Honduras/Nicaragua - War Without Winners
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, for asking me to testify this afternoon. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you on a subject that I believe to be a matter...
...After a fine lunch, we went to the "rifle range"' and test fired some of his M-16 and M-60 weapons...
...Director of Area Studies, Center for Development Policy, before the Subcommittee on Inter- American Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S...
...which are supplied to the battalion...
...If the Honduran pilots elude these defenses, they must still escape the SA-7 Grail (once known as Strela) man-portable infra-red homing, light antiaircraft missile...
...It can also fly as slowly as 95 mph, allowing for highly accurate strafing and bombing missions...
...Once a round has been fired, the gun must be elevated, reloaded, and resighted...
...My point is simply that the utility of the Soviet-supplied armor in a ground war in Central America is very limited...
...As I remarked to the Sandinista commandante, "With friends who would supply you T-55s, who needs enemies...
...limited and is counterbalanced by defensive antitank weapons...
...That is when Nicaragua will attack...
...of external ordnance or cargo at a speed of 127 mph...
...They seemed little different from the M-16 and AK-47 weapons I inspected in Nicaragua...
...Rivera y Damas, the acting archbishop of El Salvador, Bishop Wilson of the Moravian Church in Nicaragua (the church of the Miskito Indians of the Atlantic Coast), and evangelical Protestant ministers throughout the region...
...workmanship of the T-55 is sometimes so poor as to require vehicle overhaul even before the tank has been issued to the troops...
...The quantity of SA-6s is unknown but I am told they are in widespread use...
...Military Group commander in El Salvador, Colonel Waghlestein...
...engine overheating caused by poorly machined oil lines has sometimes limited effective engine life to only about 100 hours...
...I doubt that the Hondurans have sophisticated American ECM equipment or that they are likely to get it, and I know they do not have the combat skills of Israeli pilots...
...My information is that the Soviet Union supplied SA-6 Gainful surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile systems to Nicaragua in early 1982...
...is being flown into the area...
...Perhaps the battalion is not meant so much to protect the Miskitos as to confine them...
...At the outset, I wish to make it clear that I do not pretend to be an expert on Central America...
...Since Nicaragua does not really possess an air force and Honduras has a relatively large one, it is only logical that Nicaragua would deploy antiaircraft missiles and guns...
...Marine Corps in 1979 as a Lieutenant Colonel, having become familiar with much of the weaponry discussed in this testimony during his tour of duty in Southeast Asia...
...bombs, and two 2.75 in...
...Over 100 Vietnamese were trained to fly the T-37 in 1968 at the England Air Force Base, Louisiana...
...It seems a terrible price to pay for this Administration's determination to seek a military solution to what are deep-seated social, economic and political problems...
...Additionally the Honduran Army has 17 of the finest, most reliable Armored Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles in the world: the British-made Scorpion...
...Nevertheless, about 40% of Israeli Air Force losses were due to the SA-6...
...Nicaraguan volunteer militia-the revolution's best defense...
...One can only conclude that the Reagan Administration is distorting the facts in order to justify covert operations aimed at overthrowing the Sandinistas and an unprecedented military buildup in Honduras...
...Before I left Nicaragua, I visited many of the "military installations" that U.S...
...Fixed armament, a six- barrelled 7.62 mm Minigun, is installed in the forward fuselage, and the A-37B can also be modified to carry the Sidewinder missile...
...The battalion's presence in Mocor6n provides an excellent means of arming and 910NI~Aepr equipping the counter-revolutionaries...
...Allegedly its mission is to prevent a Nicaraguan incursion into the Miskito Indian camp located in Mocor6n...
...Gustavo Aldolfo Alvarez, commander of the Honduran armed forces (center...
...eS a/0tloas2 5Across the border, in Honduras, the military's capability looks rosier at first blush...
...I have had long conversations with military representatives from all sides of the conflict: the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), with Colonel Majano, the leader of the October 1979 coup in El Salvador, with General Garcia and his chief of staff, Colonel Flores Lima, with several of the Sandinista commandantes, with Honduran officers, and with the U.S...
...four airfields, only one of which is really significant*, a tank park and 49 military garrisons, many of which are so small that the Honduran pilots will have difficulty locating them...
...intelligence-gathering satellites and Honduran reconnaissance aircraft...
