TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/caps/87/87capcon.8

Text File | 1990-12-01 | 4KB | 69 lines

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ô                                                ░««It Ain't Over Till It's Over

July 27, 1987

North's pleas have given new impetus to contra-funding efforts

Lieut. Colonel Oliver North spent nearly three years coordinating
arms purchases and helping to raise money for the contra rebels
fighting in Nicaragua.  But none of North's secret activities may
prove as vital to the rebels as his testimony before the Iran-contra
committees.  As millions of Americans watched on television, North
pleaded passionately for support of efforts to overthrow Nicaragua's
Marxist Sandinista junta.  He was even permitted to deliver his
patented fund-raising pitch, minus the projection of 57 slides that
usually accompany the spiel.  Holding a photograph of a makeshift
contra grave, North, his voice choking, told the legislators,
"Gentlemen, we've got to offer them something more than the chance to
die for their own country and the freedoms that we believe in."

Ollie's salesmanship provided the opportunity for long-demoralized
contra backers at the White House and State Department to mount a new
campaign for aid.  As a Washington Post/ABC News poll indicated that
public support for military aid to the contras rose to 43% on July
15, from 29% on June 1, White House Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater called
North's testimony "helpful."  President Reagan echoed North in his
weekly radio commentary.  "The American people are tired of the off-
on again policy in Central America," he said.

The Administration may soon ask Congress to approve long-term aid to
the contras of perhaps $150 million over 18 months, up from the $100
million narrowly okayed last fall for fiscal 1987.  That would keep
the rebels in beans and bullets until Ronald Reagan leaves office.

The contras' efforts in the field have also given a boost to their
cause.  The Administration says the rebels have put nearly 15,000
soldiers inside Nicaragua, up from 5,000 last December.  Last week
the contras announced that 500 soldiers attacked and overran a
strongly held Sandinista garrison at San Jose de Bocay in north-
central Nicaragua.  Although the Defense Ministry in Managua
announced fewer casualties and a much less successful assault than
contra leaders claimed, the insurgents said it was their biggest
victory since the rebellion began six years ago.  Contra military
progress could help swing moderate lawmakers in favor of continued
funding when the issue comes to a vote this fall.

Yet opponents remain confident that Congress will refuse to renew the
funding.  "Even after six days of Ollie North, there is still no
clear majority in favor of contra aid," said Michigan Congressman
Dave Bonior, chief deputy Democratic whip.  "I think we have an
excellent chance of cutting off aid.  "Predictions of a complete
cutoff were widespread last fall when it was first learned that the
Administration had been circumventing congressional restrictions on
support for the rebels.  But lawmakers now admit that any new aid
package must be considered apart from the scandal.  "With North's
testimony, there's obviously a mood in Congress that the issue of
contra aid needs to be handled on its merits," admits California
Democrat Leon Panetta, a contra opponent.

Democrats are particularly sensitive to North's complaint that
Congress has been a fickle patron of the rebels.  One compromise may
be to approve continued economic aid for Central American democracies
but with a lower amount of military aid than the President requests.
Another would be to approve "phaseout" funds to pay for contra
resettlement.  "Nobody's talking about no money," said Democratic
Congressman David Obey of Wisconsin, another opponent.  "It is going
to be difficult to shut off the contras."

--By Michael Duffy/Washington