DEPARTMENT OF STATE DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00901R000500260002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 32
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 24, 2003
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 11, 1982
• Content Type: BRIEF

Approved For Release 201YA31":INZRWO9R6RA ROO
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1982
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUBJECT
0500260002-6
STATI NTL
PAGE
ARMS CONTROL
Nuclear Freeze Resolution; Current U.S.-Soviet
imbalance; INF talks in Geneva; START talks;
SALT II Treaty; 1972 AMB Treaty 1-7
CARIBBEAN BASIN INITIATIVE
Secretary Haig's meetings in New York 7-8
POLAND
U.N. Human Rights Commission Resolution 8-9
CHILE
U.S. vote on resolution re: state of emergency 10
EL SALVADOR
Reports that U.S. is sending more instructors 10
? Candidates in elections 11
U.S. discussions with various parties? 17
NICARAGUA
Future briefing on involvement in El Salvador 11
Jaime Wheelock's remarks re: lengthening of runways,
training in Bulgaria; protest of U.S. overflights 11-15
Soviet supply flights 13
Cross-border raids on Indians 13-14
Reported U.S. funding of moderates in Nicaragua 15-16
Colonel Mahano's visit to U.S 17
SOMALIA
President Barre's visit to U.S 17, 18
LEBANON
Ambassador Habib's return 17-18
Reported Syrian moves along border 19
AUSTRIA: Reported U.S. visit by Foreign Minister 18
MIDDLE EAST: Current legal status of West Bank and Gaza 18
SURINAME: Reported coup 19
GUATEMALA: Elections 19
ITALY: More from the P-2 Lodge 20
* * *
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12
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As that document noted, and it was a voluminous
document, the focus was "on the facilities and operations
related to inter-city and inter-regional transportation,
including rail, highway, air and water transportation."
Among the 11 high-priority construction items
listed that included all these various modes of transpor-
tation, three dealt with airport reconstruction at
Bluefields, Puerto Cabezas, and La Rosita. These air
transportation recommendations were based upon the study's
findings that there had been a growth in air transportation
of 300 percent in 11 years. The study, which is inciden-
tally available if you're interested in obtaining it at the
AID office, never envisioned nor recommended the type of
militarily-oriented modification of these and other facili-
ties which this week's briefing in the State Department
outlined.
0 Dean, I think that Mr. Wheelock also pro-
tested the overflight of Nicaragua by American spy planes.
Do you have any repsonse to that?
A I do. First, let me say that our Embassy in
Nicaragua was told yesterday that a formal protest would be
delivered, but so far we have not yet received any; and in
terms of what our response will be if we do receive one, I
simply cannot get into the specifics of diplomatic
exchanges.
o Are there any --
Q Well, wait a minute. I'm not asking for any
details of diplomatic exchanges. We did, according to
Admiral Inman, overfly. I guess we have to ask the
question: Is that considered legal by the United States then?
A Let me put it this way, Bob: The briefing
that Admiral Inman gave made clear that the photographs were
obtained by manned overhead reconnaissance.
I'm not going to get into any specifics as to
methodology.
o That's fairly specific, isn't it? Anyway,
that's not an answer to my question. My question is: Are
overflights by U.S. spy planes considered legal by this
country?
A As I said, we have yet to receive any kind of
protest; and so it would be premature, as well as coun-
terproductive, to get into any of the specifics of any
response we might make, and I've told you everything I can
with respect to your question.
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11
O Dean, are there still any plans for another
briefing this week on Nicaraguan involvement in Salvador?
A .I can't swear that there will be one this
week. It's possible that it might be postponed until early
next week.
O But there still will be?
A Oh, yes. We anticipate that there definitely
will be a briefing.
? Is the Department attempting or trying in
connection with that briefing to bring Nicaraguan pilots
who have defected to Honduras to Washington?
A John, I've seen some speculation'along those
lines, but the fact of the matter is that both the timing
and the content of the briefing remain to be determined.
O Dean, of the candidates who are running in
the elections in El Salvador, are there any that the U.S. feels
it could not work with and would not wish to help in a mili-
tary way if elected?
A The Secretary addressed this, perhaps
indirectly, yesterday. I forgot precisely the question he
was responding to.
I think the best way for me to try to paraphrase
my understanding of what he said is that if we are satisfied
that these are free and fair elections, we are prepared to
live with whatever result determined by the people of El Salvador.
0 Dean, do you have any response to what Jaime
Wheelock said at his news conference yesterday? He talked about
the lengthening of the runways having been started under
President Somoza in 1977, and he also denied that there were
any Nicaraguan pilots being trained in Bulgaria.
A All right, yes; I will be glad to give you a
response to that.
The study he referred to by AID is a fact. In
1975 the Agency for International Development funded an
extensive national transportation study for Nicaragua by the
consulting engineering and planning firm of Wilbur Smith and
Associates.
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? Dean, there was a protest made public at the
UN today.
A Perhaps there was, Bernie. We've not --
Q. Are you making a distinction between satellite
reconnaissance and flights?
A I referred to manned overhead reconnaissance.
O.K.
Dean, the Russians are using heavy transport
planes to ship raw material into Nicaragua. In fact, they
are using Halifax and Goose Bay as refueling stops.
Otherwise they couldn't reach Nicaragua directly.
Are we considering asking the Canadians to stop
these refueling privileges, at least for transport planes
which carry war material?
A I don't have any information today to enable
me to respond to your question.
? With respect to Admiral Inman's briefing in
this, he said that they had no evidence or confirming evi-
dence of any cross-border incursions; but in the statement,
an Embassy report that you released here last week, there is
a statement citing a "well-informed source" suggesting that
anti-Sandinista forces are planning a major attack on Sandy
Bay in the next few weeks to free an estimated 14,000
Indians being held in confinement.
Can you tell me whether he considered that in his
statement and whether that is evidence that would require
greater inquiry? What do the U.S. Embassy and the
intelligence community do with evidence that's put out by the
State Department that states that right up front?
A I don't recall the specific statement you're
referring to.
? I'm referring to a statement that was issued
in the Press Office here entitled, "Indian Exodus Continues
-- 12,000 Seek Refuge in Honduras." On page 5, the first
full paragraph is the relevant citation.
A And I'm sorry. Your question then Specifi-
cally is what?
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O Well, I'm baffled, because on the one hand
Admiral Inman said that there was no confirming evidence of any
such cross-border incursions and on the other hand here's
the report upon which he clearly relied in describing the
plight of the Miskito Indians -- the plight of the Indians
there -- which makes reference specifically to such an
incursion to free 14,000 people. And I'm confused; I'd like
to be straightened out on that.
A On what?
? Well, it just appears to be a contradiction,
and maybe others -- you know, maybe I'm cra2y (laughter);
but, on the one hand, Admiral Inman said that there was no
confirming evidence that incursions take place from Honduras
into Nicaragua
A Yes.
O But, on the other hand, the State Department
put out a copy of an Embassy report which refers to
anti-Sandinista forces planning a "major attack" on Sandy
Bay in the next few weeks, citing a well-informed source.
A Jim, I'd have to go back and see the precise
document that you're referring to. It sounds to me like one
is a report, and Admiral Inman said there's no confirming
evidence.
So I don't see that they're contradictory.
? So that's the distinction. C.K.
? Bob asked you about Wheelock's statement
about denying that there were Nicaraguan pilots flying
MiGs in Bulgaria -- training on Migs in Bulgaria?
A Yes. I'm sorry I didn't get to that part of
the response.
We were talking in the context not of his question
but of someone else's questions earlier about the AID study;
and let me just pick up there, if I may, in trying to
respond because I think the two are connected with the
overall topic that we're discussing.
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This study recommended that runways at Puerto
Cabezas and Bluefields should be expanded, both to 6,000
feet, as part of its overall recommendations for highways, inland
navigation, seaports and rail transportation. As the study
indicated, the central government at the time was "pursuing
a policy of passive support of competitive efforts by
Nicaragua transporters. . . (which had) resulted in unfa-
vorable inequities for the local transport industry." But
it should be clear that the study did not recommend or
envision the military modification of these air facilities,
which has taken place, or the additional steps in the area
of the Nicaraguan military buildup -- such as the extension
of runways beyond the recommendation, as in the case of Puerto
Cabezas and Sandino to approximately 8,000 feet, the
construction of revetments, the placement of anti-aircraft
guns, the training of Nicaraguan pilots in Bulgaria, or the
additional airfield facilities expansion which has taken
place.
I think it's important to note that this study did
not recommend any extension beyond 6,000 feet -- that is to
say, runway extension. According to John Hughes -- who par-
ticipated in the briefing, as you know, the other day --
a fully bomb-loaded MiG would require approximately 6,600
feet for takeoff. Sandino an Puerto Cabezas airstrips
have been extended to some 8,000 feet; as I said,
Bluefields to 6,670 feet.
Another airfield, which was not mentioned -- or,
at least, not recommended for expansion in the study -- has
also been extended to 6,700 feet.
? Well, I just want to come back.
A Yes.
O Wheelock denied that there were Nicaraguan
pilots being trained on MiGs in Bulgaria.
A Yes. This question was addressed the other day.
? So you are saying that you have evidence that
they are being trained on MiGs in Bulgaria.
A I certainly stand by what was said the other day.
? Do you have any comment on the report in the
Times today that the United States is providing funds to
support the moderates inside Nicaragua?
A I of course saw the report. We do not com-
ment on subjects such as this.
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? Dean, in that vein, Presidential Counselor
Edwin Meese last night addressed the subject of The
Washington Post report on the covert operations to destabi-
lize Nicaragua. Do you subscribe to what he said, and could
you expand on it?
A I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with what he
said.
O It was good.
(Laughter.)
O Dean, back on
overflights continuing?
you.
You ought to read it.
the overflights, are those
A I just don't have any further comment to give
O Do those flights have to be approved -- will
they take Presidential approval? Does he consult with
Congress before a series of flights or in any way before
they're conducted?
A Rob, I'm sorry. I just don't have any
further comment on that subject.
O Do you know anything about a possible visit
to either Washington or New York of the Nicaraguan Foreign
Minister?
