Negroponte a nightmare...
by Matthew Davis April 25, 2005 The Bush administration either has a very small pool of loyalists from which to choose, or else seeks out a specific type of repugnant character to fill powerful positions. Whatever the reasons, it is clear that Bush has preferred experienced 'realists' from the Reagan and Bush Senior era, often bringing with them spotty (if not criminal) records. The cases of John Negroponte and John Bolton are only the latest examples of this type of behavior, although they both suggest much about the counter-intuitive, and almost certainly counter-productive, way this administration works. John Negroponte's past is nothing new to someone with an interest in US foreign policy history, but the extent of his complicity in crimes are only beginning to be understood. I will not mince words here: by all the evidence, the man who was confirmed last Thursday as the Director of National Intelligence, the man who presumably is meant to protect us from terrorists, was himself highly complicit in the actions of a terrorist organization. But before going into the history on that, I should say a few words about the way the definition of terrorism has changed. Over twenty years ago, when Reagan and Schultz first declared war on terror, they were primarily concerned with 'state terror,' meaning the use by state powers of "violence with the aim of intimidating and provoking fear and damage in order to achieve political, religious, ideological and other goals, typically directed against civilian populations." Of course, by this definition, almost every government that exists could be accused of using these methods, and state terror is now so commonplace that generally only 'private' terror is recognized as unique. But in the case of Negroponte, both types were merged: he assisted a private terrorist organization with US state support. The 'Contra War' in Nicaragua is a barely remembered event in history for most Americans, but it still produces nightmares in Nicaragua. In choosing to support the brutal contras, our government once again decided that fighting 'communism' was more important than any belief in human rights or democracy. Nicaragua, hardly noticed throughout the 1970s by US politicians or media, was struggling under the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza until he was overthrown by the moderately socialist Sandinista regime. Not coming into power democratically but revolutionarily (like another country I know), the Sandinistas did commit several serious war crimes, but nowhere did they compare in scale or magnitude to the coming response of the contras. Overall, they were supporters of democracy and allies of the poor, with a massive popular mandate. Oxfam, the international development organization, noted that "Nicaragua was ... exceptional in the strength of that government's commitment ... to improving the condition of the people and encouraging their active participation in the development process." The Inter-American Development Bank concluded in 1983, "Nicaragua has made noteworthy progress in the social sector, which is laying the basis for long-term socio-economic development." Perhaps exactly for this reason (what Oxfam called the "threat of a good example"), the United States declared the state a communist enemy, and John Negroponte helped word a secret executive authorization for supporting the contras against them. So, with substantial US financial and arms support, the contras began terrorizing the Sandinista regime and committing countless atrocities for almost a decade. The Sandinistas used careful documentation of atrocities to make a case with the International Court of Justice, who in 1986 condemned the US support of the contras and called on them to pay reparations to the Nicaraguan people. This made the United States the only state to be condemned of terrorism by the highest bodies of law (the UN Security Council would have passed a similar resolution soon after were it not for the US veto). Instead of this serving as a wake up call, our government escalated its efforts against the Sandinistas, instituting and encouraging a policy of attacking 'soft targets'. The most blatant methods of terror yet used, the soft target policy encouraged attacking schools, hospitals, and farmhouses instead of fighting with the military head on. Through all of this, Negroponte kept his mouth shut. Negroponte's role in Nicaragua was small but instrumental, as recent reports in the mainstream press make clear. But he was also a fervent supporter of Honduran General Alvarez, who he said was committed to "constitutional government". That was in 1983 -- about six months before other Honduran military officials forced Alvarez from his post because of his dictatorial tendencies. Negroponte has already recently served as US ambassador to Iraq, so this is not his first role in the 'war on terrorism'. But this one requires much more responsibility, and a greater ability to look at a situation from many perspectives. How else can you deal with rivalries and differences of opinion between the Pentagon, CIA, FBI, and Homeland Security??Perhaps, I suppose,?by pretending they are not there, like Negroponte did with human rights abuses. To allies and enemies alike, this is simple another signal that the US government is incapable of critical thought concerning its war on terrorism. 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