[net.politics] The Sandinista Problem II: The Home Front

bcb@hhb.UUCP (Bob BField) (03/06/86)

This is the second posting in a series on the Sandinista Problem.  The
previous posting introduced our need to overthrow the Sandinistas with
an invasion involving American forces.  This posting deals with the task
at hand here at home.
					F.B.E.
----------------------------------------------------------

Our first step in overthrowing the Sandinistas in Nicaragua is winning
the support of the American public and of Congressmen.  Some solutions
are currently in place, but more must be done.  The Reagan Administration
and others have convinced a great number that the Sandinistas must go.
We must take further steps to maintain and expand current support.  This
is no simple prospect with the specter of Vietnam haunting us.

I congratulate the Administration and others for their successful efforts
to control the nature and scope of information available to the public.
They employ new techniques combined with traditional techniques to place
Nicaragua in a dim light.  Information favorable to the Sandinistas is
quickly dispatched to obscurity, falsified, and overwhelmed.

The most valuable, tried-and-true technique is red bating.  It works
miracles on laymen and Congressmen.  We successfully labeled the Sandinistas
as "communists" who threaten our National Security.  This priceless
technique renders them evil.  It justifies military action.  Those who
speak favorably of the Sandinistas are automatically either dupes or
communists.  People who know things that we don't want said are wary of
speaking up for fear of being fingered.  The inescapable logic of red
bating parallels the effective Moonie concept that all non-Moonies are
possessed by the devil.  Therefore they lie, trying to trick Moonies into
abandoning their blessed state of grace.  We must take advantage of red
bating's fullest potential.

An admirable technique employed by the Administration is the press barrage.
When anything favorable to the Sandinistas comes out, the media are
barraged with an abundance of statements swamping and attacking the
validity of opposition information.  This way, the media spend all of
their time covering White House and Pentagon statements while ignoring
the original story.  A fine example of this is the barrage story of a
Soviet jet fighter shipment to Nicaragua during their elections.  We
saw extensive coverage of this escalating threat with miniscule
coverage of the elections.  The only aspect of the elections for which
the Media had time and space were official and unofficial statements
that the elections were a sham.  Proof that the jets were shipped and
that the elections were a sham was neither necessary nor existent.  It's
the media coverage that counts; not the facts.

Another technique involves the use of language.  Since we control the
language of the debate, we control the debate itself.  The use of rhetorical
abstraction places the debate on our own ground where the opposition is
doomed to failure.  We frame our turf with such language as Democratic,
Freedom Fighters, National Security, Threat, Marxist, Leninist, Communist,
Totalitarian, Puppet, Dictatorship, Just War.  The opposition cannot avoid
appearing apologetic, weak, and downright wrong.

These and other techniques have proven to be very effective in obtaining
support for the Contras in the past.  At this point, we have lost much
support in Congress for Contra funding.  Also, we lack support for a
full-blown military action involving a large contingency of American troops.
We can always bypass Congressional funding hesitancy through alternative
channels such as our good friend Israel.  The invasion, however, requires
strong support or it is doomed at the outset.  This campaign demands a
greater effort on our part.  The primary obstacle here is the "Vietnam
Syndrome" fear of foreign military action.  We must also silence anyone who
speaks favorably of the Sandinistas without it back-firing on us.  Solving
the latter solves the former because alternative sources of information
nullify support for military action.

The sources of information favorable to the Sandinistas are primarily
Americans who have visited and resided in Nicaragua along with those
journalists who disagree with our goal of eradicating the Sandinistas.
To solve the information problem we must augment our discrediting
campaign with direct attacks on these sources of information.

The first, most obvious step is to ban all travel to Nicaragua by American
citizens, recalling the great number who currently live there.  We should
also step up our efforts to bar any foreigner known to speak favorably of
the Sandinistas from entering or remaining in the US.  For those returning
Americans who speak well of the Sandinistas, we should conduct a campaign
of silencing and discrediting.  We could use techniques such as accusing
and arresting them for drug possession, child abuse, treason.  Violent
groups sympathetic with our cause will serve well to ransack opposition
offices, living quarters, and lives.  We used this form of harassment
effectively on Vietnam war protesters and currently on groups assisting
refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala.