A No. I heard rumors about this
I don't have any confirmation at all on this.
O Would the Secretary be willing
the Foreign minister if he came to New York?
such
him?
yesterday, but
to meet with
A I don't know. There are no plans
meeting.
for any
O Is there any reason for him not to meet with
A I just can't respond to a hypothetical.
just don't know.
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Apprpved For-Release 2003/1121010331ATRIDP31-00901R000500
ARTo ICL AITE.PIRED 11 MARCH 1982
PAG7, A-/
U.S. Reportedly SendingMillions
To FosLer Moderates in Nicaragua
ByPlitLIP TAUBMAN
Speclal to The New 'Yoh Times
and-run attacks against Government
trocpseand installations, the officials
said.
The Reagan Administration is aware
of the formation of the units? according
to the officials, but has declined to pro-
vide financial or military support;
ThePresiderit and the National Se-
curity.Council looked Over prctpcsals to
create our own paramilitary force, but,
once the idea of using former Nicara-
guan National Guard commanders was
rejected, there didn't seem to be a feasi-
ble way to do it," recalled a senior Ad-
ministration official familiar with the
deliberations, which took place last
November. "??? ? -? ? -
Less Risky Choice Approved
Mr. Reagan decided, officials said, to
approve the less risky course of secretly
financing individuals : and private or-
ganizations in Nicaragua that the
United States believes- could help pre-
serve moderate economic and., political
institutions.
In a briefing for reporters onTuesday,
'Adm. Bobby IL Inma.ri? Deputy Director
of the Central Intelligence Agency, was
asked-about reports that the United
States had approved a budget of $19 mil-
lion to support covert action projects in
Nicaragua. One such report was pub-
lished Feb. 14 in The Washington Post A
report in The Post today quoted Admin-
istration- officials as 'saying that the
President had approved a- $19 million
plan to create a Latin American para-
military force to operate against Nice-
rngua_ = ; ? ee
Admiral Inman replied to the question
at the briefing,. "I would suggest to you
?
WASIIII".4GTON, March 10?The Rea-
gan' Administration is ? providing mil-
' ?
! lions of dollars in covert financial aid to
individuals and private organiiations in
?? Nicaragua in hopes of bolstering moder-
I. ate elements there?according tb senior
Administration of licials? ? .
-
The effort, which is being en ana gerl by
the Central Intelligence Agency?, began
late last. year after-it was approved by
?r- President Reagan, the officials-said. e:
_
They said Mr. Reagan and his top na-
tional security advisers rejected a pro-
posal to finance and support the cre.,a-
lion of a:paramilitary force 'in Central
-'eAmerica. Several South American na-
tions, however, including Argentinaand
Venezuela, are working together .to as-
semble paramilitary units that, they
:piers u, infiltrate inteNicaragua for hit-.
z
I that $1
in;
and military forte
Nicara
1P4 by rah
tional Direce
era of the
Gcreenana
STATI NTL
Debayle. A Lu junt, aurrvint$.:
ten the ccuntry. ,
The Reagan Administrati( n has ac-
cused Nicaragua of promoeng Soviet
and Cuban interests in Contra America,
including providing military end finan-
cial help to guerrillas in El Salvador.
Sandinist leaders, who desct the them.-
selves as Marxist reform: -re, have
denied the charges.
On Tuesday, the Reagan leirninistra-!,
? tion made public aerial photographs,'
that intelligence officials sa al proved
Nicaragua, with Soviet ar d Cuban
assistance, was creating tre largest i
military force in Central Ame --ica.
-- Nicaragua protested teda r against
the reconnaissance flights, ceiling them
a flagrant violation of internatirrnal
law" and said its military oreanization
was strictly for defense.
The Administration's revie last fall
of alternatives-far' covert a --tion was
prompted partly by the recta, naissance
photos and by a -growing bei tel within
the Administration that Nicaragua was
becoming a surrogate for Cuba and the
Soviet Union, senior American officials
said..
The choices preeented to the Natienal-
Security Council on Nov. 19'ere wide'
ranging, according to the officials, and
included the creation of an Americansponsoredparamilitarylorce
That and several other alt ernatives
were sent back to intelligence agencies
for further study,-they said. When the
ideas were submitted again fir discus-
sion at a National Sgcurite Council,;
meeting later that month, the oararaili-
tary option was rejected becat se forma!I
tion of such a group appeared :o require
the use of former Nicaraguar National
Guard officers who had supported Gen-
eral Somoza.
7 T. "We realized that the sure-;t way to
have this kind of project backfire would
be if Somoza's military men were in-
:: Volve4" one official .
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STATI NTL
)z ARTICLE APPEARE
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/ON PAGE____LB
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CHRISTIAN SCITNCE IONITOR
11 March 1982
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'I :JANUARY 1982
VEHICLE STORAGE 1.
MAINTENANCE AREA
P,
OVIET-STYLE OBSTACLE COURSE
SOVIET-STYLE PHYSICAL
TRAINING AREA "4- ?
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.CIA aerial photograph reportedly shows part of -massive military buildup '''""'" ? ,j
- - -
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THE WASHINGTON POST
11 March 1 982
CT.IE APPEARED
ON
4-leara
s By Don Oberdorfer
?Nash In4ton Post, Stal t Writer
senior Nicaraguan official said
'yes' terclay that the lengthening of
tairport runways disclosed by a U.S.
intelligence briefing Tuesday was
Originally proposed by a U.S. go'vern-
'-ment-fmanced study during the ad-
ministration of ousted president
:Anastasio Somoza.
Jaime Wheelock, Nicaraguan min-
ister of agriculture and one of the
nine-member directorate of senior
commanders with greatest authority
in the country, also charged that the
United States has "flagrantly vio-
lated" its international obligations by
conducting overflights and taking
hotographs of military installations
in that country.
Wheelock, in a meeting with
Washington Post editors and report-
ers, disputed the interpretation and
details of Nicaraguan military activ-
ity described in the intelligence
briefing. "The, 'evidence' which was
Produced is not proof of anything,"
he said. -
According to Wheelock, lengthen-
ing of runways, one of the activities,
covered in detail by the briefing, was
recommended by a U.S. study dur-
ing the Somme administration.
!_. A spokesman for the Agency for
International Development later
confirmed that the 1975-76 study of
'Nicaraguan transportation needs,
? financed by about $1 million in U.S.
funds, was conducted by ;Wilbur
Smith & Associates, a U.S. consult-
_
ing lirm.
- -
AID spokesman Rich Miller said
the study recommended extension of
runways in several airports to im-
prove Nicaragua's transportation
_system.
However,. he added that the study
'id not recommend construction of
a.
arevetments for military aircraft, de-
ploynient of antiaircraft weaponry or
training of Nicaraguan pilots on So-
viet Mig warplanes, all of which were
yeported in the briefing.Appoed
. No mention. was made of revet-
.
meats by Wheelock or in the docu-
'retarthart? auirlanr42 nf flip ITS.qtitriv
assertions in the U.S. briefing that
.50 Nicaraguan pilots are being
trained in Bulgaria and Cuba to fly
Soviet Miga. ,
"No Nicaraguans. .. not a single
' Nicaraguan,: is being trained to "fly
Migs," Wheelock said. '
The public briefings Tuesday,
presented by Bobby R. Inman, dep-
uty director of the Central Intelli-
gence Agency, and John T. Hughes,
deputy director of the Defense In-
telligence Agency, did not address
evidence in U.S. hands of external
control of guerrilla forces in. El Sal-
vador. _
Secretary of State Alexander M.
Haig Jr. said last week that "over-:
whelmine; and irrefutable evidence"
of such control by non-Salvadorans
has been presented to the intelli-
gence oversight committees of Con-
gress in highly classified briefings.
A "dry run" of Tuesday's briefing '
?\
was presented last Friday to Haig,
'-who said it ndeded improvement be-
fore being made public. Because of
- `a terrible problem of sources and
methods," according to an adminis-
? tration official, little of the briefing
as formulated dealt with outside in-
tervention in El Salvador, the cen-
tral issde being debated in Congress
and the press. --. ' _': a! : ., ,
It was decided, therefore, to delete
all mention of this issue from Tues-
day's revelations and to concentrate
son Nicaraguan _ internal develop-
ments. '? - . se, ?
, Officials are still promising a pub-
lic session, perhaps tomorrow, to dis-
close information about outside di-
rection of the- Salvadoran guerrillas.
The growing expectation is that
defectors or agents claiming to have
firsthantl knowledge will :be pro-
duced at that time. Such testimony,
, according to official sources, is less
sensitive than the communications
,intelligence that evidently is the
; basis ..for statements by Haig and
:some other officials.. ' .......
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?
STATI NTL
- Wheelock, who left here yesterday
without success in his effo t to meet
Haig, depicted military a. `.ivities in
his country as defensive. I said the
U.S. briefings had been d :eptive in
substance and prone to 'excessive
hysteria" intone..
Nicaragua is being thrt de/led by-
'the United States Verb& and in a
reported plan of U.S. ndereover
actions, rather than the aner way..
around, according to Wha lock.
He appeared to be as concerned
about the indignity of I .ving U.S.
intelligence photos take) and dis-
played as by their subsetnce. The
briefings, as reported by the ? press,
showed "a lack of respect rid a great
deal of exaggeration" on Ire part of
U.S. officials, he charged.
- The weapons shown b? the aerial
photographs, Wheelock s, ?d, "are far
from sophisticated; in fa. -,, they are
obsolete." -
Wheelock disputed fin U.S., state-
ment that Nicaragua is issembling
the largest military force in Central
America and is a threat ) its neigh-
bors: ? e
Hughes, in the Tueso ,y briefing,.
'did, not repeat Haig's s dement of
last Thursday that Nice ague has a
25,000-man army and a - .oal (it dou-
bling that. Instead, the )IA official
said the Sandinistas' reg t tar military
force hes grown "from a .mall Initial
.force of 5,000 to a large active-duty
army supplemented b .ven larger
- militia and reserve elena-
Hughes. did not .dist 'ose a U.S:
estimate- for ,the regula army but
put this force Plus mil da and re-
serves .at "up to 70,00i men" and
:"the largest in Central A eerica."
