Military aid to the Contras and the quest for democracy in Nicaragua

Military aid to the Contras and the quest for democracy in Nicaragua

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Military aid to the Contras and the quest for democracy in Nicaragua


Title:	Military aid to the Contras and the quest for democracy in Nicaragua
Author:	Lewis E. Lehrman (Interviewee); David Bonior (Interviewee); Krogh, Peter F. (Peter Frederic) (Moderator)
Abstract:	Examines the question of U.S. military assistance to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
Description:	In this episode of American Interests, host Peter Krogh examines the state of affairs in Nicaragua, where U.S. backed Contra rebels were waging a civil war against the communist Sandinista regime. The Sandinista National Liberation Front came to power in 1979 following the overthrow of dictator Anastasio Somoza. Although the Sandinistas promised democratic elections and political liberties, the government quickly clamped down on opposition parties. Soon after, Cuban military advisers and Soviet matériel began appearing in Nicaragua. U.S. policymakers feared that Nicaragua was fast becoming the next Cuba, and in 1981 the Reagan Administration began pushing for aid to the anti-communist Contras. Five years later, however, the debate over American assistance to the insurgents continued in the halls of Congress. Those opposed to funding the Contras pointed to allegations of human rights abuses and uncertainty as to whether any degree of assistance could result in a Sandinista defeat. Representing opposing sides of the debate over military aid, Lewis Lehrman, Chairman of Citizens for America, and Representative David Bonior, Democrat from Michigan and Chairman of the House Taskforce on Nicaragua, sit down to examine the prospects for a Contra victory over the Sandinistas and the question of American assistance to the guerilla movement.
Permanent Link:	http://hdl.handle.net/10822/552623
Date Issued:	1986
Date Created:	1986
Subject:	Counterrevolutionaries -- Nicaragua ; United States -- Military relations -- Nicaragua ; Nicaragua -- Military relations -- United States ; United States -- Foreign relations -- Nicaragua ; Nicaragua -- Foreign relations -- United States ; Contras ; Sandinistas ; Ronald Reagan ; United States Aid to the Contras