline" as much as he could. The report added: "The ambassador said that he had difficulty in convincing Washington 01 the need to cut off every possible assistance to Chile."(1) The Senators also questioned representatives 01 the major New York banks with interests in Chile about their lending policies in the period be!ween the popular election in Chile on September 4 and the runoff on October 24. AII denied being contacted by ITT or putting economic. pressure on Chile. First National City Bank testified tha! it had made available $5.4 million in credits to Chilean government agencies in the last three months 01 1970; Manufacturers' Hanover reported that by !he end of November its "exposure" in Chile had increased from $68 million to $72 million; Chase Manhattan explained that a slight reduction of its Unes 01 credít in the last quarter 01 1970 was due to the lailure of one customer to utilize its facilities; and the Bank 01 America testified that its correspondent banks in Chile h.ad been asked to hold thelr short-term lines of credit at an approximately constan! level-a policy which was followed un!il December 1971.(2) Thus there appears to be no subs!antial evidence in the ITT papers or hearings 01 an effort by the government or by private companies or banks to create an economic crisis lo prevent Allende from coming to power in 1970. There is no doubt, however, that such a policy was discussed in at least one instance. 111 The next crucial period runs from Allende's accession in November 1970 to early 1972. During this period the Chilean government moved to nationalize American interests and carried out internal economic policies with serious effects on both domestic investment and its international economic position. Finally, in November 1971, Chile declared a moratorium on most of Chile's foreign debts, while on the U.S. side President Nixon issued a formal policy statement in January 1972 that. unless there were "major factors" to the (1 )Multinatíonal Corporation and Vnited Sta/es FQreign Policy. Hearings before the Subcommittee on Inter– American Affairs 01 Ihe Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Washington: G.P.O., 1973, pp. 101,244, 599 (Geneen offers), 402 (Meyer slalement), 626-27 (Bore statement), 644, 656 (report of Korry position) (2}Hearings. pp. 344, 359, 367, 386. 112