Wheelock said Guate nate, has "a
regular "arm' of 35,000 ' ? which he
said is "twice the size thet Nicaragua
? :has." In an interview la t Saturday,
Wheelock put Nicarag a's _ regular
army at "not larger t'-an Somoza
- had," about 14,000.
!. ? Wheelock denied tine, there is a
000.5*9 Oasmsion of the army but
!- lag it we did not built up our, de-
..efensei after what is. hay pen ing now,
lap vinnld h Very' irresn,
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ON PAGEAL__-
BALT 31.11
ii I'larch 1982
to send
eii.
:ions
STATI NTL
-Ei
Nicaraguano ?
oposan
from Wire Services
?- Washington?The Reagan administration is
, providing millions of dollars in covert aid to iin-
? dividuals and private organizations n Nicara-
gua in hopes of bolstering moderate forces in
that nation, according to senior administration
officials.
The effort, which is being managed by the
' Central Intelligence Agency, began late last '
year after it was approved by President Rea-
gan, thee officials said.
They said that Mr. Reagan and his national ,
- security advisers rejected a proposal to fund the
1
? creation Of a paramilitary force in
. America.
Several South American nations, however,
? including Argentina and Venezuela, are working
" together to assemble paramilitary units that
would infiltrate Nicaragua for hit-and-run at-
tacks against government troops and installa-
tions, these officials said.
,The Reagan administration is aware of the
formation of these units, according to the offi-
cials, but has declined to provide financial or
military support.
"The president and the National Security
? Council looked over proposals to create our own
paramilitary force, but once the idea of using
former Nicaraguan national guard command-
ers was rejected, there didn't seem to be-a feasi-
ble way to do it," recalled a senior administra-
tion official familiar with the deliberations that
took place last November.
- Mr. Reagan decided, officials said, to ap-
? prove the less risky option of secretly financing
? individuals and private organizations that op-
pose Nicaragua's government.
The country has been governed since 1979 by
a nine-member Sandinist National Directorate.
- made up of the leaders of the revolution that
_ -
overthrew the government of Gen.
'Anastasio Somoza Debayle. A three-
man junta administers the country.
The Reagan administration has ac-
cused the Sandinist government of,
promoting Soviet and Cuban interests
in Central America, including provid-
ing military and financial assistancel
to guerrillas in El Salvador. Sandinist
leaders, who describe themselves as I
Marxist reformers, have denied the
charges.
- On Tuesday, the Reagan adminis-
tration made public aerial photo-
graphs which intelligence officials
said proved that Nicaragua, with
Soviet and Cuban assistance, was cre-
ating the largest military force in.
Central AmericApproved For Rel
r. The Nicaraguan government yes-.
sterday protested. against American
flights over Nicaragua. calling the
reconnaissance a flagrant violation ot
international law. It also accused the
United States of trying to convert
Nicaragua into "another Chile" by
ousting the junta.
Nicaraguan Ambassador Francis-
co Fialios Navarro, in an ABC-TV ap-
pearance, called the U.S. allegations
of a major military buildup by his
country "totally false."
Then Directorate Member Jaime
Wheelock, speaking at a news confer-
ence, denied allegations that Nicara-
guan pilots are being trained in Bul-
garia, but was vague on whether Nic-
aragua plans to acquire MiG fighters
from the Soviet Union.
_ Mr. Wheelock said the military
buildup was mainly defensive, and
also called for development of "a nor-
mal constructive relationship with
the government of the United States."
The Reagan administration's re-,
view last fall of covert action options,
in . Central America was prompted
. partly by the reconnaissance photos
and a growing belief within the
ministration that the Sandinist gov2
ernment was becoming a surrogate of
Cuba and the Soviet Union, senior
American officials said.
The options presented to the Na-
tional Security Council November 19
covered many proposals, according to
these official, including the one for
creating an American-sponsored
paramilitary force. .
This and several other options
were sent back to intelligence agen-
cies for further study, they said. When
' the ideas were submitted again for
discussion at a National Security
Council meeting later that month, the
? paramilitary option was rejected be-
cause it seemed to require the use of
, former Nicaraguan national guard of-
ficers who had supported General
Somoza. ?
? ^
"We realized that the surest way
to have this kind of project backfire
would be if Somoza's- military men
were involved," one official recalled:
The administration was aware,
these officials added, that Argentina,
Venezuela and other South American
nations were trying to assemble a
-force ? for deployment in Central
America.
The U.S. plan approved by Mr.
ase 2a0a/glia/QaayrdATEW9'690900111a
, ? - ?
than the nearly $20 millio?: projected
as the price of forming a cf support-
ing a paramilitary force, dinineara-
tion officials said.
In a press briefing Tue day, Adm.
Bobby It. Inman, the depu ty director
of central intelligence, :ras asked
about' reports in 'The V ...zshington-
Post that the United Stai es had ap-
proved $19 million to sup ,ort coyert,
action in Nicaragua.
He replied, "I would su,,gest to you
that $19 or $29 million it going to
buy you much of any kind these days,
and certainly not against hat kind of
military force."
00500260002-6
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ART I C.L.7. .td--IPTARED
ON PAGE
Zg'
11 MARCH 1932
Soviet Assails. U.S.. Charges
On Nicaragua asTantastie
MOSCOW, March 10 "(AP) -- The
? Soviet Union said today that...United
States allegations that Nicaragua. had
engaged in a major military buildup
threatening Central America were
"dirty insinuations" and "fantastic-
charges."
"There is no question as to where
these dirty insinuations come from: the
'proofs' were supplied by deputy direc-
tor of the C.I.A. Robert Inman and
deputy director of the intelligence de-
partment of the Pentagon John-
Hughes," Tass, the official press agen-
cy, said in a dispatch from Washington.
STATI NTL
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STATI NTL
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ON ?AGE ',T; 1-79.\TITO:.Z
iarch 172
Clashing over Nicaragua
?
_ . By Daniel Soutberland
Staff correspondent of The-Christian Science Monitor
nerves, a war,' of propaganda ? and apparently a mini-
The Reagan administration is now engaged in a war of
Washington
. ? _ ,
war of secret action ? against the small Central Ameri-
can country of Nicaragua. - --
Through briefings, congressional testimony, and pub-
lic appearances by high-level officials, the administration
5_,'e-CMS to be trying to build a case for- even more forceful
action against Nicaragua.- ? ?-- ?-?
Indeed, the administration-has raised the level of rhe-
toric on the subject of alleged Nicaraguan support for the
El Salvador- g,uerrillas to such a level that it may feel corn-
pelted to act more forcefully or suffer a loss of credibility ,
and prestige. Some close observers say the time-when
some kind of accommodation between the US' and Nicara-
gua can be achieved may be rapidly passing.
In its essentials; the verbal battle over Nicaragua boils::
down to this: .The Reagan administration contends that it
has irrefutable intelligence evidence, as yet undisclosed,
that Nicaraguans and- Cubans are both controlling and
supplying the guerrillas now- fighting the -US-backed re-
gime in El Salvador. The Nicaraguans deny this. So do the
Salvadoran guerrillas. -
-. The administation further argues that Nicaragua is en-
gaged in- a major military buildup which goes beyond
Nicaragua's legitimate . needs for defense. While not
denying that they are building up their forces, the Nicara-
guans contend that they feel -threatened by the United !
States and by three US-supported regimes in the region
?El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras ? and, therefore, l
Must take precautions. . - -
- One aim_ of the administration's current, high-level in-i
formation and propaganda campaign is to convince memei
bars of the US Congress that its argument is the correcti
one Sizable numbers of- senatoth and congressmen havel
? been reluctant to approve administration requests for in- I
creased-aid-to-El Salvador. Some-of them say they fear a I
stefeby-step involvement in El Salvador which would be
-analogous to. the Vietnam involvement. -
.- ? --
., ? The- latest burst of administration
_briefings and statements appears -to
have done little to change congressional
opinion: Those who, are predisposed to
be hostile to Nicaragua have been rein-,
forced in _their view.. But critics have
I., yet to be converted. Some, such as Con-
- gressman Michael Barnes, a Democrat
. from Maryland who heads the House
subcommittee on inter-American af-
: fairs,- voice alarm at the rising tide of
? administration rhetoric:
'The level of rhetoric-is far beyond
- shown to the-press. I think it
anything that is reasonable, given what
has been i
would be-useful for both sides--at this
? point to cool down;'2.. Barnes told the,
'- Monitor:
r ---According to, Barties;'.the adminis--1
tration may be "working its way into a-1
,- position in which only some kind of dra-d
? maticzmilitary oreovert action.. would4
be'commenAimypak_fitigilerM16h
4.?!.1
One problem for the administration
is that it has yet to -present evidence
that Nicaragua is intervening directly
in El Salvador. That subject is sup-
posed to be touched upon in a press
briefing to be held on March 12. In a-
briefing on March 9, Bobby-Inman, dep-
uty director of the US Central Intelli-
gence Agency, charged that Nicaragua
is building a military force. larger than.
all its neighbors combined and that this
could not possibly be required for
purely defensive purposes. - .
, Admiral Inman drew parallels with-
the buildup of Cuban forces many years
- earlier and speculated that Nicaragua.
might be building the basis fori
:projecting its farces- ? and revolution !
- beyond its borders. . - :
The Washington Post, on March 10.
:reported that the administration is a!-
ready moving to take secret action
. against Nicaragua. It said that Presi-
:' dent Reagan, under a .$19 million .plan,
, has directed the CIA to build a para-
military force of up to 500 Latin Ameri-
cans to launch attacks from Honduras
into Nicaragua. Such attacks, the Post
said, would aim at destroying vital eco-
? nornic targets in order to disrupt the
Nicaragua economy. One critic of the administration's
, 1
*policies, Joseph Eldridge, director .of
the church-supported Washington Of-
fice on Latin America, says the size of
Nicaragua's armed forces could prob..:
. ably be negotiated downward, but the
'current tough line of the administration
only serves to make-the Nicaraguansl
increase their defenses.
At a press conference held in Wash:
ington, D.C., _ on March 10, Jaime
Wheelock Roman, Nicaragua's agricul-:
ture minister, said US "distortions" of
, the Nicaraguan military situation
amounted to "verbal terrorism." 'He
added that airfield extensions and- imt-
provernents in Nicaragua reported by.''
