Something strange happened in 1961 that has just come to light involving late Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward Moore Kennedy, something that has created a lot of buzz over the last few days, yet also something that seems to be in keeping with Kennedy's character, such as it was. On a trip to Latin America in that year, he rented a brothel, for an entire night, and also tried to meet with various regional leftists. His explanation for this latter action, or perhaps a better word might be excuse, was that it was his intention to "find out how these people think".
There is as of yet no discernible reason given for his renting of the brothel, aside from the obvious, so let's assume that just speaks for itself.
I find it telling that Kennedy's associations with Latin leftists seems to have made such a mark on him, to the point that he seems to have come around to their way of thinking. The most oft-cited incident during this period revolves around the Chilean Embassy, where officials refused to take part in any such meetings or to invite any of the Chilean leftists of note.
It's also worth pointing out that the most important leftist politician during this time in Chile was Salvadore Allende, who in twelve years would go on to lose his life as a result of a coup, allegedly forumulated by the CIA under President Richard Nixon.
But during 1961, he was not yet the Chilean President, but the most important opposition leader against Chile's then very conservative government.
It also bears mentioning that 1961 was the year that Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy, had first initiated what would eventually prove to be one of his biggest long-term failures, the so-called Alliance For Progress, which might be best described as an intiatiative for instituting reforms in Latin American countries meant to benefit the working class and poor. In return for instituting these reforms, Kennedy's new organization promised a total of twenty billion dollars in low interest, in some cases zero interest loans.
The program pleased almost no one. To the leftists, it didn't go nearly far enough. To those on the right, it went way too far. And Chile, as I mentioned, had at the time a conservative government, and their supporters were in staunch opposition to the new policy, which was really meant as a way of stemming the tide of communist encroachment while guaranteeing American access to vital raw materials. In the case of Chile, for example, the main concern would be access to the vast natural resources of the desert north, especially copper.
But the main reason the program ultimately failed was that it accomplished nothing of lasting value for the people of Latin America, or for infrastructure and business development, that was commensurate with the loan obligations entailed by the program. Some might feel Kennedy was there in an attempt to gain support for the program, but it seems unlikely that his brother would have entrusted him with such a mission. I personally believe Ted Kennedy was playing James Bond, but that's just my opinion. This was before he gained his Senate seat, which happened in 1962. At this time, he was an Assistant District Attorney for Norfolk County, an obvious political appointment.
He would go on to a long career in the Senate, and notably had many close encounters in the realm of international subterfuge and betrayal involving contacts with the Soviet hierarchy, in the seventies and eighties. One notable case involved his collussion with the Soviets against the military and foreign policies of President Reagan. He offered to help their cause and to work against Reagan to their benefit. He also had a long association with the Irish Republican Army, his support for the terrorist Irish organization being indisputable.
And there are other instances that calls into question not only his loyalty, but his overall character, to such a degree that one has to assume that his degree of power and influence in the US Senate would make him a prime target for extortion and blackmail.
Indeed, all of this has only come to light due to an ultimately successful drive for release of classified documents in possession of the FBI through the Freedom of Information Act on behalf of anti-corruption watchdogs Judicial Watch. Much of the material was redacted, and a further suit succeeded in having much of this material released as well. But presumable, not all of it. And it was kept secret for fifty years, up until now. Given then Director Hoover's well known hatred of the Kennedy brothers, was he planning on releasing this to interested parties at a pivotal moment during the 1964 elections, had President Kennedy lived to run for re-election?
One has to wonder exactly when Kennedy became such a hard-core leftist and communist sympathizer. Was this the beginning stage, or did it come about well before this time?
It would really be interesting to interview some of the prostitutes from this night in question. Some of them might well still be alive, though they would be in their seventies, and eighties. For that matter, some might well be in their sixties. or fifties.
And, seeing as how this is Ted Kennedy we're talking about, one or two of them might well still be in their teens, or twenties. Unfortunately, if this is the case, they wouldn't have a lot to say.
