WORLD COURT TOLD OF U.S. PLAN TO UNDERMINE NICARAGUA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00587R000200740045-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 25, 2010
• Sequence Number: 45
• Publication Date: September 14, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/29: CIA-RDP91-00587R000200740045-2
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
14 September 1985
WORLD COURT TOLD OF U.S. PLAN TO UNDERMINE NICARAGUA
BY ROMAN ROLLNICK
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS
A former senior CIA analyst said in testimony before the world court that
President Reagan planned to justify U.S. sanctions against Nicaragua by luring STAT
Managua's forces into a clash across international borders.
David C. MacMichael said Friday the scheme approved by Reagan called for the
deployment of a special 1,500-man covert force.
''The appreciation at that time was that the Nicaraguan government leadership
was possessed ... of a guerrilla mentality, '' he said. ''It was presumed that
the Nicaraguan government would engage in hot pursuit across international
boundaries in Central America.''
The incident was intended to dramatize Washington's claim that Nicaragua was
''a menace to the security of the Central American region'' and ''help justify
in U.S. public opinion, actions the U.S. might take against Nicaragua,'' said
MacMichael.
He said the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence proposed he plan
for the covert force in December 1981.
In Washington, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
Elliott Abrams told reporters he saw reports of MacMichael's testimony and noted
the former CIA official said he had no knowledge the alleged plan was
implemented.
Asked whether MacMichael is a credible witness, Abrams said: ''Not in my
view, because the claims he is making are at variance with facts.''
The United States has refused to acknowledge the world court's jurisdiction
over the Central American conflict and has chosen to ignore the proceedings.
MacMichael, 57, the second witness called in a Nicaraguan suit against the
United States, said he worked for the CIA between March 1981 and April 1983 as
a senior estimates officer with the analytic group of the agency's national
intelligence council. He resumes testimony Monday.
Nicaragua filed the world court suit on April 9, 1984. It charged the United
States with ''conducting military and paramilitary activities in and against
Nicaragua'' in violation of international law.
The suit was filed following revelations that the CIA directed the mining
of Nicaragua's three main harbors in early 1984 to stop what it said were
Nicaraguan shipments of arms to leftist guerrillas fighting El Salvador's
government. Nicaragua denied the accusations.
Following a request from Managua, the world court ordered the United States
to refrain from attacks against Nicaragua, but Washington replied it would not
accept the court's jurisdiction in Central American affairs.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/29: CIA-RDP91-00587R000200740045-2