SELLING A POLICY TO PUBLIC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404500001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 30, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 15, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/30: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404500001-9
ARTICLE APPEAR ED
0?i P1? G-JIT ~-- _
NEW YORK TIMES
15 MARCH 1982
SeIling a, Pfllicy to Pub7ic
U.S. Intelligence Data on`_Central America
Has Not Translated.Into Support for-Plans
By PHILIP TAUBMAN.?.
wfnU 1,31 Uiv, Mardi 14 -For the By, that,. be said, he meant opposition
last two weeks, the Reagan Administra- was primarily coming from organiza-
tion has conducted what senior officials. tions and individuals whose main inter-
acknowledge has been an intense public est was to prevent further conflict.
relations campaign designed to dispel hhssing from this perspective, offi-
doubts about its policies in dais said, was an understanding of na-
Ne" Central America.'The:ef 'sonal security considerations- "We
fort, which has relied heav- failed to make our case convincingly
Analysis ily on. the use : of intelli-. even in Congress," another senior Ad-
gence information, has ministration official said. "We decided
produced mixed results... ; ? to go back to square one, lay out the evi--
Some members of-Congress, including-
men, came away from private intelli-
strong a idence to support its charges
to guerrillas in El Salvador. `
intelligence material when the Admire
i tration made public aerial, reconnais-
military force in Central America.:
1 dor surprised the State Department at a
conilicL. + ;u
That unexpected 'development has
prompted a reappraisal of the public
tionaI intelligence -briefings for- Con-
used for later in the week.: .
go through with the briefings-Accord-
"We made a mistake," one senior offi-
cial said last week. "We were pressing
vinced either Congress or the. public
State Department officials'recently
the Administration's Central America-
policy was generated by what one off!-:
Even critics of the Administration's
policy were persuaded that some exter-
nal involvement exists. "I don't think
that anyone disputes that there is some
foreign involvement in El Salvador,"
said Senator Paul E. Tsongas, Demo-
crat of Massachussetts. "The question
is haw much and how significant it is."
That question was apparently not re-
solved by the Administration's cam-
paign. Critics, for example, pointed out
that-the photographs showing a major.
military buildup in Nicaragua'did not,
prove that Nicaragua was aiding'the
Salvadoran guerrillas.
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Demo-crat of Connecticut, a leading r. itic of
Administration policy, said that "to
suggest that Nicaragua is the only
source of support for Salvadoran goer.
riilas is ridiculous." He said that the
errillas received substantial
amounts of arms and ammunition from
sources within Fi Salv
o or inclu in
thenind of broad-based support that has Nicaragua's Ambassador in Wash.
been lacking." ington, Francisco Faillos Navarro, re.
The`campaign focused on Congress.' .'sponding to the intelligence made pub-
Senior intelligence officials, led by Wil- ` lic about his country, charged in an L.i-
liam J. Casey, the Director of Central terview broadcast by the Cable News
Intelligence, started briefing Congres.' Network today that the miiitary.buildup
sional committees about what the Ad
f
ministration considers to be Cuban,
Soviet and Nicaraguan interference in
El Salvador. .
According to members' of Congress
was
orced because the "Reagan Ad-
ministration is threatening us all the
'time with the possibility of a military
intervention."
Still other critics argued that the Ad-
wa s o
ere
h
i
v
mp
as
zing the
istratton based most of these charges on , military
intelligence collected through Y problem in Salvador. Tan
e1~- problem in El Salvador is primarily an
tronic surveillance of radio traffic in El economic cm, " said Senator Claiborne
Salvador-and surrounding nations, in- Pell. Democrat of Rhode Island, the
cluding Nicaragua. ranking minority member of the Senate
Collected largely by Navy destroyers Foreign Relations Committee.-
of El Salvador and Nicaragua since late
last year, this information included de..
tails of communications between Salva-
doran-- rebels. and command posts. in
Nicaragua,.which they said showed that
the Salvadoran insurgency was con-
'trolled in Nicaragua, Administration of-'~ got, we can persuade them Cuba and
ficials told the committees, according Nicaragua are involved,',' one official
to several members. Similar briefings said.
v vernment orricrais. ? .) , i; e f:.Y
r a o ~. , i ..: t.... a ..
~.. `Convincing Intelligence
The Administration was encouraged
Despite the lingering doubts and Fri-
day's turnabout by the Nicaraguan ca p..
tive, Orlando Jose Tardencillas Espino-
sa, senior Administration officials still
believe in thepower of their intelligence
data. "Whenever we can sit down with
intelligence information about outside
interference in Central America into
support for the Govemmentspolicy._
tree house intelligence Committee, the
panel's chairman, Representative Ed-
ward P.. Boland. a Massachucsetts
wether of moderate Congressional opin-
ion, said. that the-use of Nicaraguan
sites for command and control of Salva.
doran insurgent forces was supported
by "convincing intelligence." He added
providingarms, is also evident." - . ~.. .
STAT
.71H1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/30: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404500001-9