Word: contra
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...White House was attempting to recover from a series of miscalculations that could doom the contra effort for good. In early August, Reagan startled members of his Administration by unveiling a peace plan that was co-sponsored by Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright. According to State Department officials, Reagan had intended to present the Sandinistas with a proposal that they could only reject, then ask Congress for new contra funding before the current aid expires on Sept. 30. But the scheme went awry. Three days later, when the Presidents of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua...
...Washington's distress, the Guatemala plan has almost totally eclipsed ) the Reagan Administration's version in public discussions. Three of the contras' six civilian directors embraced the accord last week, saying they would return to Nicaragua if conditions for a cease-fire scheduled for Nov. 7 were met. "We are prepared to give the plan a fair try," said Alfonso Robelo. "We won't put up any hurdles." Contra Military Commander Enrique Bermudez, however, asserted that the rebels would not lay down their weapons on Nov. 7, nor would they accept an amnesty offered by Ortega. During their meeting with...
...chronic problems of mismanagement and inefficiency. Inflation threatens to reach quadruple digits, and such basics as eggs, onions and beef remain prohibitively expensive. Pet projects once showcased by the Sandinistas have withered, including programs to unclog sewers, remove garbage and fix up schools. Says Arturo Cruz, a former contra leader who now lives in Miami: "The Sandinistas were very good guerrillas, but they are disasters as economic managers...
...quest to sign a treaty before the end of his term. The need to shore his right flank was particularly acute, because his retreat on verification came on the heels of his support for a Central American peace plan that conservatives fear could undermine the U.S.-backed contra rebels in Nicaragua. Though the President stopped short of repeating his earlier harsh depictions of the Soviet Union, he made clear that he still deeply distrusts Moscow. "While talking about reforms at home," he said, "the Soviet Union has stepped up its efforts to impose a failed system on others." He charged...
...Bill Casey was the last great buccaneer from OSS," said Clair George, the CIA's chief of covert operations. "He saw in Ollie North a part of that, and he liked Ollie." Transcripts of George's remarks, made in closed sessions with Congress's Iran-contra committees in early August, were released last week. Unnamed officials in the White House, said George, considered the CIA too timid on covert action. "The way to handle Bill Casey was to outflank him to the right . . . suggest that maybe he wasn't ready to take high risk...