Challenging the Lie

Ronald Reagan is lying about Nicaragua. Those who have gone to find out the truth for themselves have returned from Nicaragua with a picture very different from the distorted image propagated by this administration. The official falsehood has become a great conspiracy of lies designed to confuse the American public and to provide the rationale for more direct U.S. military intervention in Nicaragua.

If the U.S. invades Nicaragua, thousands of U.S. citizens are promising massive public resistance.

The not-so-secret war being waged by the CIA against the people of Nicaragua has already exacted a heavy toll in lives, resources, and human suffering. The principal tactic of the U.S.-backed contras is terrorism; therefore, the casualties are highest among civilians.

Through Witness for Peace and other initiatives, more and more U.S. church and religious people are becoming directly involved in opposing the Nicaraguan war. Literally thousands of U.S. citizens have been to Nicaragua since its revolution in 1979 and can testify that the Reagan administration's allegations are demonstrably false. Many North American churches are choosing to believe their own missionaries rather than the U.S. State Department about the real situation in Central America.

By its continuing military buildup in the region and its escalating rhetoric at home, the Reagan administration appears to be preparing for military escalation against Nicaragua. Most analysts believe a U.S. invasion is likely to occur after the elections, if Ronald Reagan is re-elected. Some, however, fear it could happen sooner, especially if the president finds himself in electoral trouble this fall.

But while the White House, the CIA, and the Pentagon have been busy making their plans, church and citizen groups across the United States have been making their own plans. This issue of Sojourners announces those contingency plans, which will be carried out in the event of a U.S. invasion of Nicaragua. Our purpose is to prevent such an invasion or to make such a policy so domestically costly that it will have to be abandoned.

The contingency plans are being put in effect now by churches and action groups across the country so that we will be ready to respond to any move by the U.S. government. The people involved hope that the existence of this plan and the serious commitment on the part of thousands of people to carry it out will help to forestall U.S. military action.

Also in this issue, Phillip Berryman provides a point-by-point examination of the Reagan administration's case against Nicaragua. Eva Gold describes the rapidly expanding U.S. military buildup in Honduras. And, in an extensive interview, former CIA analyst David MacMichael shows the fundamental U.S. claim against Nicaragua to be without substance and tells his personal story of what led him out of the CIA and into the quest for peace. He reveals not only the real facts about Nicaragua, but also how truth itself becomes a casualty when power seeks to define and control reality.

A distorted view of reality now threatens to become the justification for a disastrous invasion. To try to stop an invasion will require all the prayer and courage we can give. We ask you to prayerfully consider offering your support and involvement.

Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine.