$53 MILLION ANTITERRORIST PLAN DRAFTED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504870054-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 2012
• Sequence Number: 54
• Publication Date: August 17, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504870054-2
ARTICLE A D
ON PAM
$53 Million
Antiterrorist
Plan Drafted
Proposal Prompted
By Salvador Killings
By Joanne Omang
Washington Post Staff Writer
The State Department has pro-
posed a $53 million "regional coun-
terterrorism program" for five
countries in Central America as
part of its response to the murders
last May in El Salvador of 13 per-
sons, including four U.S. Marines
and two U.S. businessmen.
In a memo marked "confidential"
to Robert C. McFarlane, President
Reagan's national security affairs
adviser, the department described
the program as one of four options
for a supplemental appropriations
request and included suggestions
for larger and smaller amounts.
As written, the proposal would
provide $27 million in military sup-
port and $26 million in police train-
ing funds to El Salvador, Honduras,
Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama
"with a view towards improving
counterterrorism capabilities of the
host governments," the memo said.
Officials said McFarlane is ex-
pected to approve the program for
submission to Congress as soon as
he returns to Washington later this
month. Congressional sources made
a copy of the draft available to The
Washington Post.
White House officials confirmed
they are "actively considering cer-
tain proposals" regarding counter-
terrorism, but refused to comment
on the memo.
Drafted shortl after the May 19
shooting in a va or the memo
included as one option a $481.7 mil-
lion Defense Department "wish list"
that would make up all the military
and economic aid trimmed Con-
gress from requests during the past
three years.
That version, listed as preferred
by _tYe_ entagon an t e Joint
Chiefs of Staff, would be "a dramat-
ic reaffirmation of our determina-
tion" to defend the region from a
perceive sores of viet influ-
WASHINGTON POST
17 August 1985
ence, the memo said. The Central
Intelligence Agency "favors a more
narrowly focused program," while
the Agency for International Devel-
opment agrees with the State De-
partment, the memo said.
A senior Defense Department
official said its recommendation
"has been superseded" by subse-
quent proposals.
"There is no interagency differ-
ence on this," he said. "We just have
not decided how to package it, how
the security assistance problem
worldwide will be addressed." A
decision is expected after Congress
returns from its August recess, he
said.
He indicated "general agree-
ment" that the Central American
part of the program should follow
the State Department proposal. A
senior State Department official
said that the memo was "an early
draft" and that changes were made
to ensure compliance with laws
aimed at making certain that na-
tional police forces do not receive
U.S. military aid to use against their
own citizens.
Support for the police "would
seek to improve the professionalism
of host government police forces"
and "would include vehicles, com-
munications equipment, supplies
and possibly arms," the memo said.
Training, mostly outside the host
countries, in intelligence collection
and analysis, bomb detection and
de usin , hosta a rescue surveil-
ance and countersurveillance, bor-
der security and "basic law enforce-
ment" also would be provided, it
said. The proposal "should be
presented to Congress in a manner
tat does not -prejudice later efforts
to obtain substantial economic and
military assistance funding," the
memo said,
Congressional critics have ex-
pressed concern that the proposal is
an excuse to funnel additional mil-
itary aid to a region where Con-
gress has been careful,to limit U.S.
involvement.
The largest chunk of the funding,
$22 million, would go to El Sal-
vador, where preparations against
terrorism are "woefully inade-
quate," the memo said.
"The most serious shortcomings
[there] are ineffective command
and control, inadequate weaponry
and. extremely poor mobility, par-
ticularly among the security forces.
These deficiencies have been reg-
ularly exploited by terrorist ele-
.ments," the memo said.
Spending would include $4.5 mil-
lion for "aircraft support" for "spe-
cial operations units," $1.5 million
for "fast patrol craft," $4.7 million
for communications equipment,
$3.9 million on vehicles and $2.1
million for "basic equipment" that
would "permit transition to M16 ri-
fles for selected public security
forces."
Guatemala would get $5 million,
of which $3 million would be for po-
lice equipment and training-pri-
marily vehicles, computer terminals
and communications equipment-
and $2 million for military assist-
ance.
Congress has been reluctant to
aid Guatemala because of continu-
ing human-rights abuses, but the
Reagan administration argues that
the military government should be
encouraged in its progress toward
scheduled elections.
Honduras would receive $11 mil-
lion, Panama $6 million and Costa
Rica $9 million-including $3.5
million for a Bell 212 helicopter-
under the proposal.
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504870054-2