INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR TOM HARKIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000301670005-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 14, 2010
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: April 17, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/01/14 :CIA-RDP88-010708000301670005-8
RADIO N REPORTS, ~N~.
4701 WILLARD AVENUE, CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND 20815 [phone]
Good Morning America
April 17, 1985 7:10 AM
STATION WJLA-TV
ABC Network
Washington, DC
DAVE HARTMAN: Congress votes next week on President
Reagan's request for 14 million dollars in aid to the Nicaraguan
rebels, the Contras they're called.
As the vote draws nearer, this debate is getting more
and more intense. This morning, Senator Tom Harkin, who is a
Democrat from Iowa, is releasing a report that accuses the Reagan
Administration of lying to Congress about its Central American
policies. Now this report, by the way, was prepared by the
Institute for Policy Studies. It's a liberal research group down
in Washington.
Senator Harkin is joining us now from Washington, and
then we're going to talk with Ambassador Jean Kirkpatrick, our
former Ambassador to the U.N., and, of course, she supports the
Administration's policies.
Good morning, Senator.
SENATOR TOM HARKIN: Good morning, David.
HARTMAN: This report, I understand, deals with all of
our policies toward Central America.. Very specifically, outline
for us, would you, the criticisms ,of our policy regarding
Nicaragua.
SENATOR HARKIN: Basically, `what .we have put together
here in this report is a compilation of a -- is a pattern
extending over quite a few years of deceptions and distortions
and duplicity by this Administration to mislead Congress as to
~e??iwapuec Approved For Release 2010/01/14 :CIA-RDP88-010708000301670005-8 dorexhlblted.
 Approved For Release 2010/01/14 :CIA-RDP88-010708000301670005-8
the true intent of the Administration's activities against
Nicaragua.
Each instance taken by itself may not be significant,
but when you add them all together we have about 77 instances
where we can point that the Administration has deliberately
misled Congress as to their true intentions, or we have about 15
other instances where the Administration has violated the law in
their activities in Nicaragua, and what this really adds up to is
the same kind of pattern that we saw develop as a prelude to the
Vietnam war.
HARTPIAN: The report, however, does not deal with the
Sandinista government -- what? Actions over the last several
years. They made commitments, promises to both the OAS and to
members of our Congress to have completely open and free elect-
ions, to have freedom of religion, to have freedom of press. Why
have you not included all of this information as well in this
report?
SENATOR HARKIN: What we're concerned with is we're
concerned with whether or not Congress is getting the facts from
the Administration as to what their activities are against the
government of Nicaragua.
Now it is true that the government of Nicaragua has not
fulfilled all of the promises of the revolution. However, I
would point out, David, that it was only a year-and-a-half after
the revolution, after the country lay completely devastated
because of Samoza and what he'd done to their country -- it was
only a year-and-a-half after that this Administration came in an
began tightening the screws down in Nicaragua. We literally did
not give them a chance to get back on their feet, and ever since
January of 1981 this Administration's policy towards Nicaragua
has been solely to overthrow that government in Nicaragua.
As a result, they've funded the Contras who have engaged
in -- in assassinations and terrorism and killing women and
children, and as a result theNicaraguans have had to defend
themselves. I think the best course for democracy in Nicaragua
is to end the support for the terrorists and the murderers who
are going into Nicaragua now and to give the Nicaraguans some
breathing room so that they can develop a democratic form of
government.
HARTMAN: Senator Harkin, thank you very much.
Approved For Release 2010/01/14 :CIA-RDP88-010708000301670005-8