LET'S GETS THE FACTS ON NICARAGUA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000303560055-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 23, 2010
• Sequence Number: 55
• Publication Date: October 23, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ARTICLE A
ONPAON,
Approved For Release 2010/07/23: CIA-RDP90-00552R000303560055-6
r
NEW YORK TIMES
23 October 1986
Let's Gets the Facts on Nicaragua
Is the C.I.A.
.-,.Involved?
$y Patrick J. Leahy
WASHINGTON - Assistant Secre-
tary-of State Elliott Abrams con-
ceded last week that the Central In-
tolllgence Agency reports to the Ad-
miniittration on clandestine merce-
nary activity carried out by United
States citizens in support of the con-
tras' Yet he maintains that the C.I.A.
does t'not direct it, directly or indi-
redtly, wink or nod, or steer people." I
would like to believe the Administra-
Noe, but I remain concerned that it
may turn out to be connected with sol-
diers-of fortune sent to Central Amer-
ica with a wink and a nod and a shrug
- sent to get around both our foreign
policy and the law.
The most recent incident to arouse
my-concern was disclosure of an sup-
ply operation reportedly run by pri-
vate' "benefactors" from Ilopango
Airport in El Salvador. That adven-
tore:cost the lives of two Americans
and'a, Nicaraguan and the capture of
an American soldier of fortune, Eu-
gene Hasenfus, when a transport
plane was shot down inside Nicara-
gua.the week before last.
Something is very wrong here. In
1984' Congress prohibited any United
States support, direct or indirect, of
the contras. That ban was later modi-
fied-to allow so-called humanitarian
aid, though the C.I.A. was explicitly
denied any role in delivering the
assistance. This prohibition has not
gone down well in the White House. In
no other area of foreign policy is the
Administration so driven by ideology
as in its attitude toward Nicaragua. It
is so obsessed with overthrowing the
Sandinistas that some officials may
have-skirted the fringes of the law in
circuinventing the Congressional ban
on helping the contras.
"'M'r: Abrams, Secretary of State
G~oe P. Shultz and even the Presi-
denehave candidly and unabashedly
AtitMitted their prior knowledge and
approval of private groups collecting
money, buying supplies and setting
up support operations in El Salvador
and Honduras. The President has
praised these people, likening them to
Arneiicans who fought against
Fratito in the Spanish Civil War.
There are two important questions
here.-Flrst, knowing that American
citizens were providing military sup-
plies-to the contras when Congress
had' barred the Government from
doing so, did the Administration try to
dissuade them? The answer is clearly
a resounding no. Senior officials have
boasted that no attempt has been
made to stop such activities, and the
Administratiaon clearly considered
theseicitizens to be "heroes." As Mr.
Abrams puts it, they were "keeping
the option alive while Congress made
up, its, mind."
Second, and perhaps more impor-
tank did any American officials, act-
ing with the knowledge and approval
of their superiors, actively encour-
age, guide and assist such activities?
As of now, we do not know that an-
swer.. Despite the Administration's
claim to the contrary - claims that
Congress's doubts have been put to
rest,..- I have not received adequate
answers to this key question in the
Senate Intelligence Committee. I and
others in the House and Senate are
continuing to ask questions and press
for answers. The media have also un-
covered much about the tangled web
of connections between various Ad-
ministration staffers, usually with in-
telligence or military backgrounds,
and private organizations carrying
out the Administration's aims. New
information is still coming out.
There is no "smoking gun." The Ad-
ministration continues to deny any ac-
tive cooperation with these soldiers of
fortune. But circumstantial evidence
of official connivance "with a wink
and a nod" in the conduct of foreign
policy by private. individuals is too
strong to brush off with perfunctory
denials. No member of Congress,
whether pro- or anti-contra, should
sleep easy knowing that the spirit and
intent, if not the precise letter, of acts
of Congress may have been violated.
The Administration's credibility
with the American people, Congress
and the press has been badly shaken
over the last few weeks. It can be re-
stored only by a complete, open and
conclusive revelation of all ties, di-
rect or indirect, between Administra-
tion officials and private groups aid-
ing the contras. Any illegal or im-
proper activities by United States of-
ficials, if they exist, should be se-
verely punished. The Administration
ought to be doing everything it can to
stop circumvention of the law and the
will of Congress. J
Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Ver-
mont, is vice chairman of the Senate
Sele t Committee on Intelligence.
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Approved For Release 2010/07/23: CIA-RDP90-00552R000303560055-6