Shultz Speech on Nicaragua

It’s time for America to make up and make friends with Cuba and Nicaragua, and to reject the Reagan-Shultz doctrine of intervention and interference--a doctrine painfully reminiscent of the Brezhnev doctrine for Eastern Europe.

According to this doctrine, the Soviet Union has the right to intervene and interfere in the domestic affairs of its neighbors if they threaten the security of the entire Communist “commonwealth.”

The Reagan-Shultz doctrine wants to do the same for Central America, which it has declared to be our “commonwealth;” and that gives us the right to intervene and interfere in the domestic affairs of our neighbors.

Now what kind of “good neighbors” does the Soviet Union have in Eastern Europe? They may be docile but hardly dependable. In case of war, which one of them could the Soviet Union really rely on as a true ally? Poland? Czechoslovakia? Hungary? Romania?

Is that what we want for ourselves in this part of the world? A Cuba, Nicaragua, maybe Mexico--all hating us, none wishing us well?

When we can live in peace with the two Communist giants, China and Russia, should it be impossible for us to cultivate and maintain civilized relations with our small, Communist neighbors? Could they be a greater threat to our security and tranquility than two of the most powerful nations on earth, who could destroy us?

AKE SANDLER

Los Angeles