Senator Daniel Inouye speech, March 27, 1986
Senator Daniel Inouye speech about aid to the Nicaraguan Contra-Rebels, March 27, 1986
Transcript Excerpt
An unfortunate byproduct of the Contra war is that we have driven the Sandinistas into the arms of the very people we want to keep out of Central America-Cubans and the Soviets. Thanks to ineffective trade embargoes and poorly executed military pressure, we have left the Sandinistas no alter native but to seek arms, foodstuffs, and economic assistance from the Soviet bloc. In so doing, we are squandering the goodwill that most Nicaraguans feel toward the United States while reinforcing the Sandinistas’ caricature of Americans as bullies and aggressors…
After 6 years of paramilitary action and more than $100 million in aid from the U.S. Government alone, the Contras are no closer to their political and military objectives today than they were at the outset. The President’s request that we commit another $100 million to a losing battle is wasteful and will raise, both literally and figuratively, the United States stake in the Nicaraguan conflict. The need to place United States military advisers in Central America to supervise and train the Contras will increase, not decrease, the likelihood of direct United States intervention in the region. By staking U.S. prestige on the outcome of the Contras’ battle against the Sandinistas, the United States is taking a major step toward the commitment of U.S. troops to the conflict – an event which most Americans agree is unnecessary and undesirable…
Our foreign policy depends on good Intelligence, but the CIA’s role In Nicaragua has only tarnished the agency and hampered our foreign policy. CIA activity has violated U.S. treaty obligations and International law. Rather than advance our goals, it has brought the United States adverse publicity and disrepute…
It clear that peace in Central America depends on a negotiated, political solution involving all the key players in the region. The United States should join the Governments of Central and South America in the Contadora peace process, and, if that bears no fruit, investigate new diplomatic initiatives of our own. Peace will never come to Central America from the barrel of a gun, and we should disapprove the President’s ill-timed and ill-conceived request for additional military aid to the Contras.
Questions
Why was Senator Inouye opposed to more funding for the Nicaraguan Contra-Rebels?
What happened in Nicaragua during the Cold War?
Citations
Congressional Record-Senate. March 27, 1986. https://www.congress.gov/99/crecb/1986/03/27/GPO-CRECB-1986-pt5-5-1.pdf