Did it seem incongruous to you that the Reagan administration,at the very time a powerful indigenous effort was under way to bringpeace to Central America, was pushing for millions of dollars in aidfor the contras?
If it did, you now have to find a new, more appropriate word todescribe the situation at the other end: The reported plan byNicaragua's Sandinista government to increase the size of its army to600,000 by 1995 and to acquire sophisticated war machinery, includingMiG jet fighters, from the Soviet Union.
We suggest the appropriate word is "ominous."
An army of 600,000 - one-sixth of Nicaragua's citizenry - wouldbe the largest in the region. The MiG jets for its air force wouldintroduce an utterly destabilizing element in the peace equation.
What does it tell us of Nicaragua's intentions except that theyare no good? Certainly the Sandinistas do not need a buildup of suchmagnitude (the current level of all its military personnel, not justthe army, is at most about 80,000) if they are looking forward topeace within their country and in the region.
Many members of the United States Congress who were upset withthe Reagan administration's seeming indifference, even hositility, tothe five-nation Central American peace plan are now going to havesecond thoughts about withholding aid for the U.S.-backed contrarebels. As House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Texas) remarked, theSandinistas "have had a history of snatching defeat from the jaws ofvictory." This was a reference to an earlier incident whenNicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, soon after the House voted toblock contra aid, went off to Moscow. The House thereupon changedits mind.
If the aid proposal now wins congressional approval, it would bedamaging to the peace process, but the blame would primarily fall onNicaragua.
Our hope, of course, is that President Reagan would stronglyurge Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to carry through on thelatter's promise not to supply anything lethal to the Sandinistaswhile peace still has a chance. Mr. Ortega says that thereported plan, publicly confirmed by none other than his own brotherthe defense minister, was merely a recommendation of army officials.He also says it is nothing more than a contingency plan in case theUnited States invades his country, but that the whole thing would bea moot point if the peace agreement is implemented.
If Mr. Ortega is trying to wriggle out of a bad situation, heshould be helped. If he is telling the truth, he ought to be held toit. But he should be left in no doubt, for his sake and ours, thatthe United States means business - whether it is peace or war. Lethim make the choice and take the consequences.
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