S 'ten years after' epitaphs for the US defeat in Fetnam piled up last week, Uncle Sam was very much ack in business in Central America. Iwo major "litary exercises were going on at once.
Four thousand ground troops are manouvering ith the Honduran and El Salvadorian military ances just across the border trom berated zones.
each landings on the Honduran Atlantic coast ast a few miles north of the Nicaraguan border.
"hie the marines are ering up the debate in ¿s ruling class over in prention Central erica has taken a sharp with the defeat of gan's proposal to the Congress to vote D14 on to the Nicaraguan he 15,000 strong cona forces are incapable of as but nave been causing arible damage the caraguan cluding torcing the orement of ousands of people from border areas.
morale nong the contras. This is spite $5 allo olan from private corporate urces in the us in the months, a stiffening of and continued funag be CIA and other channels.
The defeat of Reagan's for $14 million lars aid through Contherefore signified setback for the and conwhich they nave cady set about remWithin 24 hours of the a commissions Reagan commissioned an ofcial report on how to get her ala to une constra:
means which do not reEl Salvador's One thousand marines. and two are practicing Congressional OUTC approval. policies. It reflects a judgement of the political need for caution before direct military volvennen as well as a wariness about both the stamina of the US military machine over the stomach of the US population about prolonged foreign wars. It is however also, therefore panied by a determination than when the US armed IOrCCS , go into action ther devastating blitzkrei aim- with ed at completely smashing opponents in one devastatIng DIOW. season el held up model by this line.
Critiques of the Weinberger/ Reagan approach come from both right and left. The critics on the third rebellion • that the US doe: not the luxury of choosing time LIC place to wield the big stick.
Self styled 'liberal' critics of the Reagan line arque war simple renance on force 1S not enough. Long term political problems, after military interventions, must be conwell Bloomfield, a former adthe Carter administration, posed the problem directly, 'How is it that you can "win" so that when you leave two years COnT lose une country (sic) those forces who have commit. ted themselves to victory at any cost?' poses that dilemma verv sharp v. The US know the Nicaraguans will fight - and that peo ple who have just got rid of Interacy, polio and torture Will not nerosy to anyone who tries to bring it all back in the name of For anything else.
This problem _coc deeper than conventional war Vietnam showed that fire hen the majority of th isn't cloud working peasants i know what they want and have the guns to defend it.
The next step for the US in Central America one its entire ruling class will unite on, is to try to bleed Nicaragua dry econ omically. Blockade Two weeks ago Reagan was flying the kite of a forLotal. blockade of Nicaragua of the type which has been imposed on Cuba ever since its revolution. Whether this goes or not there is already a comprehensive informal blockade with the US vetoing financial credits blocking and harassing Nicaragua's continually its allies follow the same policies. Needless to say Thatcher has been extremely obliging in following Reagan's lead.
The blockade is taking a terrible toll. Nicaraguan vice president Sergio Ramirez has said that all development projects have oCcu stopped, more schools or hospitals can be built, pipes clean water can be layed.
Crisis now the order of the day in Nicaragua. A hard austeri ty policy has had to be announced putting priority on defence and the pr ductive sector the This is posec simply as a 'survival plan.
An acute problem which faces the Sandinistas is that they cannot resolve economic strangulation simply by taking tighter control of the national The continued dependence or vicaragua on exports of coffee and cotton and the absence of a developed infrastructure rules out anv illusion that survive on its own resources of the vital tasks for the movement is therefore fight that blockade and to fight for Said to give chance to breathe.
This task of solidarity is now an urgent one. It puts a big weight on the shoulders of the interna tional solidarity move. ment. The struggle against
----- pull-quotes -----
housand members of the 101st Airborne division, gether with naval and air suppori,