DEFENSE DRAFT REPORT ON H.R. 4235, "NONINTERVENTION ACT OF 1988."

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90M00005R001400010031-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 17, 2012
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: August 16, 1988
• Content Type: LETTER

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OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
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OCA 2?57-88
LEGISLATIVE REFERRAL MEMORANDUM
SPECIAL
August 16, 1988 .QCA FI.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON. D.C. sDfO)
TO: Legislative Liaison Officer -
Department of Justice
National Security Council
Department of State
C C e n t - r a - l - I n 1-rigen e Agency
SUBJECT:
Defense draft report on H.R. 4235, "Nonintervention
Act of 1988."
The Office of Management and Budget requests.the views of your
agency on the above subject before advising on its relationship
to the program of the President, in accordance with OMB Circular
A-19.
A response to this request for your views i"s needed no later than
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1988.
Questions should be referred to BUE TRAO/ANNETTE ROONEY
(395-7300), the legislative analyst in this office.
K'
RONALD K. PETERSON FOR
Assistant Director for
Legislative Reference
Enclosures
cc:
J.
A.
D.
A.
Eisenhour
Donahue
McGrath
Raul
SPECIAL
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In Reply Refer to:
1-88/10432
Honorable Les Aspin
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This is in response to your request of 30 March 1988 for the
views of the Secretary of Defense on H.R. 4235, 100th Congress,
a bill entitled "Nonintervention Act of 1988."~
H.R. 4235 would limit the introduction of U.S. Armed Forces
into Honduras and Nicaragua for combat and establishes strict
Congressional notification requirements. The bill requires the
President to notify Congress in writing at least 30 days in
advance of U.S. military exercises in Honduras and states that
those exercises will not be conducted within 20 miles of the
Honduras/Nicaragua border. Under provisions of this bill, the
number of U.S. Armed Forces personnel allowed in Honduras at any
one time would be limited to the number there on 15 March 1988.
All of these restrictions would be in addition to the War Powers
Act.
The legislation would severely limit the President's
constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief to deploy U.S.
Armed Forces in both peacetime and time of conflict. It
attempts to place restrictions on that authority that are
greater than those that are contained in the War Powers Act.
It would necessitate a piecemeal national security strategy tied
to legislative inflexibly keyed to a specific geographical area
and linked to specific conditions.
The Department of Defense is opposed to this legislation.
Section 2 of the bill would prevent the U.S. from fulfilling its
obligations to respond to requests for assistance from the
Government Honduras until we had specific approval from the U.S.
Congress. This is in direct contravention of the Rio Treaty.
The time-consuming process called for in the bill could-_
effectively make U.S. assistance moot.
raise more doubts among the democratic leaderseinoCentraltainly
America concerning the U.S. commitment to democracy and defense
of our neighbors. Clearly, it would be considered a slap in the
face for the Hondurans, one of our strongest regional allies.
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It would also send the wrong signal to our other
lli
a
Ame r i ca. es in Latin
The definition of combat in the bill is too broad and imposes
too many restrictions. The Sandinistas could conceivably use
this to effectively manipulate U.S. policy. For example, the
continued presence of U.S. forces at Joint Task Force-Bravo
(JTF-B) could be placed in jeopardy by the Sandinistas by merely
covertly emplacing and then detonating a mine at Honduras'
Palmerola AB regardless whether or not U.S. personnel were
injured. Nicaragua could also forestall U.S. troop deployments
into Honduras by initiating an exchange of fire along the border
or bombing Honduran territory. Our deterrence is based not only
on a prompt response capability but also on the uncertainty of
our exact response. This legislation removes that uncertainty
for the Sandinistas.
Section 3 of the bill limits the President's authority to
determine the need and location for training of U.S. forces. No
clear definition of an exercise is included. The requirement to
provide 30 days written notice to Congress is an attempt by
Congress to expand the War Powers legislation to include
peacetime military training, combined operations and security
assistance. The 30-day advance notification would also preclude
a repetition of the recently successful Golden Pheasant
Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise by the U.S. in support
of the Government of Honduras.
Determination of how close U.S. forces should approach the
Nicaraguan border should not be legislated by Congress.
Military exercises and maneuvers are planned jointly by the U.S.
and Honduras and selection of the location for these activities
rest solely with Honduras. Any U.S. legislative restriction
which would limit Honduras' ability to select the location of an
exercise on its own territory would be seen as an infringement
on Honduran sovereignty. Further, a twenty mile restriction
from Nicaraguan borders would imply that the U.S. believes that
Honduras is incapable of maintaining sovereignty within their
territory or providing security in areas within twenty miles of
Nicaragua.
Section 4 of the bill places unacceptable restrictions on the
Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Southern Command and the U.S.
Ambassador in Honduras in accomplishing their assigned missions.
Such a provision would prevent the expansion of JTF-B in
responding to non-combat operations in Central America such as
disaster relief.
The Office of Management and Budget advises that, from the
standpoint of- the Administration's program, there is no
objection to the presentation of this report for the
consideration of the Committee.
Sincerely,
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