For those defiant Americans who remain in Nicaragua and for opposition
journalists, we could train and finance death squads clad in Nicaraguan
military garb.  This would serve to eradicate our opposition while
making the Sandinistas look worse.  We could even use the killing of
Americans to rationalize the invasion.  We have plenty of experience with
this avenue of action.

Considering our current efforts and an expansion thereof, we will succeed in
swaying public opinion sufficiently to overcome our reluctance to act.
Once we have tighter control over the information, we will tailor history
to suit our interests.  We must succeed.  We will succeed.

					F. B. Esdalib


Next Posting:  After the overthrow.

-------------------------------------------------


The views expressed above are neither those of my employer, my colleagues,
nor myself.

					    _
					Bob B-Field

tedrick@ernie.berkeley.edu (Tom Tedrick) (03/08/86)

>This is the second posting in a series on the Sandinista Problem.  The
>previous posting introduced our need to overthrow the Sandinistas with
>an invasion involving American forces.  This posting deals with the task
>at hand here at home.

Great article :-)

Seriously, I liked it (even though it had a slight bias :-).

>Also, we lack support for a
>full-blown military action involving a large contingency of American troops.
>The invasion requires
>strong support or it is doomed at the outset.  

This part I disagree with. The trick is to finish the invasion quickly.
As long as you have a quick victory, you will have support from most
of the population. If you blow it and get entangled in a long drawn
out struggle (war of attrition) then your support will erode.

hijab@cad.UUCP (Raif Hijab) (03/09/86)

In article <12256@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, tedrick@ernie.berkeley.edu (Tom Tedrick) writes:
> >The invasion requires
> >strong support or it is doomed at the outset.  
> 
> This part I disagree with. The trick is to finish the invasion quickly.
> As long as you have a quick victory, you will have support from most
> of the population. If you blow it and get entangled in a long drawn
> out struggle (war of attrition) then your support will erode.

What you prefer is to present the American people with a fait accompli,
as Reagan did with Grenada. The very essence of democracy. Really Neat!

hijab@cad.UUCP (Raif Hijab) (03/09/86)

In article <12256@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, tedrick@ernie.berkeley.edu (Tom Tedrick) writes:
> 
> Great article :-)
> 
> Seriously, I liked it (even though it had a slight bias :-).
> 
	I may have misunderstood Tom Tedrick's stand on this issue
in my last posting. Being a recent participant on the net, I am just
beginning to pay attention to ':-)' . I am sorry about the confusion.

tedrick@ernie.berkeley.edu (Tom Tedrick) (03/09/86)

In article <89@cad.UUCP> hijab@cad.UUCP (Raif Hijab) writes:
>In article <12256@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, tedrick@ernie.berkeley.edu (Tom Tedrick) writes:
>> >The invasion requires
>> >strong support or it is doomed at the outset.  
>> 
>> This part I disagree with. The trick is to finish the invasion quickly.
>> As long as you have a quick victory, you will have support from most
>> of the population. If you blow it and get entangled in a long drawn
>> out struggle (war of attrition) then your support will erode.
>
>What you prefer is to present the American people with a fait accompli,
>as Reagan did with Grenada. The very essence of democracy. Really Neat!

No, I think you missed the point. The point is that public opinion
in a democracy is fickle. If you present them with a quick victory
at little cost, you are likely to be well received. If you get in
a war that drags on for awhile, public support is likely to erode.

I prefer not to have wars in the first place.

