Word: fixes
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Part of the unease in Congress, however, is prompted not by inept legislative tactics or even doubts about what seem to be poorly coordinated strategic decisions, but by a feeling that the Administration is trying for a "quick fix" in Central America (see ESSAY). Discouraged by the length and uncertain prospects of economic and diplomatic efforts, irritated by the difficulties of winning congressional approval for their strategy and feeling themselves under pressure to produce measurable progress in Central America before the 1984 presidential campaign gets fully under way, some White House advisers are pushing for a combination of military moves...
...trouble is that there is no quick fix, even granting the greatest imaginable success for Administration policy. Suppose, for example, Nicaragua and Cuba, intimidated by the military maneuvers and the contra campaign, agreed to a verifiable end to their provision of arms and advisers to the Salvadoran guerrillas. There is no doubt that would be a blow to the insurgents: Arquimedes Canadas, once one of their leaders, said last week in Washington that Cuba has "directed the activities" of the Salvadoran insurgents since 1980. Even so, the Salvadoran insurrection may have developed enough momentum by now to continue for years...
...does not extend to ordinary Salvadoran soldiers, whom a U.S. expert describes as "physically hard, readymade soldiers who like to be told what to do." But, says the expert, "the officer corps is bewildered. There are so many things wrong, you don't know where to start to fix them...
...patience. Unfortunately, that very quality has been missing in American foreign policy. Impatience is the dark side of a whole cluster of Yankee virtues. Confronted with intractable, ambiguous challenges in other lands, America's cando, problem-solving, troubleshooting instincts twitch in an often misguided quest for the quick fix. Got a problem? Send in a military governor or a proconsul or a special envoy. Still got a problem? Send money. Still got a problem? Send in the Rough Riders, or the Marines. For nearly a century, that has been the standard American response to troubles down south...
...tabulators, recognized that potential buyers might be frightened by the cost and complexity of computers. When the company entered the market in 1952, it set a high priority on dispelling customer fears. Buyers were promised that IBM service engineers would keep a close watch over the machines and quickly fix any glitches. The salesmen were so knowledgeable and thoroughly trained that their very presence inspired confidence. Univac representatives, by contrast, were seen to dwell on technical details that customers could barely follow...