...The Honduran Air Force has been almost completely reequipped since the war with El Salvador in 1969 and, while by U.S...
...Such a war could easily spark off a regional conflagration involving all the nations of Central America, and perhaps the U.S...
...Air Force C-130 transport and I felt considerably more secure than in the Sandinistas' Cessna...
...The Sandinistas' two T-33 and three T-28 aircraft are incapable of providing their tanks the essential air cover needed for a successful attack...
...it can carry two- thirds of its own weight in externally mounted bombs and air-munitions...
...the great force required to steer the tank without hydraulic boosting causes driver fatigue and would seriously hamper a small driver under trying combat conditions...
...A C-130 transport aircraft can carry two of them so they could be moved to the Miskito coast in a matter of hours...
...The CIA-DIA briefing called the 57 mm guns anti-tank guns, but I had better remind the Hondurans that these guns have a dual capability of engaging air or ground targets...
...At present, the most volatile areas likely to erupt into full-scale combat are located along the Rio Coco near the Miskito coast and in the mountainous border area of northwest Nicaragua...
...The Pentagon expected Honduras to purchase additional A-37B and T-37B aircraft in FY-82 but purchase/delivery not confirmed at this writing...
...The city of Managua doesn't offer much of a target either...
...4 4Sept/Oct M2 In addition to the logistical problems caused by the terrain, there are numerous other characteristics of the T-55 that make it a less than imposing piece of armor: "* it has a loose "dead track" that is apt to shed during violent turns, rendering the tank immobile...
...But by the middle of December the skies have cleared and provide ideal weather for air operations...
...T-55s are especially dangerous when the gyrostabilizer is turned on and the vehicle is in motion...
...I would suspect that they would be few in number...
...Over this 290-mile route, the tanks would be easily detected by U.S...
...In Vietnam, the Huey was armed with machineguns, Miniguns, grenade launchers, rocket pods...
...They believe Nicaragua's goal is to create a standing army of 25,000 to 30,000 and a ready-reserve militia of between 100,000 and 150,000...
...Some have even been equipped with high-powered aerial broadcast systems for psychological warfare missions...
...And while the Nicaraguans may have a slight advantage in heavy armored vehicles (tanks), this equipment is of limited effectiveness in the region and of inferior quality...
...But there are snags in the scenario...
...Given conditions, the mechanical difficulties of the T-55s, and the fact that they would be under heavy attack by the Honduran Air Force, it is virtually impossible to predict how long it would take...
...This fighter was heavily used in counterinsurgency support for ground operations in Vietnam, turning entire villages into infernos in minutes...
...78 NACLA Raport December...
...Surely you would think they could finish the job on the second day and then take on the secondary targets...
...There is only one route the T-55 could realistically follow: the Pan American Highway...
...How many Honduran pilots will be able to run the gauntlet of SA-6s, 57 mm guns and SA-7s...
...I talked with numerous past and present civilian politicians and many members of the international media...
...Given the history of U.S...
...I spent four weeks during April and May traveling alone through Mexico, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and nearly two weeks in July and August in El Salvador and Honduras as a member of a delegation sponsored by the Commission on United StatesCentral American Relations...
...First, it will find a few, but not many, lucrative military targets: port facilities at Corinto, Puerto Cabezas and Bluefields...
...For example, if Nicaragua employed their "Soviet built T-55 tanks" in an invasion of Honduras, they would have to negotiate rises to over 7,000 feet in the vicinity of the capital, Tegucigalpa, and 9,000 feet in the western part of the country...
...He could then assure ample "resupply" by "nationalizing" U.S...
...In August, U.S.A.F...
...In actuality the Honduran battalion provides a protective screen for the Somocistas and counter-revolutionaries returning from terrorist incursions into the Miskito coast of Nicaragua...
...access to several Honduran air bases...
...required to open a chute...
...Many of the weapons are either ill-suited to the region, outmoded, or in a state of disrepair...
...In addition the Air Force has a menagerie of obsolescent/modern trainers/transport/liaison aircraft...
...But I do have enough military training and knowledge to see that a smoke screen is being laid and a military debacle is in the offing...
...NACLA Report S111 A-37B "Dragonfly" Jet Fighter-Bomber A light attack version of the T-37 trainer, the A-37B is intended for armed counterinsurgency operations from short unimproved airstrips...
