From: harelb@math.cornell.edu (misc.activism.progressive co-moderator)
Subject: Nicaragua Series -- comments and replies (1/4 ; intro)
Organization: misc.activism.progressive on UseNet ; ACTIV-L@UMCVMB
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 04:00:10 GMT

Nicaragua Series -- comments and replies (1/4 ; intro)

Allen Scherzer writes that he has "condemned" contra atrocities and
asks whether I will "condemn Sandinista abuses." His protestations
about principled opposition to human-rights abuses -- precisely what
the "conservative" (and mainstream "liberal" apologists for U.S.
terror I might add) camp vehemently opposes -- are so densely filled
with Double-Think that to adequately address them we have to slow down
to the point of proceeding inch by inch to unravel the inherent lies.

I note in the passing that Scherzer's trustworthiness on these matters
is comparable to those of such ideologist extremists as the Reagan and
Bush state department, whose strategy of lies upon lies have made them
notorious, earning them the infamous distinction of repeated and harsh
condemnation of their constant lies by the real human rights
monitors, including for example the report dedicated to part of this
disinformation policy, _Guatemala Revisited: How the Reagan
Administration Finds ``Improvements'' in Human Rights in Guatemala_ by
Americas Watch [Use GET (see bottom) with FSLN MISKITOS].

The latest(?) example is Scherzer's assertion that "Americas Watch
says the same thing about the Sandinistas" following an
Americas/Helsinki Watch quote on the terrorist proxy army, the
"contras." In this joint statement the chairmen of Americas Watch and
Helsinki Watch state that the contras were carrying out "a planned
strategy of terrorism" along the Honduras border. Actually there is a
familiar ring to a state carrying out a "planned strategy" or terror
against its population -- Amnesty International's term is "a
`Death-Squad' Strategy" carried out by El Salvador against its own
population. This planned terror strategy by El Salvador is reviewed
below, and the excerpts are available with the GET command (see
bottom) on the file AI_REPT ELSALV. Death Squads run by the state,
army, and security forces (under pretense of being carried out by
"right wing extremists" *outside* the regime, beyond the government's
control, a pretense repeated by the mainstream media) against the
domestic population are reported upon in nearly identical terms by
Amnesty in the case of Guatemala; the 200K+ report is in AI_REPT
GUATMALA (or by email, harelb@math.cornell.edu, the Conclusions
section, or paper mail address for report). There is nothing remotely
comparable for Nicaragua under the Sandinistas (or even for the far
more serious repression under Somoza, as far as I know), no
"Death-Squad Strategy" by Nicaragua against its peasants,
church-workers, human-rights workers, members of cooperatives, etc,
who are trying to organize, carry out land reform, and other high
crimes under Democracy, U.S.-Style.

We similarly learn of Nicaragua's economy having been in "one of the
best" conditions when the Sandinistas came to power, this
after having read my footnoted post mentioning such trifles as

    When the Sandinista leaders entered the capital, Managua, they
    [..] faced tremendous problems. 50,000 people had been killed and
    100,000 wounded in the revolutionary war. Before fleeing the
    country, Somoza had bombed schools, hospitals, factories, and
    housing.

    Somoza had looted the national treasure and left the country with
    one of the world's highest per capita debts.

The picture of economic health inherited by the Sandinista government,
which also decided to honor the debts accumulated under Somoza's
corrupt and U.S.-backed dictatorship.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The first lie is in the implication that Chomsky, or I or other
dissidents, do not "condemn" human-rights sufficiently
broadly/equally. The second and more insidious lie is the implication
or even statement that Scherzer *did* in fact "condemn" in any
remotely meaningful sense the terrorism carried out by the Holy State
(Washington).

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The first question that arises is regarding Scherzer's "condemnation"
of contra atrocities. A brief review of the record clarifies the
actual position taken by Scherzer and fellow apologists for U.S.
terrorism.

	[I will try to be more careful than Chomsky often is in
	clarifying the meaning of the "conspiratorial" references to a
	knowing, deliberate, support for terrorism and lies to cover
	up this support and pretend otherwise. As Chomsky notes
	carefully enough, in fact very eloquently, in the second
	chapter of _Turning the Tide_ (but not frequently enough in,
	say, articles, I feel), it is a very rare human being indeed
	who believes that they are evil. Including Hitler, Stalin, and
	other notables -- and despite the obfuscation created by
	cartoons and Hollywood movies with the Bad Guys knowing and
	frank about their being the Bad Guys -- those carrying out
	terrorism, slaughter, etc, almost invariably tell themselves
	and on some level even come to feel that they are doing the
	right thing, saving the Soviet Union from "aggression" and
	"danger" from Afghanistan or saving the United States from the
	"extraordinary threat to [its] national security" posed by
	Nicaragua or indeed Grenada (or Indochina), or saving Europe
	from the Jews, and so on. While we are not used to speaking in
	these terms about Our Leaders, there is no need to make
	exceptions for them any more than we would, instead of
	speaking of Stalin's "support for dictatorship, slaughter"
	phrase ourselves so carefully as to explain that Stalin did
	not *believe* he was committing gigantic crimes against
	humanity. With this clarification regarding "Washington's
	support for terrorism, antipathy towards independence and
	democracy" etc, and similarly for the apologists and
	supporters of (even "only in part" for this terrorism and
	slaughter), we can proceed.]


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