US intelligence- officials -had Tearlier,
been -recommended by an American-
'construction firm and had been, ap-
proved by the Central American Bank 1
of Economic Integration based in Honl
!duras. He said that Nicaraguan pilotsi
, were not being trained in Bulgaria_as,1
:alleged by the US- and that despite
American allegations, Nicaragua- had
no plans ta bring in Soviet-built MIG
aircraft. " .
? - - t-'
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ARTICLE'1riEl'
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?"' YORY, DAILY
I I larch 19E-2
0002-6
TINTL
By BARBARA RE11111?.4
Washington (News Bureau)--:
Secretary of State Haig, insisting
the -United' -Statei -must Sen d
more military aid to Central
America, warned, yesterday the
. war in El Salvador could not be
won in that country alone be-
cause -it is. part of a massive
Soviet effort to subvert-freedom
around the world. - -
? "This situation is global in charac-
ter," Haig told a Senate subcommittee
in pushing for the administration's
$13.3 billion;-'foreign aid - program.
"These are_.local 'manifestations of a
global-probIent_L-7"
But he stressed that U:Si'arms and
military aid was "crucial" to El Salva-
dor and a cutoff-would- be "a fatal
CIA.1-to launch a $19. niillion covert'
action plan to .-"destabilize" Nicar-
agua's Sandinista regime.
ADMINISTRATION spokesmen re-
- fused comment on the report in -The'
- Washington Post. The newspaper said
the CIA would recruit 500 Latin Amer-
icans to serve as commandos, based in
Honduras, and to cross- secretly into
gime by the U S or S.--backed
groups. He told reporters i e knew of
"no large destabilization act on" under
way against the r JicaFaguaa
government. "
Iii an angry reply to U charges,
- Nicaraguan Agriculture Minister -
Jaime Wheelock, one of the nine mem-
bers of the powerful Sand lista Dire-
Nicaragua to destroy such targets as ctorate, said the Reagan adn ,,nistration
power plants and bridges. _The? aim-t-; "is talking about Nicaragua to become:.
would- be_ to disrupt the Nicaraguan --another Cuba what hey .really.
economy and divert the Sandinista goy- want is Nicaragua to bee(); le another
ernment's attention and resources. ..,Chile." This was a reference 10 the 1973
-Aceording to the Post; CIA Strateg- Coup that toppled Marxist President
ists think such operations inside Nicer- Salvador Allende of Chile, vhich had
agua would slow the flow of arms to El been the target of a $7 trillion CIA
Salvador.- -;-----:-7destabilization effort T
Only hours before the Post article 7 In crowded, _ press c )nference,
.appeared, Adm. Bobby It Inman, depu- _-_Wheelock defended his go ernment's
ty director of the CIA, claimed that arms buildup, denouncing U.S. spy :
Nicaragua was building the most plane overflights as "a v' -dation of
"powerful military force in Central Nicaraguan air space" and ridiculina
blow", to. the U.S.-backed junta--in., :America with Russian and Cuban help. CIA charges that the 35 Ile V military
fight against the Marxist rebels. ? - -,- INMAN DISMISSED Nicaraguan bases in the country were t eing built
Haig's appearance 'on Capitol- Hilt :claims that the nation's defenses were along Cuban lines. "I didn't `mow that
came after, a? published report that being upgraded to combat possible in- even architecture had ,leological
President Reagan had authorized the. tervention against the Sandinista re- lines," he said.
? ? - '
-
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C.
RAD,Ip d F R leas 2 /03 : IA-R P 1 -00011V005
4701 WILLARD AVENUE, CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND 20015 656-4068
0260002-6
-4???????.+01111?11010
STATI NTL
FOR
PUBLIC AFFAIRS STAFF
PROGRAM First Line Report
DATE
March 10, 1982 6:40 AM
SUBJECT Communists in Central America
gMION WTOP Radio
CBS Network
ON Washington, D;
ROBERT P1ERPOINT: The Reagan Administration has begun
a major drive to convince the public that the Communists are
coming in Central America. More on that after this.
PIERPOINT: The first of what is scheduled to be a series
of briefings was held yesterday on Soviet-Cuban penetration of
Central America. It was an impressive affair, with the central
Intelligence Agency's articulate Deputy Director, Admiral Bobb\
Inman, in charge of the show. The several experts gave evidence
of a strong Soviet-Cuban military buildup in Nicaragua. The e-i-
dence included a number of pictures of military bases under Con-
struction and military equipment in and around the bases, pict,ires
taken by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft. They seemed to prove
fairly conclusively that the Nicaraguans, with the help of hun-
dreds of Cubans and a few Soviet advisers, are building a lot yf
military bases for a small country. They also seem to prove tle
Reagan Administration's point that Cuba and the Soviet Union a-e
supplying the Nicaraguans with much more military equipment thin
they might need for normal defensive purposes, including scores
of heavy Soviet tanks, hundreds of trucks, and dozens of big
howitzers and antiaircraft guns. The Soviets are also helping
build or improve some airfields in Nicaragua that the U.S. offi-
cials believe will be used by Soviet-supplied MIG jet fighters
and flown by some 50 Nicaraguan pilots now being trained in Com-
munist countries.
The intelligence experts admit they don't know for sure
just why the Nicaraguans and their Communist allies are doing all
this, but they strongly imply that it is to turn the left-learing
Sandinista government in Managua into a totalitarian regime similar
OFFICES IN: WASHINGTON D.C. ? NEW YORK ? LOS ANGELES ? CHICAGO ? DETROIT ? AND OTHER NINCIPAL CMES
Mate" suP9141245115ittidtffteggiared '1:315271 /78T1. ?MVO 9 1 - not be R000600?260002-6 c' ?*4'bned.
Approved For Release 2003/12/03 : CIA-RDP91-00901R000500260002-6
to Cuba, an then to spr-ead Communist influence throughout Central
America. the Nicaraguans claim they are simply building up their
defenses against the U;lited States, which has invaded an occupied
them twice in this century, and against neighboring Honduras, Gua-
temala and Et Salvador , air of wh'ich have governments that are
certainly anti-Sandinlsta.
Briefings 1 fer this week, and perhaps the next, are to
take up charges by Seretary Haig and others that Nicaragua is not
only building itself strong pro-Communist military machine, but
that it is also the mrrin channel of military supplies moving into
the hands of the guerrillas in El Salvador. Haig has also said
the revolution in El alvador is under the command and control
of foreigners. He ha h not said exactly who outside the country.
He has not said exact!y where. But the thrust of yesterday's -
briefing and others come later clearly imply that Nicaragua,
Cuba and the Soviet Union are the guilty parties.
.Hf that is he case, the real question is what the
Reagan Administration intends to do about it. And so far, no
briefings are schedul d to answer that.
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!..1\TICLE 11.7:TEARED NEW YORK TIMES
Ys PACE 1 '2,!,,Vf', CH 1932
I?S, OFFERS PHOTOS':
OF BASES TO PROVE
NDIRAGUA THREAT
I r
HUGE BUILDUP IS CHARGED,
Intelligence Agencies" D'e..c1
? :..
Soviet Influence Cirsirgad
Nicaragua is governed ,by a
member Sandinist Natiorra::Directorate
made up of the leaders of the revolutis0
that overthrew the GovernroentioLGM.7'
Anastasio Somoza Debuyle .1.4791'
three-man junta admiaisters ,the coon%
try. According to the Reonoan Adminis-
trationZ the Sandinni, s,./Who descibe
themselves as MaraisVefortners, have
moved increasingly yIto the orbit Of tliz
Soviet Union az,ne3".:uba sinr?sseig
power. os ./...;42 os. .?- '
' - ? ?The A din inistra.'.ion has accuseclNicsv?
.
Forces Are 'Vastly Beyond fd
- Any Defensive Need'--:, :, said, was the first of a series of intern nd combat, as well as a mature ab- sa
'-' ? . :- ' 1,4: gence briefings scheduled for this week ha -
- '- - ? ' -, '? - .b the Reagan Administration to inform field used to rehearse sabota;,,eattacl(s
_. ...--
?
--'s;: ,:?
--; s --;- - Congr.os and the public about Soviet against airfields.
By PI-IILIPTAISBNIAIV.:s .
. .., . . ? :1, and Cuban involvement in Central , " Tank Placerrient Noted
special tomt?Ne-fe YOr'S rt=ea' . . ' .-. } : America. External support for the guer- At several garrisons, Mr. Hugh;
ragua of serving as a staging area and
command center for the guerrill a move-
merit in El Salvador. Nicaraguan lead-
ers have denied the charges.,
Today's presentation, Admiral Inman
STATI NTL
30500260002-6
COnfigUraClUll UI
? the style and placement or the barracks .
vehicle storage areas and training field ;
and obstacle course, closely resernblol
garrisons in Cuba and the Soviet Union.
"This is the pattern we see time an
time again in Nicaragua," he said. "lo
the pattern we've seen time and tim
again in Cuba."
At one point, to underscore the con -
parison Mr. Hughes juxtaposed a blac
and Wbite photograph of a Nicaragua
garrison with a photo of a military co rs-
pound he said was in Cuba. He noted th
similar design and construction fez.-
tures. --
One of the bases shown was desiwie 1
for the training of special army force
he said. The base, on the shore of Isalsos
Managua, contains a sawdust pit that h
Id was used for training in hand-tc
STATI NTL
WASHINGTON, March 9 -4 The :Reg; rilla movement in El Salvador will be
gan Administration made-PUblic.todii, the focus of one of these briefings, Admi-
.? -
aerial reconnaissance photographs that ml Inman said.
intelligence officials said proved Public Doubts AreNoted
ragua, with Cuban and -Soviet-assist, According to senior Administration
? ance, was assembling the largest officials, the decision to declassify some
tary force in Centrnl America. - intelligence information about Central
' The Administration asserted that tife America was made this morning by Sec-
Inilitary buildup posed athreat to Nica- retary of State Alexander M. Haig. Jr.
raEsua's neighbor hnioupSet m thp- and William J. Casey, the Director of
, .s and ?
military balance in the region.' :4, Central Intelligence. It ended several
weeks of internal debate about whether
Charsring tha,t. Nicaraguan:: IeaderS to disclose the information, they said.
had fled about the extent of the militarY The Administration, the officials said,
growth, Adm. Bobby R. iXfl, the hopes the release of the raw intelligence
Deputy Director of CentraUntelLigenci; data will help dispel public doubts about
said: "It's time to get some concern in Administration assertions of outside in-
'this country about their military buff& terference in Central America.
up. It's vastly beyond_ anY defensiVe The aerial photographs made public
: today ware taken in recent months dur-
- ? ' rag manned reconnaissance flights over
Pilots Ref;orted.UnderTraining
.? . . . . . Nicara.gua and show evidence of major
At a press briefing at the State-De4 military construction, according to Mr.
partrnent,.- Admiral Ininan ;said "this Hughes, who was described by Admiral
United States believedNic.aragua's-San.! Inman as the Government's "premier
dinist Government building-.1 a photo interpreter."
