U.S. CREATES AN OFFICE FOR ANTI-SANDINISTA AID

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000807260022-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 12, 2012
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: January 9, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

S1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000807260022-8
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ARTICLE APPE&RED NEW YORK TIMES
ON PAGE - 1 September 1985
U.S. Creates an Office for Anti-Sandinista Aid I
By BERNARD WEINRAUB
Special to The New Yak Times
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Aug. 30-
President Reagan announced today
that he had set up a special office to dis-
tribute $27 million in "humanitarian
assistance" to the rebels who are seek-
ing to overthrow the Nicaraguan Gov-
dialogue between President Duarte conflict in Nicaragua and the desperate
... .. .. _ I conflict whist. have fore-PA people to
President said.
In Nicaragua," he added, "we sup
port the United Nicaraguan Opposi-
tion's call for a church-mediated dia-
logue accompanied by a cease-fire, to
cnwaw as sueu uvYa+oau.r. aP .......- - -
life of warfare and refuge camps over
the controlled life offered by the San-
dinistas.
"As Americans who believe in free-
cannot turn our backs on peo-
desire nothing more than the
we take for granted.
achieve national reconciliation and dom, we
" The pie who
representative government. I
United Nicaraguan Opposition is the al- freedom
Mr. Reagan, in making the an-
nouncement, said the United States
sought "to support the democratic cen-
ter against extremes of right and left"
in Nicaragua.
White House aides said the office
would operate as a separate body,
within the State Department, similar to
the Agency for International Develop-
ment. Officials said the State Depart-
ment would replace the Central Intelli-
gence Agency as the vehicle for chan-
neling American aid to the Nicaraguan
rebels.
A supplemental appropriations bill
approved by Congress last month pro-
vided the $27 million for nonmilitary
aid to the Nicaraguan rebels, on the
condition that it be distributed by any
United States agency except the C.I.A.
or the Defense Department. The White
House reluctantly accepted the restric-
tion in order to gather Congressional
support for the aid. The funds are avail-
able through next March.
Political solutions Stressed
Mr. Reagan, in a relatively muted
statement about Administration aims
in Nicaragua and the rest of Central
America, emphasized that "the Ad-
ministration is determined to pursue
political, not military, solutions in Cen-
tral America."
fiance of several leading political fig-
and military leaders of the Nica-
raguan rebel forces.
Order Sets Up Office
Along with his statement, Mr. Rea-
gan issued an executive order estab-
lishing the Nicaraguan Humanitarian
Assistance Office. The head of the of-
fice will probably be named next week.
Several officials are under considera-
tion for the position, including C. Wil-
liam Kontos, a former director of the
Sinai Support Force who is now a mem-
ber of the State Department's policy
planning staff.
State Department officials said the
assistance office would be relatively
small, with about a dozen aides and
support staff. Officials said the office
would seek to audit, control and over-
see the distribution of food, medicine
and clothes to the rebels.
Congress, in strictly defining hu-
manitarian aid, barred the use of the
funds for trucks and other items that
could be used for military purposes.
A White House official said the new
office would operate "a bit like" A.I.D.
or the Arms Control and Disarmament
Agency. "It will operate," the official
said, "under the policy guidance and
general direction of the Secretary of
State and the man that will head it."
No C.I.A. or Defense Personnel
"By providing this humanitarian
assistance, we are telling the people of
Nicaragua that we will not abandon
them in their struggle for freedom."
Officials said the new office would
coordinate its efforts with Elliott
Abrams, the Assistant Secretary of
State for Inter-American Affairs, who
directly oversees Central American
policy.
Mr. Reagan said the Nicaraguan op-
position, supported by the United
States, has "not demanded the over-
throw of the Sandinista Government;
they want only the right of free people
to compete for power in free elec-
tions."
"Our policy is and has been to sup-
port the democratic center against ex-
tremes of right and left and to secure
democracy and lasting peace through
internal reconciliation and regional ne-
gotiations," Mr. Reagan said.
"In El Salvador, the opening of the
political system has led to impressive
reconciliation and the beginning of a
In setting up the Nicaraguan Hu-
manitarian Assistance Office, Mr.
Reagan emphasized that "no personnel
from the Central Intelligence Agency
or the Department of Defense will be
assigned or detailed to this office." He
said, however, that other Government
agencies will be able to provide advice,
information and personnel to the new
office.
The program "will be carried out
under the policy guidance of the Secre-
tary of State," the President said.
Mr. Reagan, in his statement, said
that "the $27 million appropriated by
the Congress for humanitarian assist-
ance to the democratic resistance
recognizes the serious nature of the
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000807260022-8