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From: wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Those Crates Again
Message-ID: <1078@pyuxa.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-Nov-84 10:03:15 EST
Article-I.D.: pyuxa.1078
Posted: Mon Nov 26 10:03:15 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Nov-84 04:25:15 EST
Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway N.J.
Lines: 39

Well, Mr. Sevener, you HAVE eaten your own words.  You have hoisted
yourself on your own petard.  The articles in the Times and on NPR
specifically refered to the Sandanistas traveling to EASTERN Europe.
This is NOT Europe in the general sense.  Yes, the Sandinistas stopped
in Prauge.  That is in Eastern Europe.  They then proceded on to
Moscow, to pay homage no doubt.  Both the Times and NPR pointed this
out.  Further, there were newsreels of the event on NBC and CBS.
The Sandinistas did not go shopping in any Western European country.
Oh, perhaps they did stop for refueling or somesuch, got off the plane
and purchased a gee-gaw or nick-nack at the airport, but I doubt if they
tried to buy arms or anything like that while they were on the ground.
In all of the reportage on the trip, it was announced that the specific
reason for the trip was to purchase MIGs.  Now, unless they were lying,
we should assume that this was the pupose of their trip.  Whether or not
they got the MIGs (maybe backordered), we still don't know.  As for the
MIGs that were loaded on the freighter, they were off-loaded in Lybia,
according to several reports over the last week.

You do yourself and others on the net a great disservice by continually
bending the news reports to suit your views.  If you would pay more
attention to the followups on the news, you would see and understand
that there is more to the initial news item than just the headline.
As for the Sandanistas running around like chickens with their heads cut
off, getting ready for an invasion, what is the real reason?  Are they
using this as an excuse to take the peoples thoughts off the growing
internal problems?  Is it an excuse to take a swipe at one of their
neighbors?  They can't point at an invasion force in Honduras any more
as there are only one-fifth as many of our troops in there right now.

I would like to ask a question, Sevener.  Why is it that the Sandanistas
do not say to the world and the US in particular, "Hey, let's sit down
and talk about this.  No pre-conditions, let's just talk about our
differences."  The Contra plan is so full of pre-conditions that it
would take a King Solomon to unravel the strings.  If the Sandanistas
truely wanted to live and let live, they would be glad to make some
type of overture.  Alas, though, I feel they have other plans for
Central America, and they don't look too healthy for the other nations
in the region.  
T. C. Wheeler