STATE DEPT. AIDES SAID TO QUESTION ROLE IN NICARAGUA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00885R000100020109-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 2, 2007
• Sequence Number: 109
• Publication Date: April 7, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

zutr= .-A=+ Approved For Release 2007/08/04: CIA-RDP86B00885R000100020109-4
itT`Z. PAan 4 -/ ` - -
1* 7 a>?l?n 1983
tA1 ?I I ti O 1 A 1 fl 1'1 \, I w U.S. Directly Involved
C
?
The policy' approved by `thePiesi.
dent, the officials said,. was to block
supplies from Nicaragua to the Salva.
doran guerrillas, to attack Cubans-and
the Cuban. "infrastructure" in Ni4ra..
gua and in general to increase, the c9sts
to Nicaragua of backing the insurgency i
in El Salvador.. Earlier this year,:the
State Department endorsed a decision
to step up the interdiction,. the officials
,vigorous charges by a number of sena
tors, were e brought the attention of the.,
Whit
1 Qj U IT mite House in n se several meetings last
AID TO 1 U ESTIO 11
S
RR~11 [~ g week. But according to A mini~tion ,
s were made to cur
11~ ~L IN-'-- ~~ ~>ll of1 the , no dens.,
.ta1ll the operatioons:: _: " ?:{
The concern in the State Department
.LEGALITY CALLED IN DOUBT
Misgivings on Covert Actions
Are Reportedly Expressed-
at White House Talks
By LESLIE Ii GELB
SpeeialbfiLSNwrYalt'nne~e ? .
WASHINGTON, April 6-lHigb-rank.
inn Stater Department officials raised
question in- White House meetings last
week about the legality of United States
involvement in covert military
opera.
tions against Nicaragua, according to
Reagan Administration officials.
By law, the Administration is
from taking any actions "for the pur.
pose of overthrowing the Government
of Nicaragua."
The questions were raised by policy
makers and legal experts high in the de-
partment hierarchy. Their point was
said be that, contrary to law and' to
agreed Administration policy, guerrilla-
actions" in Nicaaragua. supported by the
Central Intelligence Agency and the .
' United States military had gone beyond
efforts to block supplies from Nicara?
gua to Salvadoran insurgents and could"
be seen. as intended to overthrow the.
Sandinist Governmentin Nicaragua.,;
seems to have been provoked by reports-' about covert operations in Nicaragua-.
an&warnings by several key senators
over possibleviolations of the law.
One. senior -official said the danger'
_thi~t the operations might take--on
-' lasger proportions!. should have been
foreseen bui.was not. Another said that
the' spillover effect was understood at
the outset; at least .by some officials,
and that they had suggested that the Ad.
ministration oppose legislation that
would bar efforts to overthrowthe San-
dinist. Government-- . -This suggestion.
was rejected. . bei:ause7_ 1t-would. -have
been too controversial; the official said. :
U.S. Involvement Canfixlned:
According to the official, this in effect
put the United States in the position of
protecting the Sandinist Government if
operations were restrained, or possibly
violating the law as operations inevita-
blyexpanded. _.::
The officials confirmed a report Iast
week .- that the" Central Intelligence
'Agency and- the. American military
were directlyinvolved in planning,
arming . and advising paramilitary
forces bases in.? Honduras and were
providing them with intelligence data-
They said that the State Department
officials had not argued that the C.I.A.
and the American military were delib.
erately, acting contrary to policy. Rath-
er, they suggested that in carrying out
the policy at this, stage, it was almost
impassible not to cross the bounds of
legality from the interdiction -of-arms
supplies. to the de abill=tk n of the
NicaraguanGov menL:_
.'7Another complicating factor, accord.
ing+to the officials, is the attempt to nn.
trol the operations of thecoatras, as-the
anti-Sandinist guerrillas call them.
selves. "The contras' aims and actions
may not be the same as ours," oneRey
Administration official said....:: :, roa
C.LA.Offlcials_Con~'
The prohibition against efforts to
overthrow the Nicaraguan Government
is laid out In an amendment to a cateh.
all appropriations bill approved by Con-
gress last December. "None of ,the
funds provided in this. act," it says,
"may be used by the Central Inteili?
gence Agency or the Department of 13e.
fense to furnish. military egaipme t,
military training or advice, or other
support for military activities, -to any
group or.' individual, not part of :the
country's armed forces, for thepurpo~e
of overthrowing the Government ?'of
Nicaragua or provoking a military.*4,
change between.Nicaragua and Hon.
A number of C.IA officials are ato
said to have expressed concern that the
covert operations might have gone:be.
yond the limitations stated in Presiden-
tial documents and in intelligence briet-
ings to Congressional committees:'?By
law,. the President is required to notify
House and Senate Intelligence Commit.
tees of covert actions. & > .,q t
Approved For Release 2007/08/04: CIA-RDP86B00885R000100020109-4