STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF EL SALVADOR AND CENTRAL AMERICA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88B00443R000803410008-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 4, 2008
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: March 10, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Current
Policy No. 464
Following is an address by President
Reagan before the National Association
of Manufacturers, Washington, D.C.,
March 10, 1983.
We didn't come to Washington at an
ideal time, and we've certainly had our
share of problems. But the signs of
recovery are springing up all around us.
There's no mistaking the fact that, at
long last, America is on the mend, and
the courage and the vision of the people
and institutions represented here today
deserve a big share of the credit for this
hard-earned but inflation-free recovery.
So, on behalf of all your fellow citizens
who have been freed from the ravages
of runaway inflation and can look again
to a future of better times and then new
opportunity, I thank you.
America is meeting her challenge
here at home. But there are other
challenges, equally important, that we
must face. And today I'd like to talk to
you about one of them. Late last year, I
visited Central America. Just a few
weeks ago, our U.N. Ambassador, Jeane
Kirkpatrick, also toured the area. And
in the last few days, I have met with
leaders of the Congress to discuss recent
events in Central America and our
policies in that troubled part of the
world. So, today I'd like to report to you
on these consultations and why they are
important to us all.
The nations of Central America are
among our nearest neighbors. El Salva-
dor, for example, is nearer to Texas
than Texas is to Massachusetts. Central
America is simply too close, and the
strategic stakes are too high, for us to
President Reagan
Strategic Importance
of El Salvador and
Central America
March 10, 1983
United States Department of State
Bureau of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C.
ignore the danger of governments seiz-
ing power there with ideological and
military ties to the Soviet Union.
Let me show you just how important
Central America is. At the base of Cen-
tral America is the Panama Canal. Half
of all the foreign trade of the United
States passes through either the canal
or other Caribbean sealanes on its way
to or from our ports. And, of course, to
the north is Mexico, a country of enor-
mous human and material importance,
with which we share 1,800 miles of
peaceful frontier.
And between Mexico and the canal
lies Central America. As I speak to you
today, its countries are in the midst of
the gravest crisis in their history. Ac-
cumulated grievances and social and eco-
nomic change are challenging traditional
ways. New leaders with new aspirations
have emerged who want a new and bet-
ter deal for their peoples. That is good.
The problem is that an aggressive
minority has thrown in its lot with the
Communists, looking to the Soviets and
their own Cuban henchmen to help them
pursue political change through violence.
Nicaragua has become their base. These
extremists make no secret of their goal.
They preach the doctrine of a "revolu-
tion without frontiers." Their first target
is El Salvador.
Importance of El Salvador
Why is El Salvador important? Well, to
begin with, there is the sheer human
tragedy. Thousands of people have
already died, and, unless the conflict is
ended democratically, millions more
could be affected throughout the hemi-
sphere. The people of El Salvador have
proved they want democracy. But. if
guerrilla violence succeeds, they won't
get it. El Salvador will join Cuba and
Nicaragua as a base for spreading fresh
violence to Guatemala, Honduras, Costa
Rica-probably the most democratic
country in the world today. The killing
will increase and so will the threat to
Panama, the canal, and ultimately Mex-
ico. In the process, vast numbers of
men, women, and children will lose their
homes, their countries, and their lives.
Make no mistake. We want the same
thing the people of Central America
want-an end to the killing. We want to
see freedom preserved where it now ex-
ists and its rebirth where it does not.
The Communist agenda, on the other
hand, is to exploit human suffering in
Central America to strike at the heart of
the Western Hemisphere. By preventing
reform and instilling their own brand of
totalitarianism, they can threaten free-
dom and peace and weaken our national
security.
I know a good many people wonder
why we should care about whether Com-
munist governments come into power in
Nicaragua, El Salvador, or such other
countries as Costa Rica, Honduras,
Guatemala, and the islands of the Carib-
bean. One columnist argued last week
that we shouldn't care because their
products are not that vital to our
economy. That's like the argument of
another so-called expert that we
shouldn't worry about Castro's control
over the island of Grenada-their only
important product is nutmeg.