Why do you make inferences about my preferences when I am discussing
a problem in military theory? I don't see the logical connection. 

gdf@mtuxn.UUCP (G.FERRAIOLO) (03/11/86)

>This is the second posting in a series on the Sandinista Problem.  The
>previous posting introduced our need to overthrow the Sandinistas with
>an invasion involving American forces.  This posting deals with the task
>at hand here at home.
					F.B.E.
>----------------------------------------------------------

My next posting deals with the need to "overthrow" propagandistic postings.
Hey pal, you want to make some accusations?  Then make explicit accusations.
Don't disguse it as 'humor'.  Also, please don't claim to represent
your oppostion in a posting.  It makes it difficult to respond since the
'you' and 'they' thing can get confused. More importantly it lowers 
your posting from rational discourse to just plain bs. 

>Our first step in overthrowing the Sandinistas in Nicaragua is winning
>the support of the American public and of Congressmen.  Some solutions
>are currently in place, but more must be done.  The Reagan Administration
>and others have convinced a great number that the Sandinistas must go.
>We must take further steps to maintain and expand current support.  This
>is no simple prospect with the specter of Vietnam haunting us.

I take it you approve of the outcome in Vietnam.  And, what's that
other country's name, starts with a C, just can't seem to recall it.
Uh, well, might it have been 'Cambodia', oops, sorry, I said the forbidden 
word.

>I congratulate the Administration and others for their successful efforts
>to control the nature and scope of information available to the public.
>They employ new techniques combined with traditional techniques to place
>Nicaragua in a dim light.  Information favorable to the Sandinistas is
>quickly dispatched to obscurity, falsified, and overwhelmed.

Try to stick to reality, ok?  I mean, what are you saying when you
write 'quickly dispatched'?  If you can't make an accusation that makes
sense, why write?

>
>The most valuable, tried-and-true technique is red bating.  It works

Hitting them with a baseball bat, or a flying mammal?  But seriously
folks .... :-)  .

>miracles on laymen and Congressmen.  We successfully labeled the Sandinistas
>as "communists" who threaten our National Security.  This priceless
>technique renders them evil.  It justifies military action.  Those who

The Saninistas aren't Communists?  Communists aren't evil?  I see.

>speak favorably of the Sandinistas are automatically either dupes or
>communists.  People who know things that we don't want said are wary of
>speaking up for fear of being fingered.  The inescapable logic of red

Are you kidding?  Who in _this_ country is afraid of speaking up?  This
just isn't what is happening. Some people (like Reagan) have the 
almightly nerve to say that if you espouse policies that help the
Communists, hey, you ESPOUSE POLICIES THAT HELP THE COMMUNISTS.  Like,
ah, wow man, like A = A.  How astonishing.  Of course, this is fascism. 

>bating parallels the effective Moonie concept that all non-Moonies are
>possessed by the devil.  Therefore they lie, trying to trick Moonies into
>abandoning their blessed state of grace.  We must take advantage of red
>bating's fullest potential.

>An admirable technique employed by the Administration is the press barrage.
>When anything favorable to the Sandinistas comes out, the media are
>barraged with an abundance of statements swamping and attacking the
>validity of opposition information.  This way, the media spend all of
>their time covering White House and Pentagon statements while ignoring
>the original story.  A fine example of this is the barrage story of a

How nervy.  The Administration actually puts forth its views?  What's
the world coming to?  Some of these statements disagree with the
Sandinistas' point of view.  Definitely fascism.

>Soviet jet fighter shipment to Nicaragua during their elections.  We
>saw extensive coverage of this escalating threat with miniscule
>coverage of the elections.  The only aspect of the elections for which
>the Media had time and space were official and unofficial statements
>that the elections were a sham.  Proof that the jets were shipped and
>that the elections were a sham was neither necessary nor existent.  It's
>the media coverage that counts; not the facts.

Point: The Administration actually didn't want the story covered,
especially in the sensationalistic way it was.  And the Administration
_never_ said that there were Migs on the way to Nicaragua.  The press
did enjoy asking lots of very leading questions and trying to get the
US to say something provocative.

