‘Let’s Deal on Nicaragua’

I read with a sense of elation and hope the article (Editorial Pages, April 6), “Let’s Deal on Nicaragua,” by Sen. Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska). Murkowski’s plan to get the Soviet Union and the United States out of Nicaragua is certainly a step in the right direction. I have less faith than he does in the likelihood of the contras eventual triumph if left alone; but, as he says, “this is the Nicaraguans’ business.”

The points in the article that made me want to stand up and cheer were his call for a clear objective for our policy in Latin America, a consensus as opposed to narrow votes and presidential vetoes, and his call to remove Nicaragua (and future revolutionary governments) from the East-West power balance.

I would add that, as a part of the consensus, our government must be honest with us and the world about what our policy is and what actions are to be taken in pursuit of it.

Murkowski says the Soviets poured $570 million in military aid into this civil war last year. He does not mention how much the United States has poured into Honduras in addition to what has gone to the contras nor how many of our military personnel are involved.

The Reagan Administration’s disregard for the truth and contempt for public opinion as well as for decisions reached by our lawmaking bodies are more frightening to me than the military presence of the Soviets in Central America.

Murkowski says his Senate resolution would “carry a message . . . to the world that we will stay out of local Third World conflicts provided the Soviets keep their military out.” If this is to be successful, of course, we must really stay out--we can’t say we are staying out while the CIA is there acting in opposition to our stated policy.

I sincerely hope Murkowski’s resolution will receive bipartisan support. It could be the beginning of a new era in U.S. foreign policy, an era in which we might become global peacemakers instead of global arms merchants.

IRMADEAN L. ROBERTS

San Diego