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Well, let me just interject right here.
Grenada-that tiny, little island with
Cuba at the west end of the Caribbean,
Grenada at the east end-that tiny, little
island is building now, or having built
for it, on its soil and shores a naval
base, a superior air base, storage bases
and facilities for the storage of muni-
tions, barracks and training grounds for
the military. I'm sure all of that is simp-
ly to encourage the export of nutmeg.
People who make these arguments
haven't taken a good look at a map late-
ly or followed the extraordinary buildup
of Soviet and Cuban military power in
the region or read the Soviets' dis-
cussions about why the region is import-
ant to them and how they intend to use
It isn't nutmeg that is at stake in the
Caribbean and Central America. It is the
U.S. national security. Soviet military
theorists want to destroy our capacity to
resupply Western Europe in case of an
emergency. They want to tie down our
attention and forces on our own
southern border and so limit our capaci-
ty to act in more distant places such as
Europe, the Persian Gulf, the Indian
Ocean, the Sea of Japan. Those Soviet
theorists noticed what we failed to
notice-that the Caribbean Sea and Cen-
tral America constitute this nation's
fourth border.
If we must defend ourselves against
a large hostile military presence on our
border, our freedom to act elsewhere, to
help others, and to protect strategically
vital sealanes and resources has been
drastically diminished.
They know this. They have written
about this. We have been slow to under-
stand that the defense of the Caribbean
and Central America against Marxist-
Leninist takeover is vital to our national
security in ways we're not accustomed
to thinking about. For the past 3 years,
under two presidents, the United States
has been engaged in an effort to stop
the advance of communism in Central
America by doing what we do best-by
supporting democracy. For 3 years, our
goal has been to support fundamental
change in this region-to replace pover-
ty with development and dictatorship
with democracy.
These objectives are not easy to at-
tain, but we're on the right track. Costa
Rica continues to set a democratic exam-
ple, even in the midst of economic crisis
and Nicaraguan intimidation. Honduras
has gone from military rule to a freely
elected civilian government. Despite in-
credible obstacles, the democratic center
is holding in El Salvador, implementing
land reform and working to replace the
politics of death with the life of
democracy.
So the good news is that our new
policies have begun to work. Democracy,
with free elections, free labor unions,
freedom of religion, and respect for the
integrity of the individual, is the clear
choice of the overwhelming majority of
Central Americans. In fact, except for
Cuba and its followers, no government
and no significant sector of the public
anywhere in this hemisphere want to
see the guerrillas seize power in El
Salvador.
The bad news is that the struggle
for democracy is still far from over.
Despite their success in largely eliminat-
ing guerrilla political influence in popu-
lated areas, and despite some improve-
ments in military armaments and mobili-
ty, El Salvador's people remain under
strong pressure from armed guerrillas
controlled by extremists with Cuban-
Soviet support.
The military capability of these guer-
rillas-and I would like to stress military
capability, for these are not peasant ir-
regulars, they are trained military
forces-this has kept political and
economic progress from being turned in-
to the peace the Salvadoran people so
obviously want. Part of the trouble is in-
ternal to El Salvador. But an important
part is external: the availability of train-
ing, tactical guidance, and military sup-
plies coming into El Salvador from
Marxist Nicaragua.
I'm sure you've read about guerrillas
capturing rifles from government na-
tional guard units, and recently this has
happened. But much more critical to
guerrilla operations are the supplies and
munitions that are infiltrated into El
Salvador by land, sea, and air-by pack
mules, by small boats, and by small air-
craft. These pipelines fuel the guerrilla
offensives and keep alive the conviction
of their extremist leaders that power
will ultimately come from the barrels of
their guns.
Now, all this is happening in El
Salvador just as a constitution is being
written, as open presidential elections
are being prepared, and as a peace com-
mission named last week has begun to
work on amnesty and national reconcilia-
tion to bring all social and political
groups into the democratic process. It is
the guerrilla militants who have so far
refused to use democratic means, have
ignored the voice of the people of El
Salvador, and have resorted to terror,
sabotage, and bullets instead of the
ballot box.
