Word: contra
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...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...
...some of Casey's men share their chief's admiration for North. Alan Fiers, who worked with North on the contra-resupply operation as chief of the CIA's Latin American Task Force, told the committees, "I never knew Colonel North to be an absolute liar, but I never took anything he said at face value...
...Iran-contra deals could lead to indictments against North, Secord and former National Security Adviser John Poindexter. Associates of Poindexter's said last week the admiral intends to retire Oct. 1, well before he might have to stand trial. North's magic, meanwhile, seems to have faded. A recent New York Times-CBS poll shows only 33% supporting U.S. aid to the Nicaragua contras, vs. 40% shortly after North's emotional testimony to Congress in July...