CBS FACE THE NATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000200810003-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 27, 2008
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: July 31, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2008/06/27: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000200810003-6
CBS FACE THE NATION
31 July 1983
SHAC.'v.NE: What is going to be the effect of the voting of the House to cut off all
ccveassistance IC Nicaragua, and what will be the ability Of the ad inistratlon to
maintain such assistance for the contras the anti-Sandinistas in view of that vote
and in of the fact that there is an appropriation that has to be made starting in
October. 1~!RK?LTRiCR:~'Y'oU know`. I` m really glad you mentioned that vote. I was
hoping that would come up today because I think that it was a very important vote, and
I think the most important aspects of it have not in fact been focused on by the media
treatment of the vote. If you loo}', at what the House O Representatives voted, they
,'Oted on something, an amendment which was submitted by the majority leader, Jim
Wright Texas, and as he himself pointed out, what the House did in that vote was
formally for the __rstt time ever find the most clear-cut terms that the government
of Nicaragua was guilty Of violating its promises to its people, that it was guilty of
repressing freedom and pluralism in Nicaragua, that it was guilty of stifling the free
cress and free trade unions and private sector in Nicaragua. that it was guilty of`
providing arms and guerrillas and other support to Overthrow the government of El
Salvador all of this for the first time ever, was fo^pma ~ 21 y subscribed
to as the
nature of the problem. Now the amendment also called on the president to co back to
the CAS, as it were, to encourage the OAS to take action to cause the government of
Nicaragua to fulfill Its promises, which had been "birthday promises made to the
people of Nicaragua and to the OAS. Nov. In addition tc that. It provides that for a
period Of about 30 Gavs, the United States government should cease support for any
covert activities, direct or indirect Cr whatever directed against the government of
Nicaragua providing that that should continue you knot Unless h t -
L a &-C
-ter 30 days,
there wi11 be a _Ir.c ng t^.a`t the ge\ernmen of Nicaragua :s continuing in fact to
sUDDOrt guerrilla activities in El Salvador. I thick that it is very important th2
the. vir ual1V all the Democrats in the House Of ] epr esentaliv'es have now fort ally
agreed 'Gout the nature of the government o-' Nicaragua and the nature of its
activities in the region, and now that we know what the problem is. we can get on with
the c_scussion of what we ought best most effectively Io do about it.
SH.1..CKNE: take that take that as putting the most favorable light on a vote that
G
every administration official I've Ialked to said was the kind o2 outcome they d1d not
ward, and in essence, where the Congress seemed to be saying, the House seemed to be
Sav'i.:g stop pa)'_ng -money _Or this if:1_tarv for this pa. t.CL'1ar no of mill "y.
1C!\ but l sn t at a1 what t he house said suggest that you should
look at hat the Hc.use said. I don,t think many people have looked at what the House
said, and 1 con : think many people have even listened to w'-.at the majority leader
~ i
Said. Jim iir-`cht said, w h at Is . t t 1 , a I t n s a m e r. G e r, t does he was very fair about
.t.
cuts off funds. KIRKPATRICK, it cuts off linos and it
declares the
government O: Nicaragua. for 2 period c-' 3' days and it declares the government of
Nicaragua an outlaw of the region guilty of the repression of its own people and
aggression against its neighbors.
SH Cr:E: But. but, may I ask this Question. What willthe administration
' 00, what
can you do it vie-, of this vote, and in view Of the great problems in both sides of
the .pill i7 ccntinuing funds for this kind c," pressure? -knd there are great pressures
in tne Hi 11 against such continuation... Can you maintain such pressure? KIRKP TRICK:
I think what w-'e have to do is continue our conversations. of course, with the members
of the Congress now that we ve agreed about what the problem is, we have to continue
Our conversati cns about what we need to do about it. I think what the vote showed
was. you know, .:as a great deal of division and a certain. a lot of uncertainty about
what it is we ought to do about the problem, confronting Us in Nicaragua and Central
...:pert Ca, but the most significant thing about _t, I th_^.1k, it does snot: we'v'e now got
a consensus cf what the government of Nicaragua is. what it is doing to its own people
in he region. !hat's really important.
Approved For Release 2008/06/27: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000200810003-6