HAIG CAUTIONS HILL AGAINST ENDING AID TO EL SALVADOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404180010-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 6, 2010
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: March 11, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/06 :CIA-RDP90-005528000404180010-5
Y'r' ~~ s.F ~ '>~~r
~" By John ~f. Goshko
-
~' Waahington Poet Stan writtr
.-Secretary of Stated Alexander'M:
Haig . Jr., speaking, against aback-
ground of ? mounting controversy.
about U.S. _ policy in Central Amer=
.ice, told Congress yesterday_that cut-
ting off military aid would be"a fate].
blow" to the government of E! Sal=
vador in its struggle against leftist;
guerrillas. ~`?: ; ~~ . : ,?.,:
"I think it would be ~a catastro-
phe," Haig said. "In practical.terms,
.the guerrillas are not"about to over-
viheim the country. But ;American
farms are a crucial factor, even more
'in political and-"psychoiogical terms.
than. in actual material terms." '
- The secretary's testimony before~a
Senate subcommittee. came on a day
.that saw arapid-fire series of Bevel-
opments continue to push the- de-
bate~over EI Salvador and~Nicaragua:
to the forefront:of.congressional ands
'executive branch- attention.. Among;
event;?s`erc?:yand~last night.were
,: ,
- ~ .~venty six,'. prominent officialg
of past Republican and Democratic.
~?atlministration~eme aed from a clas=-
sified intelligence. briefing= at the
State:D~partment to??say they IYa ?
?':beeri given convinc%ng~vidence: that
'`the Salvadorar~,guerrillas'?are-6eiig
aided, suppiied~and guided- from out
~side~by Cuba. and Nicaragua.:Hotiv
''ever; the former~officials~also,a;reed-
~that the evidence= is~ so~ "sensitive".
.that it cannot be made public with-
out causing serious damage-to?U:S:
,ability: to collect'. intelligence irr. tl}e:
future....'.,.. , .:~N~.,`.... _ .- ......_..,~,..
THE WASHINGTON POST
11 March 1982
~" `? Haig,? Defense Secretary~,Cas'par
~Y. Weinberger acid some. other. sen-
for administration officials refused: to
comment. on a; report yesterday:. in
Tfie,Washington Post that. President
Reagan has approved a X19 million
program to destabilize ~tl~e ~revolu-
tionary Sandinista-dominated gov-
ernment in Nicaragua. Instead, they
took. the position, described by. Haig;
as "consistent and longstanding. pol-.
icy,". that the government does. not
comment .publicly ,on .covert , activ-
ities, but. they added that their si-
lence-should not be"interpreted as
confirmation of the report. .
However, `Vhite House counselor.
Edwin Meese III told a journalism
seminar here last .night that They
Post, report placed the administra-
tion in a "totally untenable position:':
Meese said: "Here is a situation.. in-
which the security of the country. is
seriously affected, whether the arti-.
cle be-true or false. If it is true, .then
very important secrets vital. to our
'nat;or~ai interest and vital to the suc ?.
cess of any such. mission have been.
revealed. If it is false, then. you .have
given_an'adversary a.great,opportu-
nity for propaganda ._.~. " ~_. _
..~i ~Taig said~the administration has
snot rejected 1Viexican President Jose
Lopez Portillo's offer to act as a me-
d~ator in trying to end the Salvador-
~nm i,`vil war and ease the tensior.~s _
Between the United States and Nic-
aiagua. The secretary said he; would
continue discussing the idea with ~
Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge.Cas?,,
taneda in New York this weekend; in i
another hint that Washington wants'
to:keep alive the possibility of even-
tual negotiations, Haig- expressed
hope that after the March 28 elec~
lions for. a. constituent assembly. -
igcith that would express the will a
negotiate "ia the context of a pleb
'induced, to lay down their arms an
.
thhe~Salvadoranpeople."~:~~.;,:~at.+t.j `,~reciprocat`obligations_by,those,who~ ,j~
Weinberger
(Jones, chairman o
of Staff, reiterated
.fore the House Fo
>mi~,ee, that the
'n4 plans or inten
'troops to El Salv
'fine; its support __
C1V1llan aUVCrtttucu~ ~ttctc w? ,u-~
creased military and economic aid.
~s~~The administration, ' obviously
,, Y
"concerned that its policy toward
Central America could be derailed ~
by-persistent questions about wheth- {
er the United States is heading for a
new Vietnam-type involvement, this
week mounted a campaign to swing
public opinion behind its approach. I
",' The effort began Tuesday when
~enigr intelligence officials gave re-
porters adetailed briefing, including
the display of blowups of aerial re-
connaissance photographs, designed
to show that Nicaragua is building a
~s%iable :military establishment with
Cup ~~ and So~~et help. The second
--stake cs:~ne yesterday with the brief-
,_ing.aiuied at enlisting the support of
former officials and with Haig's ap-
rpearance before a Senate Appropri=
ations subcommittee. that- oversees
foreign aid. ~ ~ ~ :.. - - -
` ,, ~Jnder heavy questioiung from
Republican .and Democratic mem
bers, Haig reiterated: his past charoes~
that, the .Salvadoran 'guerillas are
?"largely ~ controlled" from `.the.
Nicaraguan capital of 14ianagua. He
said the principal flaw in the ?~isx-
ican peace initiative,. which he as-
. serted is basically the same plan pro-
.posed by the United .States and re-
jetted by Nicaragua last year, is the
;lack of a requirement that Nicaragua
` "commit itself to"cease sad desist" in
-. its. involverrient with its neighbors. ~"=
>`_"We are. exploting:every;_feasible
'means possible : to,: ;bring ' about ~?a
peaceful solution:" he said. "But this
is a :two-waystreet,
and it requires: ~ -~
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/06 :CIA-RDP90-005528000404180010-5