REAGAN'S MILITARY BUILDUP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000504880066-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 15, 2010
• Sequence Number: 66
• Publication Date: March 19, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/15: CIA-RDP90-00552R000504880066-6
A:F, TI C;,3 J,PP ,D NEWSWEEK
Oii FQ;E 36 19 March 1984
III T E RNATIONAL
Z!L .9
,~~agan_
Buildup .
Despite election-year risks, the administration digs in deeper in Central America.
S ometime this week, small units of the told NEWSWEEK that the unit's OV- I Mo-
U.S. Army's 193rd Infantry Brigade hawk observation planes were flying "intel-
will leave their base in Panama and head ligence missions" over El Salvador. Some
north to Honduras. Their destination is a administration officials also hope that Hon-
remote, densely forested area along the bor- duran units will play a more aggressive role
der with El Salvador, where the Americans in attacking rebel bases and supply lines.
willjoin with Honduran soldiers in a series of In an election year, Ronald Reagan might
small-scale training exercises. But just have been expected to pull his punches in
across the border, El Salvador is infested Central America. But the administration's
with leftist guerrillas. The rebels use the policy in the region just isn't working out.
Honduran outback for sanctuary, and their The Salvadoran Army has nearly used up
supply lines snake through the area toward both its ammunition and its morale. Wash-
Nicaragua. Under the auspices of a training ington is afraid that the country's leftist
mission, the Americans and _ Hondurans guerrillas will stage some sort of spectacular
may manage to disrupt the guerrillas' back- to steal the spotlight from the Salvadoran
yard at an opportune time for some ofWash- presidential election on March 25. Reagan's
ingtons hard-pressed friends. "secret war" against the Sandinistas is faring
The operation along the Salvadoran bor- even worse. The contras, the Honduran-
der is part of a bold new military buildup in based rebels sponsored by the United States,
Central America by the Reagan administra- have made little headway. Nicaragua has
tion. In recent months the Pentagon has responded to their attacks, however, with a
erected a network of airstrips, supply depots military buildup of its own aimed at both the
and training camps all over Honduras contras and their hosts in Honduras.
(map). From that base, the administration Reagan is losing another sort of battle on
plans to step up its covert war against Marx- Capitol Hill. Congress still refuses to come
ist Nicaragua by equipping antigovernment up with more military-aid money for El
rebels with helicopters and naval mines and Salvador and for the contras; the Repubb-
perhaps with T-28 ground-attack planes. can-controlled Senate rebuffed the White
Already Nicaragua's major ports have been House again last week. With the Lebanese
mined to interfere with its foreign trade and fiasco fresh in their minds, some administra-
to block what Washington thinks will be a tion officials worry that a balky Congress
major influx of Soviet-made arms this year. mayyetcontributetoanotherforeign-policy
The administration hopes that by raising its defeat for the president.
Remnnaissnce: ? The new facilities in turned down a proposalforU.S. personnel t
Honduras also enable the Americans to play participate direectlyin the Salvadoran t-
a more active role in the Salvadoran conflict. ing_. The plan camefrom Gen. Paul Gorman,
From Panama and from an air base at Pal- head of the U.S. Southern Command (box,
merola in Honduras, U.S. reconnaissance page 38) and from CIA offices in Central
planes fly over El Salvador looking for guer- America. They suggested that unmarked
rillas. Recently a U.S. Army intelligence AC-130 Spectre gunshjps flown by the CIA
battalion was sent to Palmerola, and last should patrol the skies over El Salvador,
week Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger using rapid-firing cannon to break up rebel
troop concentrations.
tack. Last week more U.S. power was pro- advisers have proposed desperate remedies.
jected into the region when the aircraft Recently the administration rejected a plan
carrier America and three escort ships were to arm the Salvadorans with Stinger anti-
ordered to leave Puerto Rico for the Carib- aircraft missiles. And two weeks ago
bean coast of Honduras. NEWSWEEK has learned, the president
According to two senior administration
officials, Jeane Kirkpatrick, the hawkish
U.S. ambassador at the United Nations, led a
spirited attack on the proposal, arguing that
Americans should not pull triggers in El
Salvador. Sources said Reagan himself ve-
toed the plan. But U.S. warplanes still could
join the fighting later on. Some administra-
tion officials fear that American air power
may be needed to prevent the loss of El
Salvador to leftist guerrillas. Once the U.S.
presidential election is out of the way, the
planes maybe sent into action.
So far, El Salvador's guerrillas are far
from winning a decisive victory over the
government. But the armed forces will use
up all of their U.S. aid money by March 23
and will be out of ammunition by the end of
the month. Two newly trained battalions
have no radios, and 19 newly trained pilots
have no aircraft. Last month the guerrillas
said they would not attempt to block the
presidential election. But now that foreign
reporters are flooding in to cover the vote,
the rebels may try to grab some favorable
publicity by attacking the threadbare Army.
Even if the election comes off smoothly,
the outcome may not be to Washington's
liking. The leader among the eight candi-
dates still appears to be Jose Napoleon
Duarte, a moderate Christian Democrat.
But archconservative Roberto D'Aubuis-
son, the alleged godfather of the Salvadoran
"death squads," seems to be hanging on in
second place. Many Salvadorans assume
that D'Aubuisson will end up in a runoff
with Duane later this spring. Washington's
most vivid nightmare is that D'Aubuisson
will somehow engineer a victory in the end.
"We're having a harder and harder time
military profile, it can deter any counterat- Spectres : Some of Reagan's more jittery
buying bullets for the present government,"
says a top U.S. official. "It would be just
about impossible to buy any for a D'Aubui-
.son government."
D'Aubuisson denies the charges about his
involvement with the death squads. But an'
anonymous Salvadoran informer has sup-
plied some U.S. congressmen and The New
York Times with detailed information about
D'Aubuisson's role in right-wing atrocities.
The source was identified by NEwswEEK as
retired Col. Roberto Eulalio Santivanez,
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