Mr. Hughes, who conducted a similar
standing army of 2.5,000 to 30,000-
briefing in 1962 about the introduction of
'equipped with Soviet tanks and heliCop%
ters. The nation's total Military' forr.e,
Soviet missiles in Cuba, said today that
Arrny had 49 garrisons.
di
inclung militia, is nearly 70,000, easi Ti
ly ?
25 of them constructed since the Sandin-
the largest in Central America Admin.,. ?
. ists gained power. -
istration officials Said He also said that improvements .were
In addition, they said; Nicaragua, i4 being made atNic:araau.an air bases, in-
soon to receive advanced:jet fighter chiding the extension of runways, toac-
plafrom.theS?vietUflioflandh3SSct corn modate advanced MIG:aircraft
pilots training in Bulaaria tri flytheni.44 built in the Soviet Union. ? ,
?
'Based ,On,-the_ pace of new -airfield Photographs Ara Displayed
construction,-, and the development d. To supports those assertion-s;-- mi. ?
? new ground force installations, ? a.v1- Hughes displayed a series of enlarged
dent to us1.that :the Sandir*ta?..-.70-Fe photographs showing military installa-
a chieiing military force leveliin Orcer?,9 flans in operation.or under construction
. of those' normally-. required.pirelY,'.for lin Nicaragua. "Most of these garrison
'defensive': spurposes;7--salckt:' ohn :IT-. areas are built along Cuban design,' he
.?
Hughes; Deptity Direitor of th4pefenie said. spi-f.sos
,jntO4MSPAO:eilliZ;Ali7
Approved i-or
noted the placement of what he sa. I
were Soviet T-54 and T-55 tanks and
Soviet antiaircraft guns. He said ?ths t
Nicaragua at present has 25 Soviet tarf, s
arir.edwith100-millimterguns: ? ' ?
In addition, he said, the United Stan s.
has evidence of -,the :presence of tv. o
Soviet Hip helicopters, 12 BTR armor( d
personnel -carriers and several heas
amphibious ferries capable of tram
porting the Soviet tanks across rivers.
The construction of new garrisons h: 5
been accompanied by the irnproveme:it
and expansion of at least four air base o
according to Mr. Hughes. He said that
Bluefields air, base, for example, on tl
Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, aeriti
photographs taken in January showod
construction of a new 6,600-foot runwa
The old runway, he said, was 3,100 fest
long, far too short, he added. , tohandle a
fully armed MIG fighter. ? , - -
"This is the kind of airfield expar.sit rn
for an air force that claims to have any
a few old airplanes?" he asked.
The overall Cuban presence in Nic
ragua, Mr. Hughes said, totals mo -e-
than 6,000 advisers: 2,000 military and
security advisers, 500 medical advise/
600 government advisers, 2,2C0teachr.-s
and 750 construction workers.
Admiral Inman said that there we -e
50 to 75 Soviet advisers in Nicaragua, i a-
volved primarily in advising the Nicar
guans about military organization a';
tactics: 'n ? ?? _ oi
Today's presentation also included a
series of photographs showing Miskoo
Indian villages in northeast Nicaragua ?
on Jan 4, 1982 and again on Feb. 23. Tie:
first photographs, Mr. Hughes sail,I
showed populated, functioning villa& s. '
The second photos showed the same vil-
lages with all buildings destroyed,
said, the result of a systematic effort
the Sandinist Government to disnla se
For. example,-Mr. Hughes presented a i the Indi ans.
e VOA jim9Gaicktosmazeopotristba.briefir 4, g tflOrl' acgig
_ . _ - ii I said- that in a visit to Washington last
week, Nicaragua's Minister of Agrict d-
ture, Jaime Wheelock Roman, lied
.
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NEW YORT'", TIMES
ART I CL,E 12.2EAI1.ED 10MARCH 19B2
ON
Transcript Statements a
-?,??/ the Military Buildup in Nicaragua
STATI NTL
Fel/owing is a transcript of the!
statements on the military buildup in
Nicaragua given yesterday at the
,State Department by Adrn. Bobby R.
elturian, Deputy Director of Central
In-
teiUgence, and John T. Hughes,
Deputy Director for Intelligence and
External Affair5 for the Defense Intel-
ligence Agency, as recorded by The
New York Times through the facilities
,of the Cable News Network:
"-Mr. Inman: I'm Bob Inman. I'm
here this afternoon because I'm con-
cerned and because I'm angry. I'm
concerned about insuring that you,
sand through you the public, has a clear
irmderstanding of what's been worry-
ing those of us in the intelligence com-
munity Mr months now. That's the
military buildup in Nicaragua and
what it portends for this country.
. . I'm angry because I've watched,
-over the past couple of weeks, public
'servants trying to grapple with the dif-
ficulty of conveying information while
protecting critical intelligence sources
and methods and finding that they're!
.standardly greeted with, "How can we
believe you, unless you show us all the '
idetailed evidence."
.1. And over the' weekend, we were
,treated to the occasion of the visit of
:Minister Jaime Wheelock from Nica-
ragua, who used the platform given!
him to talk at substantial length about
what wasn't happening in Nicaragua.
And as you will see from what we
have to say, he lied directly, and no
one seemed to challenge that precis,
at least not in the stories that I read.
-- And today we're not going to deal
.:with El Salvador and the events there.
That will be coming, a series of events
:later in the week. But we are going to
:respond today with some declassified
intelligence on the nature of the
-buildup that we've been watching for
;some time. ,..
ee Director CaseY has responded to our
lequest that he exercise his authority
no declassify some manned reconnais-
:Sance imagerysor photography, which
'1 believe you will find makes a very
substantial, different case from that
Which you heard from Mr. Wheelock
over the past weekend.
"-We're privileged to have with us
today, to present the evidence to you,
John Hughes. John has been in the in-
,telligence business now for slightly
,over 30 years. He is the premier photo
interpreter in the
',Community. And thefflia'
'historical interestmay,recallin. 19621
. when John Hughes briefed the evi-
dence, from photography, of the Intro-
duo don of missiles into Cuba.
I will field your questions after John
-has finished within the degree that I
an. And I'll be assisted by Jim Wil-
eianas, the director of D.I.A. John, over
;you.
ea:Mr. Hughes: ;Thank you. Ladies and
gentlemen, our purpose this afternoon
ns to review some of the sensitive intel-
ligence available to us on the continu-
ing Nicaraguan military buildup. In
this review, we will exhibit reconnais-
sance photography of Nicaraguan
military installations and military
equipment. .
.:--We will also show comparative
'coverage? that is, before and after ?
of Indian villages along the northeast'
'herder, which have been systemati-
cally destroyed by the Sandinistas.
;This presentation has two basic ob-
jectives, with respect to the Nicara-
guan military buildup: first, to de-
scribe the nature and growth of Nica-
raguan military facilities over the
past two years, and the inherent
Cuban design they represent; and sec-
cud, to review efforts on the part of
Cuba and other Communist nations to
provide modern and upgraded mill-
eary equipment to the Sandinistan
ground ?armed forces. _
enCould we put the lights down please?
--Prior to the overthrow of Somoza by
the Sandinistas, Nicaragua main-
tained a National Guard with the
strength of about 10,000 men. This
force was widely dispersed throughout
the country in an internal security role
and had very little heavy military
equipment.
Size of Military Ferce
When the Sandinistas came to
power, they immediately began or-
ganizing regular military forces and a
strong internal security police force.
The Sandinista police, similar in
purpose to Somom's National Guard,
gradually have been built to a force of
five to six thousand men.
The regular military forces have
grown even more quickly from a small
initial force of 5,000 to a large, active-
duty array supplemented by even
larger militia and reserve elements.
' This combined military force is now
the largest in Central America and;
totals up to 70,000 men.
Based on the pace of new airfield
construction arid the develaprnerit of ,
new ground-force ir.stallatices, it is
evident to us that the Sandinistas are,
achieving military force levels and:
capabilities that are in esecese of those
normally required purely for defen-
sive purposes.
We believe that they have already
upset the military balance in Central
America. This is ese.cially true since,
their neighbor to the south, Costa
Rica, maintains no standing army.
Let me now share with you the evi-
dence that is available to us.
First graphic please. In any discus-
sion on the Sandinista military build-
up one has to talk about Nicaraguan
. military facilities. At the present time.
' we have confirmed from aerial
photography and other source 49 ac-
tive military garrisons. The amazing
thing about that figure is that 36 of
them are new military garrisons since
the Sandinistas have taken power.
Thirteen of the garrisons to make up
the total of 49 are old Somoza garrisons
that have been refurbished to accomo-
date the Sandinistan military units.
. Most of these garrison areas are
built along Cuban design. In fact, we
have evidence of facilities in Cuba that
we'll exhibit today that are seen in
Nicaragua.
Release 2003/12/03 : CIA-RDP9
14 Installations
The installations we're going to tallti
about are shown, or highlighted, here.
