JOINT STATEMENT - IN RECENT DAYS A SHRILL AND OFTEN CONFUSING DEBATE HAS DEVELOPED OVER OUR GOALS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86M00886R001900160022-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 2, 2008
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: April 10, 1984
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2008/10/08: CIA-RDP86M00886RO01900160022-4
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Office of the Press Secretary
Fcr Immedl$rz A& E-3-S&
April :;~, 's9A?4
::-acent days, a shrill and of+a r Colxf debate has developed -
over our goals, laps, and actIo1S !h Central America.
+>~xse this debate, much of it uaxnzormed, unattributable, and
:)creasingly partisan, is obscuring the real situation, we
..,!ii.w-?ve it ::.n the public interest to set the record straight on
c+;.r objectives, car policy, and our actions--or. the re-cc-rd.
First, allegations have been made that we are planning for U.S.
'XIIhat troops to induct an invasion in Central America. We
state e:tphat.ically that we .*1O4? not considered, nor have we
d?_ye ? apad a Z.ans to use WS. nni /itary forces to invade Nicaragua
any other Central Aa*rican country. Secretary Weinberger made
t h i r' po '.nt :.r. his television appearance on Sunday. Some have
chosen to disbelieve him--consciously_or unconsciously confusing
what that' c4+31 "invasiot" plans with our longstanding obligations
T.;.ncle:r tie 1947 Rio Treaty, our treaty obligations to defend the
Pa-lama Canal, or military contingency plans for disaster relief,
hu-xartit-ir.iart assistance, or emergency evacuations. For over a
aeze:ration, as prudence would dictate, we have maintained and
up at.ed plan,-, for these conti.ngenc4es. We have not, however,
parted to y:se our forces to invade any country in the region.
Second, som1: have ind:`_cated that we are planning to conduct a
past-e)ectirtrr military ?rnternrise in Central America. This quite
simply is not the case. As stated before, we are not planning
for such a~c;:ion now nor are we planning for it after our
e'iectiof. that the Soviets, Cubans, and Sandinistas are planning
:nay well. be something else again.
Third, it hays been alleged by critics of the Administration that
certain activities in, the Central American region have not been
a-:2f_::tu..ately brie fed tot appropriate cc ittees of the Congress. To
t n.? contra,ry, all U.S,. activities -in the central America region
havF~ been folly briefed in detail to the coirar..ittees of the
Coraress which exercise jurisdiction in full compliance with the
la.w. Further, last week JApril 4) the President sent a letter to
the Ma.''ori tY Leader cqf the Senate, Howard Baker, assuring him
that our ctb;lectives and goals in the region had not
chartered--eipe>cif_callyx, the United States dries not seek t^
der:~cb liz;e or overtitro* the Government of. Nicaragua."
Fourth, artd perhaps most significantly, the current debate has
tended to confuse the i*provements that we have helped make in
El Salvadgr with what is really going on in Nicaragua:
Our pol:icy toward Nicaragua has been consistent in that we
have s~tpportei the multi-lateral dialogue in what is known
as th,e Contadora. process. We have endorsed the 21 Contadora
objectl;ves which, would require that Nicaragua terminate the
export of subve.-sin, reduce the size of its military
apparatus, implejrne*t its democratic commitments to the OAS,
and remove Soviet $loc and Cuban military personnel.
~- 2_q9
Approved For Release 2008/10/08: CIA-RDP86M00886RO01900160022-4
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ballot box to be overco*e by the power of the gun. There is no
doubt that the Soviet Uiion and Cuba want to see communism spread
further in Central America. The question is: Will the United
States support those co*ntries that want democracy and are
willing to fight for their own freedom?
Secretary pf State Secretary of Defense
George P. S1l.ultz Caspar W. Weinberger
Director of Central Intelligence Assistant to the President
for National Security
Affairs
'William P. Casey Robert C. McFarlane
Approved For Release 2008/10/08: CIA-RDP86M00886R001900160022-4
Approved For Release 2008/10/08: CIA-RDP86M00886RO01900160022-4
Nicarigiaa's respspnse throughout has been fraudulent an (3
cynicili. They h-pve tried to avoid a comprehensive solution
for t)ne region by seeking to reduce all diplomacy to
bilater,a1 questipnS. They have tried to bypass region:? and
hemispheric efforts by making propaganda at the United
Nattops. Now thopy have cynically attempted to side-track
negpt;.ations by going to the international Court of Justice.
A government fanotically dedicated to intervention beyond
its bipriers thus seeks to use an honorable international
insti;;ution to protect it from its own citizens who are
ris$n4F -up against it. This A-0ministration will not be,
decei?ve,3 nor will It play that game. Following the example
of other nations, the U.S. has checked this mane'aver by a
tempo:Fary and li:pited modificption of our acceptance ref the
court' n jurisdiction.
- i~icar:?r?ua continues to be the source of regional subversion
and i4isargency. In May 1983, the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, itEelf, concluded that "the
Sarditpista Government of. Nicaragua is helping train
irr;urqents and is transferring arms and financial support
from pnd through Nicaragua to the insurgents. They are also
providing the insurgents bases of operations in Nicaragua.
Cuban involvement-rtespecially in providing arms--is also
evide;att."
- ?r. El Salvador, on the other hand, we have witnessed an
inspi:ri ng display of courage and commitment to the
democratic process by the people of El Salvador. At the end
of la,pt month, these courageous people again braved
guerrillas violence and sabotage to vote for their next
prepi0ent.
The c_ourag,e and confiaeice in democracy that the Salvalorar,
people -are e~rnnsttasi deeaerve our adrr:.iration and full support.
Now more than ever, our backing for the democratic process must
go beycnd Pere words. recent uninformed comment on these matters
has diverted atteati orz tr _tie central '4ss-Qe. The
Admini strat i nn has prap*sed a long term program based on the
recommendations of the rational Bipartisan Coirarission on Central
Arerira_ We have also presented our Case for urgent military
; important pea lanes in the world. Most importantly, it contains
millions of people who want to be free and who crave eerocracl'.
contains t:pe Panama Canal but sits astride some of the most
strategically important to the United States. ;t not rl.?
Saivacoran election process aaout to enter a run-ott requir-crs our
support so that El Salvador can ensure its safe conduct.
It is critical that the'American people understand what is it
are whether we in t'PA 3'3 ited States want to sta_ by an?L let a
'communist government in Nicaragua export violence and terrorism
The recent elections in El Salvador prove that. The real issues
in this hhe$ sphere and Whether we will allow the power of the