Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site tty3b.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ltuxa!tty3b!mjk From: mjk@tty3b.UUCP (Mike Kelly) Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: Innocent Sandanistas Message-ID: <379@tty3b.UUCP> Date: Tue, 12-Jun-84 17:55:56 EDT Article-I.D.: tty3b.379 Posted: Tue Jun 12 17:55:56 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 13-Jun-84 01:32:24 EDT References: <793@pyuxa.UUCP> Organization: Teletype Corp., Skokie, Ill Lines: 51 T. C. Wheeler, in a rather muddled submission, says: >Further, why are the ships gathered at >the docks of Honduras, not off-loading food and medical supplies >instead of arms, the most common complaint of the people >on the streets of Honduras? And, have you noticed the registry >of those ships? If the Sandies are so damned innocent, why are >they gathering offensive weapons instead of defensive weapons? >Would that things could be so liberally simple. Try looking >beyond the simplistic liberal reports and discover what is >behind the Sandanista revolution. Innocent farmers they are >not. What is your point here? Honduras is a U.S. ally -- any ships landing there "not off-loading food and medical supplies instead of arms" is because the U.S. government is more interested in sending arms than food and medical supplies. Surprise, surprise. Further, if I were a country of about three million facing an all-but- declared war from the one of the most powerful nations in the world, I'd be collecting all the weapons I can get my hands on. Rather than chastise Nicaragua for collecting more weapons than are needed for its own defense (which is Reagan's line, not my opinion), the U.S. should look at its own bloated military -- those bases in the Phillipines and Greece certainly aren't for our defense, either. As to the base of the Sandinista revolution, perhaps T.C. can fill us all in on the secret Moscow connection that Reagan keeps raving about. My reading on the Nicaraguan revolution attributes it to a broad uprising of all classes, based strongly on Catholic working-class people. Religious base communities, a sort of rural community organization, also played a crucial part in organizing people and motivating them. The actions of the Sandinistas after the revolution attest to this. Outside of the Mesquitos, which was a bad mistake, there was no mass political jailings or executions in Nicaragua. Rather than deriding "simplistic liberal reports", perhaps you should look beyond the unsubstantiated ramblings of Reagan and Time. Where is the proof? Where are the "massive arms shipments" Reagan is always talking about? Have you ever seen any pictures of any? How many have been intercepted? But what it really comes down to is that it takes one helluva nerve to practically wage war against a sovereign nation and then protest that they're building up their army against it. Mike Kelly