Fourteen are the ground-force instal-
lations. They are not all of them there,1
some of the main ones, here markedi
by the military symbol a standing sol-
dier. Fourteen of them, plus four newi
airfield activities, we're watching
very carefully at Puerto Cabezasd
Bluefields, Montelimar and near
Managua itself. And, by the way, this
inset of Lake Managua is enlarged in
the upperleft, where you can see the
town of Managua and the newly estab-
lished ground-force garrison that
we're going to be discussing in the con-
teat of today's presentation.
This is Sandino Airfield, the main in-
ternational field. i
As I mentioned a moment ago, all of
these take on a Cuban design arid char-
acter. Let rue show you what we are
saying on the reconnaissance photog- I
raphy. Next graphic.
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10 r.tarch 1982
ON AGE
STATI NTL
- By LARS-ERIK NELSON
- Washington (News Bureau)?The Reagan
administration yesterday published highly
detailed spy-plane photographs to document
what it described as a Soviet and Cuban-aided
military buildup in Nicaragua. Y _
Adm. Bobby Inman, deputy director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, said the leftist Sandinista gov-
ernment in Managua was trying to build up a regular
army of up to 50,000 men and' was laying the
foundation for a sophisticated air force that would be
the most' powerful in Central America.
The Nicaraguans have justified their. military
buildup by citing continued resistance_from exile
? who supported dictator Anastasio Somoza.
Nicaragua, Inman said, "is achieving force levels
far in excess of what is required for its self-defense."
What United States intelligence witnessed, he added,
was "believe me, exactly the same pattern" as what
had occurred in Cuba in the early 19S0s, when the
Soviets began to arm Fidel Castro.
. A SIES OF SLIDESrshown to journalist's in a
:Vietnam war-style briefing, depicted the lengthening
of Nicaraguan airfields and the construction of
.."standard Soviet-style" military camps, with obstacle
courses, running tracks and parade grounds.
The photographs, taken by manned reconnais-
:sance 'planes over Nicaragua, were so detailed that
'briefer John. Hughes, described by Inman as the
"premier photo interpreter in the U.S.-intelligence
community,'.' said he could detect the chinning bars
.on the exercise fields. Hughes was the briefer who
had explained the arrival of Soviet missiles in Cuba
.20 years ago.
- - . --" ? ? ,
The slides showed three types of military activity.
in Niearagua: _
o The construction of military garrisons at 36! I
sites. Hughes said the construction followed the' t
standard Soviet and Cuban pattern of a rectangular'
enclosure divided into three equal sections for
garages, barracks and training fields. At one site, on
Lake Managua, the photo showed a mockup of an
airport that could be used to train guerrillas in howl
to attack aircraft on the ground.
e The lengthening of runways at four Nicaraguan'
airfields. Hughes said the construction appeared to
be intended to allow Mig-21 fighters with full bomb
loads to use the fields. Nicaragua currently does not.
have any Mig-21s, but 50 pilots are undergoing
'extended flight training in Cuba and Bulgaria,
e The destruction of Indian villages near the
border with Honduras. The photographs showed that
even churches had been burned to the ground.
Nicaragua has said that it relocated 8,500 Indians
away from the border but has blamed the destruction
of the villages on raiders from Honduras. Inman said
the destruction was too complete to have been the
work of isolated raiders. . .
The photographs also showed the deployment of
Soviet T-55 tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Hughes said the Nicaraguan armed forces were
.provided with heavy-duty military ferries- that would
allow the tanks to cross rivers.
He said Cuba currently has 2,000 military and
security advisers in Nicaragua and 4,000 other
teachers and advisers. Inman said 50 to 70 Soviet
officers were providing high-level military guidance
to the laacaraguan army.
CONITIV117-1-1
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"r1
__cf.:, ? CF,ATSIT'C.?:
10 liarch 1902
STATI NTL
CIA charges Nicaraguan buildup
Washington
US intelligence officials have accused Nicaragua of building a military
force larger than that of all its neighbors combined, Monitor correspon-
dent Daniel Southeriand reports.
Such a force; they say, cculd not possibly be required for purely de-
fensive purposes. They speculate that the buildup will be used much as
Cuba used its own buildup: to export revolution to other countriei.
In a State Department briefing March 9, Bobby Inman, deputy director
of the Central Intelligence Agency, said the buildup was "vastly beyond
any defensive need for Nicaragua."
Mr. Inman and other officials presented aerial photos of Nicarguan gar-
risons, airfields, and military equipment, and said Nicaragua appeared to
be training a regular army which could total up to 30,000 troops, as well
as an additional militant force of between 100,000 and 150,000 men.
Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. had promised last week to re-
lease detailed evidence of Nicaraguan support for the guerrillas in El Sal-
vador. But the intelligence briefing March 9 failed inexplicably to provide
such evidence. State Department officials had earlier explained that .
much of that material was of a sensitive nature and that its release might
endanger intelligence sources.
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AR T I C LT; Kliq7,111.103
CN FAG'S
MT?
.1":1 :beam
S sa
-
BOSTON GLOBE
10 MARCH 1 982
STATI NTL
00500260002-6
7.!- ing that they're standardly greetea iense against any con bination -of
S1 arms :-::4with 'How can we believe you un-its neighbors. The inte agence.Offia
- ...-... -less you show all the detailed evi- dais said there are Muir than 6coo-
-
- ?
dence?' '' -.? ,' .. Cubans in Nicaradua, inciudind
a?,ance m. .: CIA Director William Casey ex- about 2000 military arid security
Nicaragua a
, ercised his authority to declassify: advisers. Another 50 a) 75 Soviet
6' - S ,_ some of the intelligence in order to officers, they said, were on hand to
.. make a public case, Inman_ said. aadvise senior Nicaragu in military
1..._ i.series ot reconnaissariCe-ph officers on force pIanni rig and tac-
.. , :a.; tis???Were flashed on ? a screen in al tics. ?7:, . - -a:-
I:al", State Department 'auditorium and' Inman said after a marked cid--
area u I
By William Beecher
Globe Staff a.'-alanalyaed by John, Hughes, a depus ference in tactics durina the 1960s
...::t3.4director of DIA who first came to! When Cuba actively supported
WASHINGTON - Top American; p4bl1c;attention -in 1962 when he guerrilla .movemen t- in Latin
intelligence officials charged -Si "(.4:4. btiefed-on photos of Soviet missiles' America whilethe Soviet Union
terday that the military buildup hat: intCcaba, ' : "I concentrated on establshed Corn-
Nicaragua has already "upset: the 2 The photos were detailed' munist Party politica' organiza-
military balance" in Central Amera enough to show what Hughes del tions in the region, thr two coun-
Ica and appears aimed at suppo&- SQribed as troops in the field in. tries now appear to be clAardinating
ing revolutionary movements of Nicaragua training with Soviet efforts to actively suppart, supply
threatening direct intervention in antiaircraft and antitank guns. - ' and advise guerrilla movements. ?
the future. - ? a Since the rise of the Sandinistaai Asked what was 1 ehind the
One of the officials, Adm. Bobby. ill Nicaragua, Hughes said, regular' buildup in Nicaragua, Inman said
Inman, deputy director of the Cen- stmy.garrisons have been expand-I he could recall a time when the
tral Intelligence Agency (CIA), said: ekfrom 13 to 49, and 14 new air-I United States regarded Castro as
it appears to be following "exactly. feelds.have been built, including merely an "agrarian reformer" and
the same pattern" as occurred In: fir With runways long enough to withdrew support from Fulgencio
Cuba after the rise of Fidel Castro:.., aetornmodate_MIG21 fighter-bomb- Batista, the Cuban dic tator. But
a , ,
I
er. ., 1 , when Castro assumed power, In-
*
? InMan said the intelligence corn- man said, he built Cuba into a milt--
a
munity believes that Nicaraguan, tary bastion for the export of revo-.
pilots now undergoing "advanced- 1 lution in the Western hemisphere.
night: training in Bulgaria and I "I believe we're seei ig exactly
Cuba, will return home later this the same pattern in Nicaragua," he
a .
. a
101i be delivered shortly thereafter. Hughes showed before-and-after
: The scope of facilities being con- photos of several Misk to Indiani
structecl, Inman added, probably villages on the Nicaraguan side of '
t,
means that another 50 to 75 Soviet the border with Honduras, which
tInks ayill be added soon to the 25.. he said showed the systematic,
T55 tanks now in Nicaragua. By, burning down of al' homes;
ulay af comparison, he said, Guata- churches and other ? str(ICtures in'
niala- has only five World War Il '
'January and February. Some
' ' ,? 10,000 Indians have bec 0 forcibly '
_
tary supplies to the guerrillas' Iri El. . Besides intantry and armored' relocated in Nicaracsua, he said,! '
, Salvador and of command and Con-t battalion garrisons, which he Said and another 12,00 have fled to
trol of their activities from Nicara-
- were built on the Soviet-Cuban Honduras. - .
. gua.. .- ?-,_.a- -..- aa,a,.,:.a,.,, ? . _ - model, Hughes showed photos of a Asked why this was going on,
'? '? The public briefings, which sup= training facility near Managua Inman said he could only speculate
plement classified sessions on Cap.:. .where he said troops were gettin that the Nicaraguans m.ght want ,
. Rol Hill this week, are aimed at the commando-type training in how t
rising tide of skepticism that the",
'Administration may be overstating'
- the case for Cuban and Soviet in-
terference in Central America. ''
"I've watched over the past cou-
In a briefing at the State Depait--,
ment, complete with aerial rectin-.
naissance photos taken as recently
as two weeks ago, officials from the
CIA and Defense Intelligence Agerf-
cy (DIA) attempted to document
publicly for the first time evidence
of the military buildup in Nicara-
gua as well as of alleged Nica-ia-
guan destruction of Miskito Indian
villages on the Nicaragua-Hondu-
. .
ras tiorder. ? - -; s
- Administration officials are -ex'-
''pected to follow later this week,
possibly Friday, with their long-
promised evidence of outside mill: 14nks:? '
ye0 :and that MIG21s probably declared. '
to clear the area preparatory tol
attack airfields and destroy plane' moving a Cuban military unit into I
with small explosive-satchel' a nearby facility under construe-
charges. He noted an effective at-' tion. - - - - ?
tack of that sort occurred recently' Other sources suggested the
in El Salvador, but he stopped. Miskitos had opposed scale (pf the
pie of weeks public servants trying I short of tying Nicaraguans to that Sandinista programs and the latter
to' grapple with the difficulty of . raid. . i may have feared they wo ild make.
conveying information while pro- 1 In answer to questions, Inman 'common cause with Nicaraguan
tecting critical intelligence sources 'said the scope of facilities under ' exiles in Honduras. -
'
;and methods," Inman said,, afit-i-d,lconstruction suggest plans 'for- a.' Jaime Wheelock Roman.. a,
Nicaragua standing military-force -member of the nine-man Sandirl
Approved For Release 206470r LEK190/11419136130126000, 2-eirectorate, which
m ao 1011,1tet015144000. Such" rules Nicaradua. claimed in anews
6 forces he said, was much larger,' conference last week in Washing-'pap Nicaragua would need for de- 1 ton .thatilip 6i-rap1 ...a-
AR TI CLI 1.1.DPZA171,
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STATI NTL
WALL ST .-ZET,T JC)II N A L
10 i-larch 1982
' John Hughes, deputy clireCtor of the De-
fense Intelligence Agency, said that Nicara-
gua's military forces have grown to about .
