Remembering November 11, 1975: Pine Gap, the CIA and the coup to remove Whitlam

Remembering November 11, 1975: Pine Gap, the CIA and the coup to remove Whitlam

As PM, Whitlam demanded to know if and why the CIA had a spy base at the “Joint Defence Space Research Facility” in Pine Gap, near Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory.

On paper, Pine Gap was meant to be a collaboration between the Australian Department of Defence and the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

In Nugan Hand: A tale of drugs, dirty money, the CIA and the ousting of the Whitlam government, activist and former state Labor parliamentarian Joan Coxsedge wrote that Whitlam was considering the idea of not renewing the US-Australia agreement on Pine Gap.

Coxsedge said: “The Pine Gap Treaty signed on December 9, 1966, stated that after an initial nine years, either party could terminate the agreement on one year’s notice, which would determine the fate of the CIA’s most valuable overseas base.

Related:

John Pilger: How Whitlam was brought down

AUSTRALIAN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 20, 1986 — GRIEVANCE DEBATE

CIA ISSUE ENTERS AUSTRALIAN CRISIS

André Vltchek’s Sudden Death

André Vltchek’s Sudden Death

EDITOR’S NOTE: CounterPunch received word from Rossi Indira, Andre’s partner who was with him at the time of his death, that Andre died from complications with diabetes. Andre had been very ill for several weeks prior to his death, he could barely walk and one of his legs was paralyzed. Rossi tells us that he also refused medical treatment. Andre’s funeral is being held in Istanbul.

Related:

Telling the Untold: Remembering Andre Vltchek (1963-2020)

Cheaper Than Remdesivir: Russia to Supply Anti-COVID Avifavir to 17 Countries

Avifavir, the world’s first favipiravir-based drug to be approved for the treatment of COVID-19, will now be delivered to Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Serbia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Kuwait, Panama, Paraguay, Slovakia, South Africa, the UAE and Uruguay.

Cheaper Than Remdesivir: Russia to Supply Anti-COVID Avifavir to 17 Countries