Word: nicaragua
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...fight a war on two fronts: at home, against the Soviet-supplied guns of the Sandinistas, and in Washington, against the doubts and fears of U.S. legislators. To some extent they have been caught in a Catch-22. Their failure to win military victories and popular support in Nicaragua has resulted in fitful and inconsistent support from Congress. That has made it difficult for the contras to do more than irritate the Sandinistas. Now, just as the contras seem ready to galvanize their military efforts with a new supply of direct U.S. aid, they find themselves caught in the undertow...
...insists it is optimistic. "We think there are things that can happen between now and the summertime that would be a good influence on receiving the money in September," said White House Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. Noted Abrams: "By September there will be in excess of 15,000 men inside Nicaragua fighting hard, and I don't think it's going to be so easy for the Democrats to say, 'Let's abandon them...
...past few months as many as 7,000 men have been trained and sent in small groups -- about 20 rebels each -- from Honduras into Nicaragua. This is a new stage in the conflict: instead of camping out in big, vulnerable bases on the border, they are using small bands to harass the Sandinistas with hit-and-run attacks...
...cause by failing to distinguish between civilian and military targets. There were recent reports of contras burning down a small community's church- sponsored health clinic. Notes a State Department official: "As the degree of fighting increases, the number of human-rights-violations stories increases too." The contras inside Nicaragua are being supplied by clandestine airdrops, a dangerous technique. But if the resupply holds up and the money continues to flow, the contras are expected to step up their attacks by the summer and move into the strategically important Pacific coastal plain...
...poll taken for TIME last month by Yankelovich Clancy Shulman found that 52% of 1,014 adults questioned favor cutting off all military support to the contras, vs. 26% who favor additional military aid and 22% not sure. The public is pessimistic about the course of events in Nicaragua: 62% believe it is "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that U.S. troops will end up fighting there...