This leads to the _real_ point.  I think you're trying to say that there
is a conspiracy in  the media to support US policy in Nicaragua.  Is 
that why you post humor?  This is simply not the case.  Say so if you
think it is actually the situation. I doubt if you have the nerve to
actually claim that. 

>Another technique involves the use of language.  Since we control the
>language of the debate, we control the debate itself.  The use of rhetorical
>abstraction places the debate on our own ground where the opposition is
>doomed to failure.  We frame our turf with such language as Democratic,
>Freedom Fighters, National Security, Threat, Marxist, Leninist, Communist,
>Totalitarian, Puppet, Dictatorship, Just War.  The opposition cannot avoid
>appearing apologetic, weak, and downright wrong.

In orther words, if the Administration doesn't phrase its arguments in
the least convincing way possible, they're all National Socialists.

>These and other techniques have proven to be very effective in obtaining
>support for the Contras in the past.  At this point, we have lost much
>support in Congress for Contra funding.  Also, we lack support for a
>full-blown military action involving a large contingency of American troops.
>We can always bypass Congressional funding hesitancy through alternative
>channels such as our good friend Israel.  The invasion, however, requires
>strong support or it is doomed at the outset.  This campaign demands a
>greater effort on our part.  The primary obstacle here is the "Vietnam
>Syndrome" fear of foreign military action.  We must also silence anyone who
>speaks favorably of the Sandinistas without it back-firing on us.  Solving
>the latter solves the former because alternative sources of information
>nullify support for military action.

The US policy is to send in US troops, right?  You are claiming that
this is really Reagan's 'secret plan', aren't you?  

>The sources of information favorable to the Sandinistas are primarily
>Americans who have visited and resided in Nicaragua along with those
>journalists who disagree with our goal of eradicating the Sandinistas.

'Eradicating' is rather strong terminology.  We don't want to allow
emotionalism to distort our argument, do we?

Actually, as I see it, there are no sources of information favorable 
to the Sanidistas.  There are plenty of sources that parrot the M-L
line (that's Marxist-Leninist).  One major point of that line is that
Reagan plans to send in US combat troops, apparently just for the 
fun of it.  That is pretty close to what you say, right?  IF THE SHOE
FITS, WEAR IT.   

>To solve the information problem we must augment our discrediting
>campaign with direct attacks on these sources of information.

>The first, most obvious step is to ban all travel to Nicaragua by American
>citizens, recalling the great number who currently live there.  We should

Pardon me, _great number_ ?

>also step up our efforts to bar any foreigner known to speak favorably of
>the Sandinistas from entering or remaining in the US.  For those returning
>Americans who speak well of the Sandinistas, we should conduct a campaign
>of silencing and discrediting.  We could use techniques such as accusing
>and arresting them for drug possession, child abuse, treason.  Violent

Come _on_.  Silencing? How is that done?  The discrediting is easy,
just let them talk.  It's all very reminiscent of the people who
made trips to Cuba and Vietnam.  Same praise, same lies.  Also,
please inform me of any _treason_ arrests made by the US of people
returning from Nicaragua.  I don't think you can support this claim.

>groups sympathetic with our cause will serve well to ransack opposition
>offices, living quarters, and lives.  We used this form of harassment
>effectively on Vietnam war protesters and currently on groups assisting
>refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala.

As I recall the Vietnam war protesters, they were the ones planting
bombs, burning down buildings and harassing people.

By the way, the immigration laws apply to everyone, even self styled
saviors who feel they have the right to  violate any law they feel like.

>For those defiant Americans who remain in Nicaragua and for opposition
>journalists, we could train and finance death squads clad in Nicaraguan
>military garb.  This would serve to eradicate our opposition while
>making the Sandinistas look worse.  We could even use the killing of
>Americans to rationalize the invasion.  We have plenty of experience with
>this avenue of action.

Just make up lies if the facts don't support your case.  I notice the
'eradicate' word creeping in there again.  I like this, just blend up
a random mix of lies, propaganda and bs, post it to the net and call it humor.

Very funny.

