The Sorrows of Dogma

This article criticizing Chalmers Johnson’s book is inaccurate, misleading and naïve.  The Sandinistas did in fact win an election in November, 1984.  The respected US Latin America Studies Association and the Irish Inter-Party Parliamentary Delegation both were impressed with the fairness of those elections.  On the other hand, the 1990 election that was lost by the Sandinistas was clearly subverted by the United States.  The US had trained and financed a huge terrorist Contra army (initially, largely ex-members of Somoza’s brutal National Guard), and led an international embargo, all designed to cause the destruction of the freely-elected government.  Before the 1990 elections, the US government announced to the Nicaraguan electorate that this interference by the resident superpower would continue unless the Sandinistas lost the election, which more than likely affected the outcome of this otherwise free election.  Perhaps Mr. Williams would be aware of these facts if he were to mix with more “hard leftist” and less with wishy-washy liberals.  Regarding the pipeline issue, why would it be at all surprising that the US had two plans, one contingent on the other’s failure to materialize.

Posted by Wylie York on Oct 21, 2004 at 9:46 PM