> Not one, but two European nations in concert, arrested an
> agent of the C.I.A. on a mass-murder charge!
Not really. Spain and the UK did not really act in concert. As L. Proyect correctly pointed out, the arrest is basically the result of the initiative of a couple of maverick Spanish judges, Manuel Garcia Castellon and Baltasar Garzon. In fact, Aznar' conservative government would like nothing more than to return the Andean butcher to Chile. Problem is, with Spanish public opinion overwhelmingly in favor of stringing him up, they can't afford to come out and say it, so they babble about "maintaining the stability of the Chilean democratic process" and other such nonsense.
The Spanish office of the Attorney General, in the hands of right wing Aznar appointees, is doing what it can to sabotage the extradition.
Spanish right wing opinion is taking a different tack; they don't dare defend Pinochet, so instead they ask why try him and not Fidel Castro, for example. A breathtaking non sequitur, even for the low logical standards of Spanish journalism.
Finally, the Chilean pro-murder right is asking for an economic boycott of Spain. Mira Paco como tiemblo, heh heh.
Hope it helps, -- Enrique Diaz-Alvarez Office # (607) 255 5034 Electrical Engineering Home # (607) 758 8962 112 Phillips Hall Fax # (607) 255 4565 Cornell University mailto:enrique at ee.cornell.edu Ithaca, NY 14853 http://peta.ee.cornell.edu/~enrique