>Considering our current efforts and an expansion thereof, we will succeed in
>swaying public opinion sufficiently to overcome our reluctance to act.
>Once we have tighter control over the information, we will tailor history
>to suit our interests.  We must succeed.  We will succeed.

>					F. B. Esdalib


>Next Posting:  After the overthrow.

>-------------------------------------------------


>The views expressed above are neither those of my employer, my colleagues,
>nor myself.

					    _
					Bob B-Field
>

Is this a parody of itself, or is it just moronic?

Guy

orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (03/11/86)

 
   Guy Ferraioli really got upset at the luscious satire posted
   on Reagan's Central American War.  Of course some of his
   points may make no sense but ....
   
   > > Bob B_Field         >Guy Ferraioli
> >miracles on laymen and Congressmen.  We successfully labeled the Sandinistas
> >as "communists" who threaten our National Security.  This priceless
> >technique renders them evil.  It justifies military action.  Those who
> 
> The Saninistas aren't Communists?  Communists aren't evil?  I see.
> 
 
Is the government of Nicaragua "communist"?  The media seems totally unwilling
to confront this question but the answer is an unequivocal no.  As has
been pointed out before 35% of the Nicaraguan Assembly elected to office
in the election of 1984 (an election, please note) are from opposition
parties and not even Sandinistas.  Besides these official organizations
who are not Sandinistas whatsoever, the Sandinistas themselves include
various factions from priests to former guerrilas some of whom are
Communists and some who are not.  Nor does the label "communist"
necessarily mean "undemocratic".  This was demonstrated when Communists
participated in the government of France after being elected as part of
the Socialist-Communist coalition.
 
On to red-baiting:  (one notes the former point is *never* made in the media)

> >speak favorably of the Sandinistas are automatically either dupes or
> >communists.  People who know things that we don't want said are wary of
> >speaking up for fear of being fingered.  The inescapable logic of red
> 
> Are you kidding?  Who in _this_ country is afraid of speaking up?  This
> just isn't what is happening. Some people (like Reagan) have the 
> almightly nerve to say that if you espouse policies that help the
> Communists, hey, you ESPOUSE POLICIES THAT HELP THE COMMUNISTS.  Like,
> ah, wow man, like A = A.  How astonishing.  Of course, this is fascism. 
 
Well, for one, Republican Senator from Kansas, Nancy Kassebaum, was
upset enough about Reagan's red-baiting tactics that she gave a
speech deploring such tactics.  Secondly, it is one thing to 
"ESPOUSE POLICIES THAT HELP THE COMMUNISTS" (note previous comment
about whether Nicaragua is "communist" and what the hell does that mean
anyway?) and another thing to ESPOUSE POLICIES OF WANTON TERROR,
VIOLENCE, MURDER, RAPE, AND DESTRUCTION against the innocent civilians
of a fellow member of the Organization of American States.
Let us consider an analogy to this reasoning:
"IF you do NOT support lining up all martini-drinkers against the wall
and having them shot then you are ESPOUSING POLICIES THAT PROMOTE
DRUG ABUSE."  Can you see the difference there, Guy?
(I *hope* you do not see executing martini-drinkers as good....)

     "Peace in the World,
             or the World in Pieces!"
      tim sevener   whuxn!orb

gdf@mtuxn.UUCP (G.FERRAIOLO) (03/12/86)

 > Guy Ferraioli really got upset at the luscious satire posted
 >  on Reagan's Central American War.  Of course some of his
 >  points may make no sense but ....
   
   >>> = Bob B_Field        >> = Guy Ferraiolo  > = Tim Sevener
>> >miracles on laymen and Congressmen.  We successfully labeled the Sandinistas
>> >as "communists" who threaten our National Security.  This priceless
>> >technique renders them evil.  It justifies military action.  Those who
>> 
>> The Saninistas aren't Communists?  Communists aren't evil?  I see.
>> 
>Is the government of Nicaragua "communist"?  The media seems totally unwilling
>to confront this question but the answer is an unequivocal no.  As has
>been pointed out before 35% of the Nicaraguan Assembly elected to office
>in the election of 1984 (an election, please note) are from opposition
>parties and not even Sandinistas.  Besides these official organizations
>who are not Sandinistas whatsoever, the Sandinistas themselves include
>various factions from priests to former guerrilas some of whom are
>Communists and some who are not.  

