CONGRESS SUPPORTS PRESIDENT ON RESISTANCE TO MARXISM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000200720008-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 19, 2012
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: August 12, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/19: CIA-
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WASHINGTON TIMES
12 August 1985
Congress supports preTidt~n
The bellwether vote in Congress
I'(SLSlarIce came June 12 when the House, i
l reversing a position it it had taken April, , approved $27 million in aid for
By Thomas D. Brandt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
In the fifth year of his presidency,
Ronald Reagan's anti-communist
world view has gained new ground
in Congress.
The turnaround in the seven
months since Mr. Reagan took the
oath for his second term may be his
single greatest foreign policy
accomplishment of this year.
Since January, Congress has:
? Lifted the ban on aid to the resis-
tance fighters in Nicaragua and
approved $27 million in non-military
aid to them.
? Lifted the ban on the CIA shar-
ing into igence_ with ith the Nicaragu
resistance.
? Lifted the ban on the CIA aiding
the ant-l-coininumst resistance in
Viola. (This came through repeal
07-f h976 Clark Amendment.)
? Started a multimillion-dollar aid
program to anti-communist -resis-
tance fighters in Cambodia. (This is
in addition to humanitarian aid for
refugees.)
? Initiated an open, multimillion-
dollar aid program to anti-
communist resistance fighters in
Afghanistan. (This is on top of a clan-.
sified CIA aid program to the same
forces thought to total nearly $3QD
million-)
The shift, however, has limits.
None of the changes allows direct
involvement by U.S. forces. Neither
is there a call for CIA, covert_actiQn&
eTik~tTais that created an uproar in_
Congress in 1984 when operatives
aided in the coming olNicaraguan
T aibors.
Why the shift?
A major element is clearly the
Democrats' decision, based on a
review of the 1984 presidential elec-
tion results, to "toughen" the image
of their foreign and defense polices
but without resorting to conserva-
tive style commie-bashing.
That allows Democrats to support
aid to the Nicaraguan, Cambodian
endorsing the "Vietnamization" of
those conflicts with U.S. troops.
It also got Democrats out of direct
opposition to a president with
immense personal popularity.
A lingering background factor is
the 1983 Grenada invasion, which
ousted a tiny island government of
communists at the cost of few
American lives. The apparent pop-
ularity of that action among many
Americans is strong in the memo-
ries of members of Congress.
Frustration, created by the aura
of America as the helpless giant, is
another big element. The frustration
started when many Americans were
killed in the terrorist bombings of
Marine headquarters at Beirut air-
port and also at the U.S. Embassy in
This year the frustration continued
when Maj. Arthur Nicholson was
killed by Soviet forces in East Ger-
many and TWA Flight 847 out of Ath-
ens was hijacked, resulting in the
murder of an American sailor, Rob-
ert Stethem of Maryland, and the
prolonged plight of 39 hostages.
Not all these events are directly
tied to Mr. Reagan's black-and-white
view of the communist threat and
the need for the United States to take
the lead among nations in opposing
Marxism-Leninism.
The Moslem terrorist attacks, for
instance, are an outgrowth of strong
U.S. support for Israel. But col-
lectively these events generated a
mood in Congress to strike out at
America's tormentors.
The administration was ready
with aid programs to rebel forces on
three continents. Though none of
these rebel groups relate in a direct
way to Middle East terrorism, the
votes to provide aid to them gave
members of Congress a relief valve.
They allowed a "yes" vote for a
clearly defined foreign policy initia-
tive.
It was the first time since July
1983 that the House had agreed to
the Reagan administration's request
to back the resistance forces.
The turnaround House vote on
Angola came later in the summer,
along with the new aid programs for
Cambodia and Afghanistan.
An important reason for Con-
gress' acquiescence to the president
is his avowal that he is not seeking to
overthrow the government of Nica-
ragua. He said it in a letter to House
members, for instance, the day
before the June 12 vote.
Many in Congress do not believe
Mr. Reagan. The Speaker of the
House, Thomas P. O'Neill, D-Mass.,
has said many times that he believes
Mr. Reagan is intent on sending U.S.
forces into Nicaragua.
Other Democrats who still oppose
the president's Central American
policy assert that while Mr. Reagan
tells Congress he will not invade, the
thrust of U.S. policy in Nicaragua is
to make that government believe
that the United States is on the verge
of doing so.
Still, the votes of many con-
gressmen who have switched from
opposition to support for the
president's programs is based on
that pledge to seek a peaceful solu-
tion.
One of this year's switchers is
Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., who in
June said: "I am willing to give the
president of the United States a
chance and the benefit of the doubt.
I hope and pray he does not let us
down."
I Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/19: CIA-RDP90-00965R000200720008-6