WHITE HOUSE PRESSES LATIN POLICY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201090024-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: April 10, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/24: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201090024-7
ARTICLE AP R .ED PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
ON PAGE 10 April 1981+
White House presses
isy Aitonso lunaray
Inquirer Wathtnsten Bureau
WASHINGTON - Regardless of
Reagan intends to oppose the spread!
Rea-
of communism into Central America ing equally tough, warned that they point, I have contended that the Rea
even if he has to send U.S. troops would not be intimidated Into en- gan administration's secret war
there, several top administration of. dorsing Reagan's policies. They pre- 'against Nicaragua was morally inde-
ficials said yesterday. dicted that White House military-aid fensible; today It is clear that it is
Their statements came as Congress programs for El Salvador and CIA-,legally indefensible as well.'
continued to consider Reagan's re? backed Nicaraguan insurgents O'Neill said that if and when differ-
would not be approved in the Demo- quests for $61.7 million in emergency ing versions of the aid bills come
aid for the Salvadoran army and $21 QLatic controlled House. before a House-Senate conference
.million for Nicaraguan rebels. The House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill.
committee to be reconciled, he
officials specified that U.S. forces Jr. (D., Mass.), in a briefing for re- would instruct House conferees to
would be Used only if Congress failed porters, predicted that the House vote against the covert program. He
to support those policies and if col- would kill the "covert" operation.
also predicted that Reagan's aid re-
in of the U.S.-backed government. forcing the CIA to abandon its sup quest for El Salvador would be cut in
in El Salvador seemed imminent. )?~ for the Nicaraguan rebels.' he House.
belie
tance to this administration," said an would substantially cut the emergen-
official who requested anonymity. cy military-aid package for the Salva-
"Thereby, this president intends not doran army.
to allow the communists in El Salva- The 'emergency aid requests -
dor to come to power or the Marxist- $61.7 million for El Salvador and $21
led Sandinistas in Nicaragua to take million for the Nicaraguan insur-
over the region with the help of gents - were overwhelmingly ap-
Cuba and the Soviet Union." proved by the Senate on Thursday in
Another official took a similarly what administration officials hailed
tough stance about Central America as a demonstration of bipartisan-sup-
and Congress' port for Reagan's policies.
"We are following normal proce- But O'Neill said that the prospects
dures and are simply asking the Con- for passage of such legislation in the
gress for its support for our policies," House had been harmed by reports
he said. "But if it does not want to over the weekend that the adminis-
give it, then the situation will be tration was drawing contingency
more difficult. plans to-send combat troops to Cen-
"But regardless of public opinion tral America. that the CIA was re-
here and abroad, and the mood of the sponsible for the mining of Nicara-
Congress, this president will contin- g4ah2pQrts and that tll esi rent
ue to support the forces of freedom had decided not to accept, for two
in Nicaragua and .in El Salvador, years, World Court jurisdiction in
even if that means using American disputes involving the region.
:combat troops." This last decision, condemned by
These and other. officials at the O'Neill, was based on information
R*hite House, the State Department that the Nicaraguan government was
and the Pentagon - all involved planning to bring charges against
with .U.S. policy in the region - said the United States at the court in The
that:'Central America was the admin. Hague, Netherlands. Nicaragua did
istration's main concern in the file such charges later yesterday.
world and therefore was a test of U.S. According to the rules of the
resolve in the eyes of adversaries World Court, a nation can only re-
such as the Soviet Union and Cuba. fuse to be judged by the court before
"We cannot fail there," one official its case is filed, as the United States
said. "We must stick by our friends has done.
or our credibility will be lost forever "The unprecedented decision by
in the region. There can be no Leba- the Reagan administration to turn its
non debacle in Central America." back on tl}e World Court and sus-
But congressional leaders,' sound- pend its jurisdiction over disputes
we are having in Central America is
shocking," O'Neill said. "Up to this
Latin policy
ve the covert action is
dead," O'Neill said. "The House last
year voted twice to end this program
and would have voted against the $21
million again this year anyway, but
it certainly didn't help the adminis-
tration to back away from the World
Court or to be mining Nicaraguan
'Ports.,,,
Administration officials talked
tough yesterday on those points, too.
They said privately that even if Con-
gress cut aid to El Salvador, Reagan
would use his emergency powers to
provide military aid to the Salvador-
ans from contingency funds. Key leg-
islators have warned Reagan against
such a- step.
And if the House scraps the covert
program t tie a m n straligpo ic.i
said it is like! that the_ CIA may
siremy toitgLt $5i9.naLptoeedure
end send aid to the insurgents from
re5erye__1114 s.
Publicly, administration officials
declined comment on the harbor-
mining operation, denied 'that any
contingency plans were being made
to send troops to Central America
and defended shunning the World
Court on the ground that Nicaragua
needed to be prevented from turning
the court into a forum for anti-Amer-
ican propaganda.
But privately, senior officials ac-
Xnowledged tha t e w.AS_0_irgct.
1 in char a of the mining operation
an t at t e mining was conducted
from an agency-controlled vessel
that cruises up and down Nicara-
gua's Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
The officials also said that while it
was not true that contingency plans
for sending combat troops were ac-
tively being drawn up, a review of
standing contingency plans had
been in' progress foi a while. ,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/24: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201090024-7