Contra Arms Aid Impossible, Bush Says in Defending Bipartisan Deal

President Bush on Friday defended the new bipartisan policy on Nicaragua crafted by his Administration and congressional leaders, saying that the compromise on humanitarian aid for the Contra rebels was necessary because “there was no way, not a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a dime” of military aid approved on Capitol Hill.

“I think anybody that’s familiar with Congress would acknowledge that,” said Bush, for the first time explaining his rationale for the landmark agreement, the first in more than 10 years of bickering between the executive and legislative branches over dealings with the Sandinista government.

But despite acknowledging the political necessity for compromise, Bush denied that the shift was a tacit admission that the Reagan Administration’s reliance on military support for the Contras had failed.

“The Reagan policy brought the Sandinistas to the (bargaining) table,” Bush told about 70 reporters at a White House luncheon. “Had there been no pressure, the Sandinistas would have gone about their merry revolutionary ways, without keeping their commitment . . . for free press, for freedom of worship--democratization, if you will.”

The President’s support for his predecessor’s strategy put him at odds with his secretary of state, James A. Baker III, who in announcing the policy shift last week said, “We all have to admit that the (Reagan) policy basically failed.”

In his remarks, Bush appeared sensitive to criticism of the agreement expressed by conservatives, who have complained that the policy goes too far toward disbanding the Contra rebels.

“I hear some voices out there hitting us,” Bush said in a 30-minute question-and-answer session. “But it’s not bad. The policy has been well received.”

Non-Military Aid

The agreement, hammered out after extended bargaining between the Administration and Congress, called for a 10-month renewal of non-military aid to the Contras and efforts by the Bush Administration to pursue a peaceful political solution to the conflict.

Under the agreement, the Contras will continue to receive an estimated $4.5 million per month as the U.S. government presses for fair elections in Nicaragua next February.