Questions Concerning El Salvador
During the past week, we have dis-
cussed all of these issues and more with
leaders and Members of the Congress.
Their views have helped shape our own
thinking, and I believe that we've de-
veloped a common course to follow.
Here are some of the questions raised
most often.
First: How bad is the military
situation? It is not good. Salvadoran
soldiers have proved that when they are
well trained, led, and supplied, they can
protect the people from guerrilla at-
tacks. But so far, U.S. trainers have
been able to train only 1 soldier in 10.
There is a shortage of experienced of-
ficers; supplies are unsure. The guer-
rillas have taken advantage of these
shortcomings. For the moment, at least,
they have taken the tactical initiative
just when the sharply limited funding
Congress has so far approved is running
out.
A second vital question is: Are we
going to send American soldiers into
combat? And the answer to that is a flat
no.
A third question: Are we going to
Americanize the war with a lot of U.S.
combat advisers? And again the answer
is no. Only Salvadorans can fight this
war, just as only Salvadorans can decide
El Salvador's future. What we can do is
help to give them the skills and supplies
they need to do the job for themselves.
That mostly means training. Without
playing a combat role themselves and
without accompanying Salvadoran units
into combat, American specialists can
help the Salvadoran Army improve its
operations. Over the last year, despite
manifest needs for more training, we
have scrupulously kept our training ac-
tivities well below our self-imposed
numerical limit on numbers of trainers.
We are currently reviewing what we can
do to provide the most effective training
possible to determine the minimum level
of trainers needed and where the train-
ing should best take place. We think the
best way is to provide training outside
El Salvador, in the United States, or
elsewhere, but that costs a lot more. So
the number of U.S. trainers in El
Salvador will depend upon the resources
available.
Question four: Are we seeking a
political or a military solution? Despite
all I and others have said, some people
still seem to think that our concern for
security assistance means that all we
care about is a military solution. That's
nonsense. Bullets are no answer to eco-
nomic inequities, social tensions, or
political disagreements. Democracy is
what we want. And what we want is to
enable Salvadorans to stop the killing
and sabotage so that economic and
political reforms can take root. The real
solution can only be a political one.
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This reality leads directly to a
fifth question: Why not stop the kill-
ings and start talking? Why not
negotiate? Well, negotiations are
already a key part of our policy. We sup-
port negotiations among all the nations
of the region to strengthen democracy,
to halt subversion, to stop the flow of
arms, to respect borders, and to remove
all the foreign military advisers-the
Soviets, the Cubans, the East Germans,
the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organiza-
tion], as well as our own-from the
region. A regional peace initiative is now
emerging. We've been in close touch
with its sponsors and wish it well. And
we support negotiations within nations,
aimed at expanding participation in
democratic institutions-at getting all
parties to participate in free, nonviolent
elections.
What we oppose are negotiations
that would be used as a cynical device
for dividing up power behind the
people's back. We cannot support
negotiations which, instead of expanding
democracy, try to destroy it-negotia-
tions which would simply distribute
power among armed groups without the
consent of the people of El Salvador.
We made that mistake some years ago
in Laos when we pressed and pressured
the Laotian Government to form a
government, a co-op, with the Pathet
Lao-armed guerrillas who'd been doing
what the guerrillas are doing in El
Salvador. And once they had that tri-
partite government, they didn't rest un-
til those guerrillas, the Pathet Lao, had
seized total control of the government of
Laos.
The thousands upon thousands of
Salvadorans who risked their lives to
vote last year should not have their
ballots thrown into the trash heap this
year by letting a tiny minority on the
fringe of a wide and diverse political
spectrum shoot its way into power. No,
the only legitimate road to power, the
only road we can support, is through the
voting booth, so that the people can
choose for themselves-choose, as His
Holiness the Pope said Sunday, "far
from terror and in a climate of demo-
cratic conviviality." This is fundamental,
and it is a moral as well as a practical
belief that all free people of the
Americas share.
U.S. Policy Toward El Salvador
Having consulted with the Congress, let
me tell you where we are now and what
we will be doing in the days ahead. We'll
welcome all the help we can get. We will
be submitting a comprehensive, inte-
grated, economic and military assistance
plan for Central America.
First, we will bridge the existing
gap in military assistance. Our projec-
tions of the amount of military assist-
ance needed for El Salvador have re-
mained relatively stable over the past 2
years. However, the Continuing Resolu-
tion budget procedure in the Congress
last December led to a level of U.S.
security assistance for El Salvador in
1983 below what we'd requested, below
that provided in 1982, and below that re-
quested for 1984. I am proposing that
$60 million of the monies already ap-
propriated for our worldwide military
assistance programs be immediately re-
allocated to El Salvador.
Further, to build the kind of disci-
plined, skilled army that can take and
hold the initiative while respecting the
rights of its people, I will be amending
my supplemental that is currently before
the Congress, to reallocate $50 million
to El Salvador. These funds will be
sought without increasing the overall
amount of the supplemental that we
have already presented to Congress.
And, as I have said, the focus of this
assistance will remain the same: to train
Salvadorans so that they can defend
themselves. Because El Salvador's
security problems are not unique in the
region, I will also be asking for an addi-
tional $20 million for regional security
assistance. These funds will be used to
help neighboring states to maintain their
national security and will, of course, be
subject to full congressional review.
Second, we will work hard to sup-
port reform, human rights, and democ-
racy in El Salvador. Last Thursday, the
Salvadoran Government extended the
land reform program which has already
distributed 20% of all the arable land in
the country and transformed more than
65,000 farm workers into farm owners.
What they ask is our continued eco-
nomic support while the reform is com-
pleted. And we will provide it. With our
support, we expect that the steady prog-
ress toward more equitable distribution
of wealth and power in El Salvador will
continue.
Third, we will, I repeat, continue to
work for human rights. Progress in this
area has been slow, sometimes disap-
pointing. But human rights means work-
ing at problems, not walking away from
them. To make more progress, we must
continue our support, advice, and help to
El Salvador's people and democratic
leaders. Lawbreakers must be brought
to justice, and the rule of law must sup-
plant violence in settling disputes. The
key to ending violations of human rights
is to build a stable, working democracy.
Democracies are accountable to their
citizens. And when abuses occur in a
democracy, they cannot be covered up.
With our support, we expect the govern-
ment of El Salvador to be able to move
ahead in prosecuting the accused and in
building a criminal justice system appli-
cable to all and ultimately accountable to
the elected representatives of the peo-
ple.
Now, I hope you've noticed that I
was speaking in millions, not billions,
and that, after 2 years in Federal office,
is hard to do. In fact, there are some
areas of government where, I think,
they spill as much as I've talked about
here over a weekend.
Fourth, the El Salvador Govern-
ment proposes to solve its problems the
only way they can be solved fairly-by
having the people decide. President
Magana has just announced nationwide
elections moved up to this year, calling
on all to participate-adversaries as well
as friends. To help political adversaries
participate in the elections, he has ap-
pointed a peace commission, including a
Roman Catholic bishop and two inde-
pendents. And he has called on the
Organization of American States (OAS)
and the international community to help.
We were proud to participate, along
with representatives of other democratic
nations, as observers in last March's
Constituent Assembly elections. We
would be equally pleased to contribute
again to any international effort,
perhaps in conjunction with the OAS, to
help the government insure the broadest
possible participation in the upcoming
elections-with guarantees that all, in-
cluding critics and adversaries, can be
protected as they participate.
Let me just say a word about those
elections last March. A great worldwide
propaganda campaign had, for more
than a year, portrayed the guerrillas as
somehow representative of the people of
El Salvador. We were told over and
over again that the government was the
oppressor of the people.
Came the elections, and suddenly it
was the guerrilla force threatening
death to any who would attempt to vote.
More than 200 busses and trucks were
attacked and burned and bombed in an
effort to keep the people from going to
the polls. But they went to the polls,
they walked miles to do so and stood in
long lines for hours and hours. Our own
congressional observers came back and
reported one instance that they saw
themselves of a woman, who had been
shot by the guerrillas for trying to get
to the polls, standing in the line refusing
medical attention until she had had her
opportunity to go in and vote. More
than 80% of the electorate voted. I don't
believe here in our land, where voting is
so easy, we've had a turnout that great
in the last half century. They elected the
present government, and they voted for
order, peace, and democratic rule.
