HOUSE MEETS IN SECRET ON WAR IN NICARAGUA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000707350004-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 12, 2011
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: July 20, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 :CIA-RDP90-005528000707350004-7 STAT
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~'~~ _-?'- ~ - 20 July 1983
Mouse 1Vleets in secret
On War in Nicaragua
By George Lardner Jr. and Fred Hiatt
_
WashlnBton Post Slatt writers +' - - ident 8n 'raked -Similar
~?
The House met in an extraordinary secret session yes- ~liangt~age yesterday in a ceremony
terday to begin debate on the' Reagan administration's ,??marking Captive Nations Week, ac-
escalating "secret war" against the leftist government of ~:cnsing the Soviets and -Cuba of
Nicaragua, now perhaps the most controversial foreign `building a war machine :in Nicara-
policy issue of this pre-election year. ;~
The debate came as the Navy announced it was dis- The four. hours of debate behind
patching an eight-ship carrier battle group to the west ~y~ .and guarded doors, only the
coast of Central America as a "demonstration of U.S. ~d'thauch session in -House history=
interest in the region," and as officials confirmed plans to ~~~ no clear result, leaving up-
hold alarge-scale U. S.-Honduran military exercise near
the Honduras-Nicaragua border next month, also as a : ~~' the prospect for Democratic-
show of U.S. resolve. 'sPo~ored .legislation which would
As the House doors were aboutto be closed yesterday ~ ~ further undercover U.S. aid to
afternoon, Rep. Don Edwards (D-Calif.), an administra- ~anta'government guerpllas in Nica-_
tion critic just returned from afour-day fact-finding mis- ;tea` '~' -
sion to Central America, warned his colleagues on the ~ ? ~ hiIl, which has been approved
floor that. "there's a big invasion going on right now," and ' by ~ Democratic majorities on
Rep. George Miller (D-Calif, j, who accompanied him, ! ~~ the House Foreign Affairs and
said the "so-called secret war in Nicaragua is much more i ~.ntelligence committees,- instead
extensive than the American public has been led- to be- I would set up an overt $80 million
lieve."
Btu administration defenders said that whatever war
exists was started by the other side.
"What's at staKe here," Rep. Don Ritter (R-Pa.) said
after the debate, "is a massive commitment" of Soviet
and Cuban arms to leftist regimes and rebels in the re-
gion, "perhaps the most massive violation of the Monroe
Doctrine that we have seen in the history of this hemi-
sphere."
grogram of a-d to friendh~ govern-
ments in the region; it would be up
;to them to fight the leftists.
House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip)
-0'NeiIl Jr. (D-Mass.) said yestex-
iiey's session, called to discuss "con-
~,ential communications," was the
hest attended of the year and said he
oti ted that more than 20 members
were absent.
Other members, however;' said
the~?e were.. few surprises. Ritter said
the audience fell off sharply after the
first hour. -
"We felt we were going to learn I
top secret information;" he said. "Ev-
erybody waited with bated breath I
...After an ?hour- it was .clear we f
weren't going to find out anything I
we didn't know already." ~ ~
House Intelligence Committee'
Chairman .Edward P. Boland (D-
.Mass.); one.-of `the key sponsors of
the bill to shift from covert to .overt
aid, led offwitha history of'the con-
troversy. -
Several members said Rep. I,e? H.
Hamilton (D:Ind.), who is a member
of both committeeswith jurisdiction,
made a spirited presentation of the
case for terminating the undercover
Program
Rep. C.W. (Bill) Young (R-Fla.), a
member of the Intelligence Commit-
tee, presented the case against the
cutoff, citing secret committee tran-
scripts in an effort to prove that the
administration -is comp}ying .with
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 :CIA-RDP90-005528000707350004-7