70,000 troops. By contrast, he said, Nicara-
gua had a national guard of about 10,000 '
troops before Sandinista rebels overthrew
a military government there in 1979.
' Those forces are organized into 49 active
garrisons,. 36 more than before the Sandi-
nista takeover, he added. Y ?
Moreover, the officials charged that the
rapid ,construction of.. military facilities
shows that Nicaragua plans to continue ex-
panding its armed forces. Mr. Inman pre-
dicted that Nicaragaa.eventually will a'
Standineirmy of 25,000to 30,000. trocps,and
a militia of an additional 160,000.40,150,000
?
4. -The officials charged that the army is-be-,-
Coming7S6 large and well-equipped that it
doesn'tsappear intended for defensive pur-
poses. alone. U.S. analysts fear that Nicara-
gua may use the army- to forcibly spread
revolution in Central America or to intimi-
date its neighbors into accepting leftist gov-
ernments. -- ?
? ? To house its army; Mr. Hughes charged,
Nicaragua is building a series of military in-
stallations and refurbishing existing ones.
The new facilities are being built with pre-
ciselY the same layout as Cuban bases, Mr.
:Hughes charged, showing photographs of
Cuban bases that appeared similar to sup-
port his contention. -
-
Soviet Guns Shown
The photos also show that the Nicara-
guan facilities, like Cuba's, are guarded by
Soviet antiaircraft guns,. Mr. Hughes said.
He, added that Nicaragua's troops also h.ave
received other Soviet-made equipment in the-
pastfew months, including25 tanks,-12 large
howitzers, two helicopters, 12 armored per-
sonnel carriers and amphibious vehicles to
carry the heavy equipment. ,
..ThesU.S. officials said they also expect.
Nicaragua to receive Soviet-made MIMI or
MIG21.? fighter jets in, the 'next few months.
They charged that 50 Nicaraguan pilots, are
in Eastern Europe learning to fly the planes
and that four airfields are being expanded
sci their .runways will belong enough to. ac-
? commodate large MIGs loaded with bombs.
. -told, Mr. Hughes said, Nicaragua al- '
ready has "upset the military balance in!
Central America Armies-in the region 'ire
Nicaragua Photos
Shown to Prove
Military Buildup
U S Intelligence Officials
Offei? Sp P1an Pictures
To Win Over Skeptics
.?
By GERALD F. SEIB
Staff Reporter of WA:Li:STREET. JOUR-.AI.
WASHINGTON U.S. intelligence offi-
cials, in a rare 'release of secreCinforma-
lion, yesterday displayed .dozens?Of recon-
naissance photographs to support charges
that Nicaragua is engaged in-a dangerous
military buildup.' : . -.'
The pictures- were taken from U.S. spy
planes flying over ?Nicaragala during- the
past year, Bobby Ray .Inman; deputy direc-
tor of the Central Intelligence Agency, said.
The pictures, which were shown to reporters
at the State Department, seem to show the
construction of Cuban-style military bases,
the construction and extension of four air-
fields to handle large jets and the placement
of Soviet tanks, trucks and antiaircraft
gans: ,s. ? ? :
. The unusual news briefing was -just-the
first in a series of ?presentations, of ,intelli-'
game information planned this week to sup-
port the administration's., tough :Central
Amerie.an policies: ?,--
. The CIA and the . Defense Intelligence
Agency- .have ? prepared -a- second 'briefing
that reportedly shows evidence of Nicara-
guan support for guerrillas in El Salvador.
That, presentation is to be made privately to-
day and tomorrow to some former top gov-
ernment officials of both parties and to con-
gessionat committees. Reporters will see
the presentation Friday, Reagan adminis-
tration officials said. -
, The briefings...are -designed to- win over
skeptics who contend the administration is
exaggerating the military danger from Nic-
aragna..and.tlie.extent. of Cuban and Njcara-.
guan support for the guerrilla movement in
Er Salvador. Ii-itelLigence;cifficials: who are
reluctant to release such sensitive- informa-
tion, declassified the materials at the urging
of the administration. ? -
Large Military Buildup T.., ?
.
"I'm here -this afternoon because I'm,
conCerned and becaU.Se I'M angry,' Mr. In-
man said as he opened the briefing. He ex-
plained thit he was concerned because of
Nicaragua's military buildup-and angry be-
cause some e,ndeJo
Isee sensitiryintelligeanflan
lieving_the?ailthinistratiorgs,claims.:
that-Nicaragua's government Ii ss launched
a campaign to drive out the 1 adians, who
have, frequently criticized the Ifftist Sandi-
nista government. '
, Some administration officia s said that
the, next. briefing, on Nicaraguan support for
guerrillas in-El Salvador, doesn t contain as
much hard..evidence. as yesterday's. They
explained that it-is impossible o get aerial
photos of the covert arms slnpments the
U.S. claims are coming from Nicaragua. In-.
stead, the .U.Ss.has gathered si eh' evidence.
as small arms caches that have been uncoV-
ered and intercepted radio Messages that
ShoW the cooperation between Nicaraguan,
groups and the Salvadoran rebe s..
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For Release 2003/12/03 : CIA-RDP91-00901R00050026
oii THE WASHINGTON POST
10 March 1 982
STATI NTL
By John M. Goshko
Via:AlIngton. Post Staff Wetter
. The Reagan -adrainistration, seek-
jug to swing pUblid-:-Opinion behind'
its Central America-policies, yester--
day staged a display of blowups .of
aerial photographs ? to bolster:, its,
charges that Nicaragua is engaged in
a. massive .military ...buildup that
poses a threat to its neighbors.
The photographs, projected onto a.
giant screen in .the _darkened large
auditorium of the State Department,'
were the highlights:: of, a lengthy.
-press briefing given by Adm. Bobby
R. Inman, cleputri director of the
Central Intelligence 'aAgency, and
-Jolm Hughes, deputy' director of. the
Defense Intelligence Agency.
. As described by. Hughes, the phoe
.tog-raphs purported to tshow
Nicaraguan. militarj:. installations
built according tO--an alleged Cuban,
model, airfields With runways length-,
ened to handle '..Stiyiet Mig. jets that.
- the United States.7claims are e?
-
marked for Nicaragua; and Soviet:
tanks and artiller3fin7p1ace. at'. sorri.e:,,
of these installations .Y
.The two officia1S:als6 -Showecra';
series- -.of before-and-after - ..photo4i.
? graphs showing ;Indian . villages mear'.'?
'Nicaragua's bordewith-lHondtiras-',.
that.. ailegediy,, were.. burned b
Nicaraguan . authprities.....Theadrair
. istration hashargeANiCaragim..Wifh-,
-repression relocation 'of'
the Miskito Indiang.arid other trib'e.S.',:
that lived in
'Except for qh6..- photograplisc4?COI;.
lected by; unspecified -aerial: reCtiri4).
naissarrceinethods?he briefing was'
largely a reiteration.:informationi,.'.
that... the administration.:PreviouSlY
made
Its. mainepontai.,alich.Inmanaand.
Hughes tried, . todrive ..home: with, a.i
drumbeat of tough' rhetoricawas.the,-4
allegation that.-,;,NiCaregtia'a,?--fevnlu;-
ti On ar,y,:a:S anclirtiatnliCantrAp#T.
'ernm ent; WithilaCtibiii". arida So- Vie..
help is
needs :for a legitimate self-defense.
pirnan said the intelligence commu-
nity. believes Nicaragua's goal is to
create a standing army of 25,000 to
30,000 and a ready-reserve militia of
between 100,000 and 150,000. -
He added that while the purpose
wasn't clear, he believes the "pattern
of Cuba" is being repeated in Nic-
arag-ua.and that "the military infra-
structure is there ,to turn the country
into a Soviet bastion" from which
campaigns, of political intimidation
or outright warfare can be waged
against the rest of the Central Amer-
ican isthmus.
"This time, the ocean barriers
aren't there," Inman said. "They can
move much more easily into Central
American countries." ,
What set yesterday's' briefing
apart from t,previous administration
attempts to make its case about
communist penetration of Central
America was the almost theatrical
flair with which it was staged. Ad-'
ministration officials also made clear ,
it was only the opening salvo in a
major effort to influence public opin-
ion and counter the mounting oppo-
Sition in-Congress and elsewhere to
President Reagan's backing ':of the
:military-civilian goverment in.E1 Sal-
,vador and his hostility to Nicaragua.
The session yesterday was limited
to- presenting evidence about the
:Nicaraguan'. arms buildup and did
-not deal5with the charge made _by
Secretary of State Alexander M.
.Haig Jr. that the leftist giierrillas in
the Saliradoran civil war -are ,con-
trolled and supplied by such-nutside
'forces as ?:Cuba and Nicaragua:
Haies accusation caused several
members of Congress who advocate
negotiating, with the Salvadoran
guerrillas- and Nicaragua to ask him-
f9r
-Inman said evidence about they
so-called t'Salvador-Nicaraguaa.con-1
'nection" is being presented to Con-;
gross, in dosed briefings that will
continue through Thursday. He Ilso'
,said a similar briefing will be g ven
today at the State Department hr a
bipartisan group of distingui,hed
former government officials, ant he I
added that another press briefing on!
the subject is likely Friday.
