COMPROMISE NEAR ON COVERT AID

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000707350007-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: July 14, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
li Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/08: CIA-RDP90-00552R000707350007-4
- -~ v;A.SHI-NTU_0: _I?S
14 July 19'3
Compromise near
STAT
0n covert aid
By Thomas D. Brandt
W'SwWG7ON TIMES STAFF
. posal in April, but it was i ejected.: return the Social Security system to
The White House and several . Several people who attended or solvency, and funding to , continue .
'House leaders of both parties are who have been briefed on the ses-` development of the MX missile.
near agreement on .a compromise sions gave differing assessments of.; The covert action bill that will be"
approach to a controversial bill that how close the group is. to- a .final the vehicle for the compromise
?seeks to cut off covert aid.to insur- ' agreement, though all-were "in' passed the House Foreign Rela-
gents fighting the leftist Nicara- agreement in outlining 'the pro- dons Committee last month by a
-Washington Times has learned.
Under the plan, the United States
would immediately stop covert
military and paramilitary 'aid to
Nicaraguan rebels when -the.San-
dinista government agrees to stop
similar aid to leftist guerrillas in El
Salvador. The plan calls for the other coun-
tries in Central America -to simi-
-larly agree not to aid insurgencies
in neighboring nations. The United
:States would continue aiding the
government of El Salvador.
There is no indication whether
Nicaragua or the other countries
would accept the plan if passed by
Congress. One source said that spe-
cial envoy Richard Stone, who has
been traveling in Central America
to seek a peaceful solution to the
warfare there, has not been in-
volved in the current plan.
The tentative agreement, based
on a so-called "symmetry concept"
was hammered out in a series of at
least six meetings over the last sev-
eral weeks.
Among those involved in the
meetings, which have been held in
the White House and the latest, yes-
terday, in the Capitol, are White
House Chief of Staff James Baker;
CIA Director William Casey; House
Foreign Affairs Committee
Chairman Clement Zablocki,
D-Wis.; House Majority Leader
James Wright, D-Thxas; plus Rep.
William Broomfield, R-Mich., and
Rep. Dante Fascell, D-Fla., who are
both senior members of the com-
mittee.
Also meeting with the group has
been Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., of the
weeks of work. . . - lowing what several members said
One member of Congress said be was the most acrimonious- debate
believed that those listed above all they had seen in Congress. The bill
"agree to the concept" -while a had started in the Intelligence Com-
highly placed staff aide said it was mittee under Rep. Edward Boland,
"highly premature" to say a final D-Mass.
agreement had been reached. The bill will be considered under
Three new members joined the a highly unusual procedure that
group yesterday, apparently in an .: calls for four hours of debate in
effort .to build a compromise with - secret session, two hours in open
House Democrats who have been session and 12 'hours for amend--
most opposed to U.S. policy in Cen- ments.
tral America. Many of the same negotiators
The three were described as hav- tried to.reach a cdmpromise-betore
ing made "positive contributions" the Foreign Relations Committee
to the work, but were not seen as vote on June 7 but failed. One con-
ready to support the overall plan. gressman working in the group said
They are Rep. Michael Barnes, that a compromise can be reached
D-Md., chairman of the Western now because Congress has learned
Hemisphere subcommittee; Rep. a great deal more about Central
William Alexander, D-Ark., part of America since then.
the Democratic leadership; and The bill is the result of congres-
Rep. Wyche Fowler, D-Ga., of the sional response to word that the
Intelligence Committee. Reagan administration was co-
The planning group's concept is vertly aiding a guerrilla army of
expected to be offered as an amend- roughly 7,000 opposed to the San-
to a bill that would cut off covert
funds to Nicaragua and replace it
with an open aid program of aid to
Central American governments to
block the cross-border flow of arms
to leftist guerillas.
A less controversial part of the
package includes support for a
bipartisan commission to study
Central American problems and
make U.S. policy recommenda-
tions.
The Reagan administration used
."bipartisan commissions" to
achieve a consensus on two earlier
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/08: CIA-RDP90-00552R000707350007-4