I've been told that there are no Communists in the world, only dedicated 
Socialists working towards Communism.  So I use the term Communist to 
describe orthodox Marxist-Leninists.  That does seem to describe the 
Sandinistas.  As for the other political groups currently involved with
the Sandinista dominated government, they are about as important as the
other 'non-Communist' groups that formed part of the NLF in Vietnam.
I hope everyone remembers how the NLF was going to govern the South, 
how it wasn't Communist controlled, and how it was really a broad front
of various groups opposing 'imperialism'.  Too bad all those statements
were false.  I _predict_ that if the Sandinistas remain in control of
Nicaragua, the other groups will eventually be forced out just like in
Vietnam.  For a view of how this works (written by someone not favorable
to the US) read 'A VietCong Memoir'.  I'll dig up the author's name if
necessary.  It was published last year.

>				Nor does the label "communist"
>necessarily mean "undemocratic".  This was demonstrated when Communists
>participated in the government of France after being elected as part of
>the Socialist-Communist coalition.

Sorry, _by definition_ Communism rejects what we think of as democracy.
M-Lism requires the existence of a 'vanguard' of revolutionaries who 
are not bound by democratic controls.  This is exactly what is wrong with
Communism.  Of course, a Communist organization can participate in 
democratic government, just like the National Socialists did.  That 
didn't make the Nazis democratic and it doesn't make Communists democratic.
Try reading "On Utopian and Scientific Socialism" by Lenin. 

>On to red-baiting:  (one notes the former point is *never* made in the media)

>> >speak favorably of the Sandinistas are automatically either dupes or
>> >communists.  People who know things that we don't want said are wary of
>> >speaking up for fear of being fingered.  The inescapable logic of red
>> 
>> Are you kidding?  Who in _this_ country is afraid of speaking up?  This
>> just isn't what is happening. Some people (like Reagan) have the 
>> almightly nerve to say that if you espouse policies that help the
>> Communists, hey, you ESPOUSE POLICIES THAT HELP THE COMMUNISTS.  Like,
>> ah, wow man, like A = A.  How astonishing.  Of course, this is fascism. 
 
>Well, for one, Republican Senator from Kansas, Nancy Kassebaum, was
>upset enough about Reagan's red-baiting tactics that she gave a
>speech deploring such tactics.  

I claim that _very_ few people in the US are afraid of government punishment
for speaking up.  Certainly Senator Kassenbaum has a right to criticise the
Administration.  I don't think she is _afraid_ to speak up.  Certainly she
hasn't been silenced.  Just because some people don't like what the Administration is saying, doesn't mean that the Administration is frightening
people into silence.  Provide some examples of people being silenced
(as opposed to speaking out) and I might believe you.  

>				Secondly, it is one thing to 
>"ESPOUSE POLICIES THAT HELP THE COMMUNISTS" (note previous comment
>about whether Nicaragua is "communist" and what the hell does that mean
>anyway?) 

Good question.  Of course on a metaphysical level, it's tough to say.
Maybe Britain _shouldn't_ have opposed the Nazis in, say, 1933.  Maybe
by letting the National Socialists alone until forced into war in 1939,
Britain gained some advantage.  It is possible, and there isn't any
scientific or logical way to prove it one way or the other.  

Perhaps
we can use "common sense" to decide what is meant by "helpful to x".
It seems clear that giving weapons to the contras is harmful to the
Sandinistas.  It also seems that _not_ giving arms to the contras
at least relieves the Sandinistas of some problems.  Therefore, not giving arms
to the contras is helpful to the Sandinistas. If that's not clear, let's try 
another tack.  Ask this question:

	Would the Sandinistas prefer to have the US continue 
	with current policy?
OR	
	Would they prefer the US to provide the arms that the
	Reagan Adminstration wants to provide? 