The tone of the administration's
approach was set by Inman, Arno
opened the briefing by saying he was
"concerned" and "angry" because the
=public has not been getting "a clear
idea of what is concerning us in the
intelligence community" and because
government officials :have been in-
hibited in responding to congresaion-
al interrogation by the need to
tect intelligence sources.
For that reasone. he contireied,
CIA Director William J. Casey had.
declassified the - aerial photogra phs
Made public yesterday. To explain
,them, Inman then called on Hughes,'
whom he described' as "the premier.
aihoto interpreter in-,the intelligence
:community." He alstenoted poinCed-
ly that Hughes had' cOnducted the
briefings during the 1962 Cuban
Missile crisis dealing with aerial re-
connaissance of Soviet missile ites
there.
Hughes said there are 49 active
military garrisons in -Nicaragua, 36
of them built since the SandiniAas
. won power in 1979., He then shoved
-aerial photos of several that he'-aidl
were built on the- Cuban pattern -if a
:rectangle divided inlp,three parts: a
motor pool, a barracks area arvi a
'training area -Containing what he
contended were "Soviet-model" oh-,
stacle and physicalIraining coursea.[at
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!MT I :)-LE t.F PHILADELPH:A INQUIRKi
FA 10 MARCH 1982
STATI NTL
By James McCartney
'Inquirer 1Vashirighan Bureau - - ,
WASHINGTON ? _The Reagan
administration declassified a set of
aircraft reconnaissance photographs
yesterday in an efforr to document
'its-contention that Nicaragua is in-
:volved in: a massive military buildup
Supported by Cuba.
The photographs, taken from
manned aircraft, showed barracks,
airfields and training facilities that
the administration said were of '
Cuban and Soviet design.
Included were pictures of Soviet-1
built tanks-in training areas, con-
struction on airport runways appar-
ently being extended to handle so-
? phisticated Soviet MiG jet fighters
and elaborate training grounds.
An intelligence analyst, John
? Hughes, described by officials as the
. "premier photo interpreter_ in the
U.S. intelligence community," said
the photographs had been taken in
the last two years; since the Marxist-
oriented Sandinista government took
. .
power.
Adm. Bobby Inman, deputy direc-
tor of the CfA, said the photographs
were being made public in response
to denials by a high-level Nicaraguan
official that his country was engaged
in a military buildup. U.S.' officials
repeatedly have made that assertion..
Inman declined to answer ques-
? tions about how the photographs
Were taken or how often Nicaraguan
? airspace has been violated by U.S. '
reconnaissance planes. ?
. He said he was "angry" because the,
Nicaraguan official, Jaime Wheelock,
, minister of agriculture and a mem.:
ber of Nicaragua's ruling directorate, i
l'had gone 'unchallenged efter.-assert?-",
,ing over the weekend in New York! .
that U.S, accusations about the Nica-
raguan'-buildup- were.-"completelyi
f 1 ."
Said Inman: ;;He lied.directly."
Wheelock, sent by his government
to the United States to tell Nicara- '1
gua's story,' said Secretary of State
Alexander M. Haig Jr. had been tell:,
ing "scandalous lies" about Nicara-
guan military capabilities in order to .o
create U.S. public support for mili-
tary intervention in Central..Amerie t
Approved For Release 20tY3112/03
The case that officials were trying
to make- yesterday was a repetition,
with photographic support, of the,
one originally made by Haig in No-
..vember:.
thighes said. Nicaragua was-becom-
ing:the strongest military power in
Central -America, and was creating
"capabilities far_ in- excess of any-
thing required for defensive purpos-
es."' . : . '
Until the Sandinistas took power, i
he said, Nicaraguan military forces I
numbered no more than 10,000, but
now?counting both national police
and regular military forces -- the
nuni her may run ''up to 70,000 men."
About 25,000 to 30;000 of those, he
said, would be regular military per-
sonnel.
Wheelock had disputed such fig-
ures, saying over the weekend that i
the Nicaraguan army was about 14,-11
000, "not larger" than the force in- !,
herited from the previous regime of !!
President Anastasio,Somoza. '
Hughes said 6,050 Cubans were in
Nicaragua helping the government,
but a chart listing them by function-
indicated that more than half were
,teachers or medical personnel. He
also said that at least 50 to 70 Soviet'
advisers are in Nicaragua.
Inman said that Nicaragua has
become a threat to neighboring Cen-
tral American- countries and will
become even more of a threat soon if
it obtains Soviet-built MiG fighters.
He repeated a Haig assertion that
50 Nicaraguans were bein4 trained in'
Bulgaria to fly MiGs; and he said all
indications were that at least foer
airfields in Nicaragua were being
prepated.to handlesuch air_craft.-!
"When those MiGs arriVe," he said,
"the Sandinistas -will have the
big-
gest Air Force in Central America."
Inman said that the briefing would
be the "first in a series," indicating
?
an administration campaign to in- :
crease public support for __its hard-
ine posture in Central America.
The administration apparently
plans, in the next few days, to pro-
ide evidence of Nicaraguan support
f guerrillasin El Salvador .1 :
The Associated Press contributed to
kis article. , -
: CIA-RDP91-00901R000500260002-6
Approved For Release 2003/12/03 : CIA-RDP91-00901R
LF1).E.:1.13ED
ON PI:LE
By BERNARD GWERTZMAN
ssete ro re, Nee. York Moe.
WASHINGTON, 'March 9?The Rea-
gan Administration has lateiched an in-
formation campaign to persuade Con-
gress, the press and the public that it
has been tailing the truth when it says
vital Americen interests are threatened
. ? .by- a military buildup in
? tI?IItLit Niaragua sponsored by
News n.,e....Ctiba and the Soviet Union.'
Analysis Senior State Department I
Set offals said this afterneon
- that they had no illusions .
that the vigorous campaign would auto-
tically ? end domestic opposition to
the Administration's policy on Central.
America. That policy is aimed at sterna.
ming leftist insurgencies in El Salvador.,
and elsewhere in the region- through-
? combination of economic and military
assistance as well as warnings of possi-t
ble direct military intervention. entice:en
.? "We have to get out the facts wehave
so that people at least will aene. on t
what is happening down there," said an
? aide to Secretary of State Alexander //L.:
Haig Jr..."Thien, :we can worry -about.
ge-tting them to accept the policy.""tattt
Arlm Bobby R. Inman, the- Deputy
Director of Central Intelligence, was in
'charge of a briefing for the press today
'on the PI icaraguan military buil
- ?-7 Missile Crisis Atmospber&Ynte:, "
Adrniral'Inman did not go So fares to
say that the danger to the United States
. was similar to the threat posed by the.
Cuban missile crisis, when-Soviet:m.1s-
- site sites were being built,:in.,Cuba ap-
parently to;Sintimidatet1 the:tt3..initeet
States. But there clearly was an effort
to recreate some of the sarnetatrnos-
phere that existed in ..t4e, tense days of
October 1962.-.,
The briefMgoffioer't wast John: T..
:Hughes, described by-Admirtal-Imrnan
as the best pleatareconnaissancenenae
lyst in the UrdtedStates.,n-;:tette:ttit-letttIee.:
? ? . Mr. Hughes; who did thernajor inter-
nal Government, briefings during_the
Cuban crisis, spoke-today in the-sari:lie
State Department auditorium than he
used in liZto tell the American public
of the military buildup in Cuba and the
?
withdrawal of Soviet forces under the
:threat of an American invasion of the is-
1a-n1..
On Wednesday; a briefingtwillt- be
-given to former secretaries of state and
defense, and other national security fig-
_ -tines of the pasnesurb as DeankRusk;
,? George W. BalloMaxwell D..-Taylor and
HerentrAeXissinger, in an effort.to? get
1 their endorsement of. the,A
-tiatdspositionetltd-P
10,4 YORK TINES
0 MAR CH 98:2
Tet
STATI NTL
acrs
. ? A Briefing on Capitol Friii ,_,3?-? ? ,
On Thursday; briefings will be given :
on Capitol Hill to members of Congress .
who want to- see evidence support:Mg?!
the Adminisn-aticm's assertions. et:',-a s.?.1
On Friday, there is to be another '-
briefing for the press, perhaps. with
Nicaraguan military defectors- rebut-
ting the Saadinist Government's denial
that it has embarked aria major mill:-
tary buildup and is_aiding the: Sal-vado;;
ran insurgents.Ie':::.; 4:n iteSete 'see, et.-1'et
s- There were no striking revelations at
the briefing tcdayet-sItt ?ne.
t- Haig,tappearing on Capitol Thu
last week, :said than theretevere 2,Cp0-
.Cuban military advisers and 7O Soviet
. advisees in Nicaragua .i.t .rent.te:7:totsnatetitt31
I.??? And oft dale had already' sPoken With
ietnarri aboirr the lengtheningpf N lcaa
, raguan airfields and the building. cif new
basesnTne officials-viewed these (level-,
fopmentS aspreparationsfortbintrO,
&intim. or Soviet. MIG fightersetto, be
flown by Nicaraguan pilots undergoing
training in Cuba and Bulgaria.
botcsSupportlJ.S.OnBuilthp
Rut the use of photos taken by Ameri-
can planes flying directly over and
around Nicaragua seemed to provide
credible support for the Administra-
tion's concern..What was missing from
? the briefing was any of the "over-
whelming, and' irrefutable". _evidence
, that Mr. Haig says the Atim tmstratem
has aCcumulated to prove that the Sal-
. yadoran insurgency is being directed
from Nicaragua and Cuba by non-Sal-
, vadorars:,;.- ? .1.
A StatDepartmmt official said this
evidence, might not be supplied to the
press ine?caus?e it was much more sensi-
tive" than photo reconnaissance. .
The-.'sensitive". category_ would in-
clude -information - -from -_undercover
ed b
agents who
release of the data. It would also include
, "siosal and electronic_ intelligence,"
which . involves sophisticated eaves-
dropping by ships, satellites, planes and
lancl stations of voice, radar and radio
,
signals. -