[lbo-talk] Re: We shipped weapons, Sandinistas say

Yoshie Furuhashi furuhashi.1 at osu.edu
Mon Jan 24 07:51:19 PST 2005



>Michael Pugliese michael098762001 at earthlink.net, Sun Jan 23
>17:44:58 PST 2005
>
>From the book, "The Civil War in Nicaragua: Inside the Sandinistas, "
>by Roger Miranda Bengoechea, chief of the Sandinista Defense Ministry
>Secretariat from '82-'87 and chief aide to Commandante Humberto Ortega,
>pg. 40-41.
>> ...In late 1987 Salvadorean Communist Party chief Shafik Handal met
>> privately with Humberto Ortega and the latter promised to send
>> ground-to-air missiles to the Salvadorean guerillas, though he was not
>> authorized to do so. The next day the Directorate assembled in the
>> morning. Bayardo Arce entered, having heard the day before about
>> Humberto's promise, and he was obviously furious....(skipping narrative
>> details of an emotional and gestural nature @ Bayardo, Daniel and
>> Humberto Ortega)
> ..."What is more, " Arce continued, "Humberto said we would
>begin immediately training the cousins (term for other Central
>American guerilla fronts in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and
>elsewhere) in how to use the arrows (missiles) at an air force
>training school.I won't have anything to do with this kind of
>shit.I am responsible for the care of the cousins Humberto has no
>business promising anything, and certainly things we haven't even
>agreed about in the Directorate.Humberto is grabbing authority and
>making me look like an asshole with the cousins."

Roger Miranda Bengoechea was a defector, so he had a motive to make up or exaggerate the Sandinistas' aid to other Central American guerrillas. Otherwise, he would have nothing to sell to Washington. The Reagan Administration treated him as a major asset to persuade wavering Democrats to embrace aid to the Contras.

The New York Times December 22, 1987, Tuesday, Late City Final Edition HEADLINE: A Windfall for Reagan BYLINE: By NEIL A. LEWIS, Special to the New York Times DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Dec. 21

The Reagan Administration's skillful use of a Nicaraguan defector and an adroit lobbying strategy of direct and implicit political threats have obliged Democratic leaders who oppose aid to the Nicaraguan rebels to compromise on the politically sensitive issue.

White House officials and leading Democrats said in interviews today that these factors were among the reasons that House conferees agreed to accept a catch-all appropriations bill hammered out with Senate negotiators that would provide $8.1 million in new nonmilitary aid for the contras. House leaders defended the compromise, pointing out that it provides for a showdown on the aid issue next February.

Lawmakers attributed the Administration's success in part to a White House message this weekend that President Reagan would not accept any spending resolution unless it contained some aid for the contras.

Challenging the President

But underlying this week's action is the traditional reluctance among members of Congress to challenge the President on a foreign policy issue, especially one for which they ultimately could be held responsible.

''A lot of people on Capitol Hill don't like the policy,'' an Administration official said. ''But they're reluctant to actually go ahead and cut off the contras cold. They don't want to be responsible.''

The Administration's continued success in getting money for the contras also demonstrates that the Congressional investigation of the Iran-contra affair has not crippled the contra cause in Congress. Less than five weeks ago, when the investigative committees issued their final report, many in Washington contended that contra aid was doomed.

The Administration also found a potent weapon in Maj. Roger Miranda Bengoechea, a senior Nicaraguan military officer who defected in October and asserted that the Sandinistas had embarked on a major program to bolster their military strength with Soviet help, despite the Managua Government's participation in a Central American peace plan. On Friday, State Department officials shepherded Major Miranda around Capitol Hill for several meetings, principally with moderate Democrats, to press the point that the Sandinistas should not be trusted to abide by the Central American peace accord.

Plans for a Buildup

According to Major Miranda, the Sandinistas were awaiting the demise of the contras as an effective fighting force and then planned to build up their forces in the region.

Representative Jim Slattery, a Kansas Democrat who once opposed contra aid and is considered an important swing vote, said Major Miranda's presentation helped the Administration considerably. Mr. Slattery said that after the Miranda presentation, he was inclined to approve some form of contra aid to prevent the Sandinistas ''from creating another Cuba there.''

The Democrats control both the House and the more conservative Senate. The Senate approved about $16 million in short-term aid for the contras in its version of the spending bill while the House provided no money.

When negotiators conferred this weekend to resolve the differences, ''the Senate wouldn't accept'' a complete cutoff, said Representative Thomas S. Foley of Washington, the majority leader

-- Yoshie

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