Is there any question that the Sandinistas would prefer the US not 
to increase arms aid to the opposition forces?  Isn't that a reasonable
definition of 'helpful' versus 'not helpful'.  I'm sorry to beat this
issue to death, but if it's not obvious to you, then I'll try to make
it so.  Incidentally, only such an educated group of people as this could for a
moment doubt that giving arms to the opposition in Nicaragua is
'harmful' to the Communists and that, conversely, not giving arms aid
is 'helpful'.  Clear enough?

>	and another thing to ESPOUSE POLICIES OF WANTON TERROR,
>VIOLENCE, MURDER, RAPE, AND DESTRUCTION against the innocent civilians
>of a fellow member of the Organization of American States.

The conflict in Nicaragua is not significantly different from most other
wars.  People caught in the middle suffer.  If you are a total pacifist,
that's your privilege, after all, it's a free country.  Of course,
the Sandinistas never commit any of the crimes you ascribe to the 
"contras", do they?  And just because Nicaragua is a member of the OAS,
so what?  The Sandinistas broke their promises to the OAS, which they
made in order to get the OAS to go along with the anti-Somoza revolution.
Both sides in Nicaragua are very similar and I find it hard to believe 
that the contras are totally evil.  One final thought on this point; it 
is easier to control a well financed force than a poorly financed one.

>Let us consider an analogy to this reasoning:
>"IF you do NOT support lining up all martini-drinkers against the wall
>and having them shot then you are ESPOUSING POLICIES THAT PROMOTE
>DRUG ABUSE."  Can you see the difference there, Guy?
>(I *hope* you do not see executing martini-drinkers as good....)

Yes, I can Tim.  Drunk driving isn't backed by the largest country in the
world.  Also, I don't propose _killing_ all Communists.  All I propose
is giving arms to people who don't want the Communists to kill or enslave 
them.  If you want to propose an alternative way of 'not helping' the
Communists, feel free.  But it should be something that the Sandinistas
would prefer no more than what the Reagan Administration proposes. Otherwise
_some_ people might think you really don't want to 'not help' the Sandinistas.


>     "Peace in the World,
>             or the World in Pieces!"
>      tim sevener   whuxn!orb

	"Give me liberty or give me death"

	Guy

myers@uwmacc.UUCP (03/17/86)

> 	"Give me liberty or give me death"
> 
> 	Guy

"Patria libre o morir" (Translation: `Free homeland or death')

Gosh, Guy, these quotes sound pretty similar, like maybe they grew out of
similar situations.  I wonder where they come from?

Latitudinarian Lobster

mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) (03/18/86)

>Are you kidding?  Who in _this_ country is afraid of speaking up?  This
>just isn't what is happening. Some people (like Reagan) have the 
>almightly nerve to say that if you espouse policies that help the
>Communists, hey, you ESPOUSE POLICIES THAT HELP THE COMMUNISTS.  Like,
>ah, wow man, like A = A.  How astonishing.  Of course, this is fascism. 
>
Why does he so consistently do it, then?  Most people who oppose
Reagan's foreign policies do so because they so obviously and directly
help the Communist cause.  Do you really think Communism is less
popular in Central America and elsewhere now than it was in 1980?
Reagan's policies and behaviour are about as strong an inducement for
people to turn away from the US as one can imagine, and where else
would people look for help other than to the USSR?  Remember, in
Nicaragua in particular, it was ONLY the US that was so wound up
about the Sandinistas.  Canada, Western Europe, and much of the
rest of the Americas were all trying to help the people of Nicaragua
while Reagan was trying to destroy their economy (and doing a pretty
good job).  Is that the way to make friends and influence people
(in your favour)? Espouse policies that help the communists...Hah!
-- 

Martin Taylor
{allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt
{uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsri!dciem!mmt