by Patrick J. Buchanan – December 1, 1998

Great Britain may be winning rapturous applause in leftist circles for the house arrest of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, but that applause is coming at the price of England’s reputation for square dealing. This snatch and grab is unworthy of a great nation.

The 83-year-old ex-president of Chile had come to England for surgery under a diplomatic passport. He had been visiting London for years, often to discuss weapons buys. But this time, the British buckled to an extradition order from a Spanish judge who wants Pinochet sent to Madrid to be tried for genocide, torture and murder.