U.S. Policy in El Salvador
It is hard for the best-intentioned people to be well-informed and sometimes newspapers make it even harder by their selective placement of news items.
On Nov. 15, The Times carried the front-page, headline story that the FMLN has declared a unilateral cease-fire to encourage the peace talks. On Nov. 16, buried on Page A17, is a small story that the Salvadoran army is ignoring the cease-fired and is sending hundreds of troops into rebel-held territories.
Given the United States’ excessive involvement in supporting the regime in El Salvador, this aggressive response by the army, which flies in the face of the FMLN cease-fire, the peace talks and the upcoming funding measure, deserves equal front-page treatment. The armed forces have been waging a heavy bombing campaign for the past several months. This current action is only a continuation of the military’s determination to ignore the peace talks and prosecute their goals.
We must cease all economic assistance that can be used to continue the power of the Salvadoran military and the political forces that are opposed to a just peace.
SUSAN WHITTAKER, Los Angeles
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