SELLING A POLICY TO PUBLIC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000606790003-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 20, 2010
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: March 15, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/20: CIA-RDP90-00552R000606790003-2
ARTICLE APPEAR .D
ON ?AGE
NEW YORK TIMES
15 MARCH 1982
Selling a. Policy to Piabl c
Ev
nal involvement exists. "I don't think
that anyone disputes that there is some '
foreign involvement in El Salvador,"
said Senator Paul E. Tsongas, Demo-
crat of Massachussetts. "The question
is how much and how significant it is."
That question was apparently not re:.
solved by the Administration's cam-
paign. Critics, for example, pointed out.
that.the photographs showing a major..
military buildup in Nicaragua -did not-
prove that Nicaragua was aiding' the
Salvadoran guerrillas.
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Demo-
crat of Connecticut, a leading critic of
Administration policy, said that' "to
suggest that Nicaragua is the only
source of support for Salvadoran goer.-
rilles is ridiculous.',. He said that the
guerrillas received substantial
U.S. Intelligence Data on `,Central America
Has Not Translated. Into Support for-Plans
WASHINGTON, March 14 - For the By,that, he said, he meant opposition
last two weeks, the Reagan Administra- was primarily coming from organiza-
tion has conducted what senior officials; tions and individuals whose main inter-
acknowledge has been an intense public ' est was to prevent further conflict.
relations campaign designed to dispel .,, Missing from this perspective'offi-
doubts about its policies in cials said, was an understanding of na-
N Central America.'The ef- tional security considerations. "'We
fort, which has relied heav- failed. to make our case convincingly
Analyst ily on the use of intelli- even in Congress," another senior Ad-
Until Friday, officials thought they
Some members of-Congress, including.
men, came away from private intelli-
strong evidence -to support its charges
Central America and of Nicaraguan aid
to guerrillas in El Salvador.::' < . ;
The public was given a glimpse of the
intelligence material when the Admin-
istration made public aerial reconnais-
assistance, was assembling the largest
Then on Friday, the campaign 're-
dor surprised the State Department at a
conhCt.
That unexpected 'development has
prompted a reappraisal of the public
relations offensive among senior. Ad-
ministration officials who must decide
Monday whether to proceed with addi-
tional intelligence -briefings for, Con-
gress and the press tentatively sched-
uled forlaterintheweek.: -."
The pressure appears to be great to
go through with the briefings.. Accord-
ing to several senior officials, the initial
decision to conduct the public relations
campaign was considered long overdue.
"We made a mistake," one senior offi-
cial said last week. "We were pressing
ahead with a policy before we had con-
vinced either Congress or the. public
about the nature of the nation's vital in-
;terests in Central America" . " r
: State Department, officials recently
concluded that most of the opposition to
the Administration's Central- America.
policy was generated by what one offi-
cial ,called- "humanitarian,'concern.,
ministration official said. "We decided amounts of arms and ammunition from
to go bats to square one, layout the evi-, sources within El Salvador, including
dente we have and hope we could build; disloyal army troops: .
Lieltind of broad-based support that has .. Nicaragua's Ambassador in Wash-
beenlacking." ington, Francisco Faillos Navarro, re-
The`campaign focused on Congress. :sponding to the intelligence made pub-
Senior intelligence officials, led by Wil- - lic about his country, charged in an in-
liam J. Casey, the Director of Central terview broadcast by the Cable News
Intelligence,- started tedFbriefing Congr~e~s-1 Network today that themiiitary.buildup
ministration considers to be Cuban,
Soviet and Nicaraguan interference in
El Salvador. . .
According_to members of Congress
was forced because the "Reagan Ad-
ministration is threatening us all the
time with the possibility of a military
intervention."
?--'Still other critics argued that the Ad-
_mi istration was overem
hasizi
h
p
ng t
e
. istration based most of these charges on ! military problem in El Salvador. "The
intelligence collected through elec--!problem in El Salvador is primarily an
tronic surveillance of radio traffic in El - economic one," said Senator Clai e
born
Salvador-and surrounding nati ons, in- Pail, Democrat of Rhode Island, the
chiding Nicaragua .: _ . ? ranking minority member of the Senate
Collected largely by Navy destroyers !Foreign Relations Committee.,
of El Salvadorand Nicaragua sincelate
last year, this information included de-
tails of communications between Salva-
doran rebels. and command posts. in
Nicaragua,.which they said showed that
the Salvadoran insurgency was con- ?
'trolled in Nicaragua, Administration of- .4 got, we can persuade them Cuba and'
ficials told the committees, according Nicaragua are involved," one official
na
to several members. Similar briefings.. said.....
were given to a group of former senior`,. What the Administration cannot do=?:
Government officials. .., f.?; _: , } : r
-.- - "ConvInciag intelligence' ::
The Administration was encouraged
by the resrdts. After a briefing given to
the House Intelligence Committee, the
panel's chairman, Representative Ed-
Despite the lingering doubts and Fri-
day's turnabout by the Nicaraguan cap'
tive, Orlando Jose Tardencillas Espino-
sa, senior Administration officials still
believe in the power of their intelligence
data. "Whenever we can sit down with
someone and show them what we've
intelligence information about outside
interference in Central America into
-support for the Government'spolicy.,.
wether of moderate Congressional opin-
ion, said that the.use of Nicaraguan
sites for command and control of Salva-
doran insurgent forces was supported
by "convincing intelligence." He added
that "Cuban involvement, especially in
providing arms, is also evident."
Senator Richard G. Lugar . ReoubIi-
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/20: CIA-RDP90-00552R000606790003-2