HAIG CAUTIONS HILL AGAINST ENDING AID TO EL SALVADOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000403730002-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 14, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 11, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/14 :CIA-RDP90-005528000403730002-4
STAT
AF~~~?C~=:E ~^~~PELRED
e ~ ~ 1~LL-~-~~='~
By John VI: Goshko :
' Washingtan Post Stan Wrftar '
. Secretary of StaterAlexander M: .
Haig . Jr., speaking. against a back-
ground of - mounting? controversy.
about U.S. _ policy in Central Amer=
ica, told Congress yesterday_that cut-
ting off military aid ~voutd be"a fatal
blow" to the government of El Sal
vador in its struggle" against Ieftist'
.guerrillas. '': ' ~ ;
. "I think it would ba 'a catastro-
phe," Haig said. "In practical,terms,
the guerrillas are not.about to over-
~vhelm the country. But E American
arms are a crucial factor, even more
`in political- and psychological terms
than in actual material terms."
The secretarj's testimony hefore~a
Senate subcommittee. came on a day.
that saw arapid-fire series of deyel-
opments continue to ppsh the? de-
bate~over El Salvador and Nicaragua.
to the forefront of congressional and--
executive br )ancl~ attention.: Among:
?,Lt'E;'."1 t:i ~" ~.~t};"CI ~y ard~ last night L'lere.
_ _? 'I'~venty yix:.7 prominent offtctaI
of past Republican'and Democratic..
~atiministrations eme Ded from a class
sifted intelligence.. ~briefing~ at`~the
State'D~partment: ta? say they lia. ,
':been given convincing-evidence-that_?
'the Salvadoran~.gixerrillas' are being
aided, supplied and guided-from out-
side by Cuba.. and Nicaragua.~HOw'
'ever; the former?officials:also:agreed-
~that the evidence i? so' "sensitive"'~
.that it cannot be made public withal
out causing serious damage- to~ US:'
.ability to collect' intelligence in:.the~'
future. ?. _...uf~ ,,..........., .___.~,M:.~
STAT
THE GIASHINGTON POST
11 iNarch 1982
? Haig; Defense Secretary,Caspar
~V. ~Yeinbergerand some.other.sen=.
for administration officials refusedao
commerr~. on a~ report yesterdays in-
The_Washington Post that President
Reagan has approved a $19 million
program to destabilize the revolu-
tionary Sandinista-dominated. gov-
ernment in Nicaragua. Instead,. they.
took. the position, described by. Haig.,
as."consistent and longstanding.pol-.
icy,". that the government does not
comment, publicly ,on .covert , activ-
ities, but.they_added that: their si-
lence should not be?interpreted as
confirmation of the report. . ~ ::` _
However, t~Vhite House coiinselor.
Edwin I4ieese III told a journalism
seminar here last :night that The;.
Post. report placed the administra-
tion in a "totally untenable pagition"
1Vleese .said: "Here is a situation. in.
which the security of the country: is
seriously affected, whether- the anti-
c'.e be-true or false. If it is true, then
vsr~- impertart secrets vital,. tz oar
r:at;crt:L interest and vital to the suc.:
cess of any such .mission have ,been;
revealed. If it is false, then you; have
given_an adversary a.great,opportn-
nity for propaganda ._._~w'_' ~_.~_=~__:,,
a.~I+;Haig,said the administration has
~rnot-rejected 14iexican President Jose
Lopez Portillo's offer to act as a me-
drator in trying to end the Salvador-.
~n civil- war and ease the tensions .
between the United States and Nic-:
aragua.. The secretary said he, would
continue discussing the idea with
.Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge.Cas-,
taneda m New York this weekend; in
another hint that Washington wants
tQ; keep alive the possibility of even-
tual negotiations, .Haig expressed
hope that after the March 28 elec~
`tions for . a. constituent assembly. '
iscita that would express the will o
negotiate "ia the context of a pleb
the~alvadoran people" :;=~:~:;~;.
` .e Weinberger an?
?Jones, c'nairman of
~~ ,_- :,
or Staff, reiterated,
.fore the House For
rmi~,ee, that the ar
;n4 plans or intenti
'troops to El Salva
'finb; its support __
::.
civihan .government- there ~ to in-
cre~sed military and economic aid.
''The administration, ' obviously
.~,
~oricerned that its policy toward
Cen_ trai America -could be derailed ~
by persistent qu?stions about wheth-
er the United States is heading for a
new Vietnam-type involvement, tnis
week mounted a campaign to swing
public opinion behind its approach.
"~ -The effort began Tuesday when
senior intelligence officials gave re-
porters a detailed briefing, including
the. display of blowups of aerial re-'
connaissance photographs, designed
to snow that Nicaragua is building a ?
sizable ~ military establishment with
Cu~ a.~ aid Soviet help. Tl~e second
-Ys.av~ carne yesterday ~trith th2 brief-
,.ing,aimed at enlisting the support of
:former officials and with Haig's ap-
pearance before a Senate Appropri-'~,
ations subcommittee. that- oveisees'
foreign aid. ' - .
' - ,,1;Tnder heavy questioning from
Republican ..and Democratic mem-
bens, Haig reiterated.his,past charges]
that ,the .Salvadoran 'guerrillas .are
~`9argely ~ controlled" from :the.
Nicaraguan capital of Managua. He
said the principal fla~s- in the Mex-
ican peace 'initiative,. which he as-
serted is basically thesame plan pro-,
;posed by the United .States and re-
"jectedby Nicaragua last year, is .the
lack of a requirement that Nfcaragua
` "commit itself. to"cease'and desist" in
its. involverrient with its neighbors. ~"'
` "We are-explotin~:every;?feasible
~'
`
-means possible . to: bring
" about ~~a
peaceful solution," he said. "But this.
~,is _ a.awo-rvay street; .and it requires:
reciprocaI`obligationa.by_ those who
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/14 :CIA-RDP90-005528000403730002-4 ~ -t ~'