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Promoting Regional
Economic Progress
Finally, we must continue to help the
people of El Salvador and the rest of
Central America and the Caribbean to
make economic progress. More than
three-quarters of our assistance to this
region has been economic. Because of
the importance of economic development
to that region, I will ask the Congress
for $65 million in new monies and the
reprogramming of $103 million from
already appropriated worldwide funds
for a total of $168 million in increased
economic assistance for Central
America. And to make sure that this
assistance is as productive as possible,
I'll continue to work with the Congress
for the urgent enactment of the long-
term opportunities for trade and free in-
itiative that are contained in the Carib-
bean Basin initiative.
In El Salvador and in the rest of
Central America, there are today thous-
ands of small businessmen, farmers, and
workers who have kept up their produc-
tivity as well as their spirits in the face
of personal danger, guerrilla sabotage,
and adverse economic conditions. With
them stand countless national and local
officials, military and civic leaders, and
priests who have refused to give up on
democracy. Their struggle for a better
future deserves our help. We should be
proud to offer it, for, in the last
analysis, they are fighting for us, too.
The Need for U.S. Support
By acting responsibly and avoiding il-
lusory shortcuts, we can be both loyal to
our friends and true to our peaceful,
Bureau,of Public Affairs
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
It address is incorrect
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democratic principles. A nation's char-
acter is measured by the relations it has
with its neighbors. We need strong,
stable neighbors with whom we can
cooperate. And we will not let them
down.
Our neighbors are risking life and
limb to better their lives, to improve
their lands, and to build democracy. All
they ask is our help and understanding
as they face dangerous, armed enemies
of liberty, and that our help be as sus-
tained as their own commitment. None
of this will work if we tire or falter in
our support. I don't think that is what
the American people want or what our
traditions and faith require. Our neigh-
bors' struggle for a better future de-
serves our help, and we should be proud
to offer it.
We would, in truth, be opening a
two-way street. We have never, I
believe, fully realized the great potential
of this Western Hemisphere. Oh, yes, I
know in the past we have talked of
plans, we've gone down there every once
in a while with a great plan somehow
for our neighbors to the south, but it
was always a plan which we-the big
colossus of the north-would impose on
them. It was our idea.
On my trip to Central and South
America, I asked for their ideas. I
pointed out that we had a common heri-
tage. We'd all come as pioneers to these
two great continents. We worshipped
the same God, and we'd lived at peace
with each other longer than most people
in other parts of the world.
There are more than 600 million of
us calling ourselves Americans-North,
Central, and South. We haven't really
begun to tap the vast resources of these
continents.
Without sacrificing our national
sovereignties, our own individual
cultures or national pride, we could as
neighbors make this Western Hemi-
sphere-our hemisphere-a force for
good such as the Old World has never
seen. But it starts with the word neigh-
bor. And that is what I talked about
down there and sought their partner-
ship-their equal partnership-in we of
the Western Hemisphere coming
together to truly develop fully the poten-
tial this hemisphere has.
Last Sunday, His Holiness Pope
John Paul II prayed that the measures
announced by President Magana would
"contribute to orderly and peaceful prog-
ress" in El Salvador, progress "founded
on the respect for the rights of all, and
that all have the possibility to cooperate
in a climate of true democracy for the
promotion of the common good."
My fellow Americans, we in the
United States join in that prayer for
democracy and peace in El Salvador,
and we pledge our moral and material
support to help the Salvadoran people
achieve a more just and peaceful future.
And in doing so, we stand true to both
the highest values of our free society
and our own vital interests. ^
Published by the United States Department
of State ? Bureau of Public Affairs
Office of Public Communication ? Editorial
Division ? Washington, D.C. ? March 1983
Editor: Colleen Sussman ? This material is in
the public domain and may be reproduced
without permission; citation of this source is
appreciated.
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