...Armchair generals and government officials who are locked in combat for Congress' heart, mind and pocketbook always brief using "uncluttered" maps in which the Soviet Union is pink, the United States is orange, Cuba is brown, etc...
...This system is very similar to that of the American Hawk...
...How much of this is macho braggadocio...
...Due to this and other technical deficiencies, the T-55 has virtually no fire-onthe-move capability...
...I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you on a subject that I believe to be a matter of urgent national priority...
...23 UH-1H and UH-19D utility transport helicopters (combat radius: approximately 125 miles with 14 passengers...
...Perhaps their greatest source of concern is that their nascent democracy, unfolding under the watchful eye of the military, will be snuffed out by the armed forces...
...In the final analysis of Honduran and Nicaraguan tracked vehicles one can only conclude that their capability in offensive combat is I " IN 0' :AdIRRFAN SEA o 100 Wiles 8 NACLA ReportSeptl/Oc 1N2 c 0 E E I American pilot (standing with rifle) aboard C-130 Hercules troop transport takes part in military maneuvers with 1,000 Honduran troops near Nicaraguan border...
...Doubtless, the United States would chide him for such an act, but would not intervene...
...In the course of these travels I met with religious leaders including Mons...
...Most important for my understanding of the military situation in the region were my contacts with Central America's military commanders, their staffs and their troops...
...Perhaps the biggest question in everyone's mind is how much coordination goes on between the battalion and the counter-revolutionaries...
...Aid to Honduras, Washington, D.C., September 21, 1982...
...Anyone can instantly see that Honduras has some of the most rugged topography in the region...
...This brings me back to the question of why all the Honduran military that I talked to predict that the war will start in December...
...The gun ammunition weighs over 50 pounds and is difficult to handle under the best of circumstances...
...Their real usefulness lies in internal crowd control in their major cities...
...To this must be added the 3-5,000 Somocistas and counter-revolutionaries who are operating from Honduran territory...
...If the T-55s could maintain maximum speed (30 MPH) on such roads-and not break down-the trip would require 10 hours...
...But the time when U.S...
...24 T-28 Trojan trainer-bombers, a number of which are armed and available for ground attack missions (combat range: 500 miles/armament: undetermined at this writing...
...I visited the refugee centers in San Salvador, shared the meager fare of the Miskito Indians in their resettlement communities in Nicaragua and spent a night with Salvadoran refugees in their squalid camp at Mesa Grande, in Honduras...
...space in the tank is so cramped that it is impracticable to crew the vehicle with troops taller than 5 foot 5 inches...
...3 RT-33A reconnaissance aircraft...
...I was briefed by some of the leading academics of all these countries, especially political scientists and economists...
...Theoretically, in one day the Honduran Air Force should be able to heavily damage most or all of the primary military targets...
...It is the young bucks who want to continue the fight and need to keep the Miskitos in Mocor6n for cover and recruits...
...Of these two areas, it is the isolated Miskito region that seems to be the focal point of the conflict...
...use "in the event of an emergency...
...C-130s from the Southern Command in Panama flew a battalion of Honduran troops and their equipment into Puerto Lempira (ostensibly as part of an exercise...
...As I understand, the United States is now providing $21 million* to improve airfields and storage facilities at La Mesa, Palmerola and Golos6n airfields in Honduras and airfields in Colombia for U.S...
...I am aware that the Israelis have provided training for Honduran pilots so they must know that suppression of SA-6 batteries proved to be among the most costly air missions of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war...
...the loader's turret cavity is so small that he must remain seated or crouched...
...Maps like that avoid awkward questions about terrain features, lines of communication, weather patterns, timedistance factors, etc...
...Underwing it can carry rockets and 7.62 mm Miniguns for counterinsurgency use, as well as 500 lbs...
...T-55s have a notably shorter service life than Western tanks as they are designed to be expended on the battlefield and replaced with freshly equipped units...
...bombs, 2 Sidewinder missiles...
...military aid strengthens the hands of those who are most likely to terminate democratic government in the country...
...Six months ago I set out to develop the necessary ligatures needed to understand events in Central America...
...Western defense analysts estimate the effective range of a T-55 is less than 100-125 miles before a serious mechanical failure...
...If they do not, they will likely confront a unit of the Honduran Regular Army...
...The Air Force now possesses: * 20 Super Mystere B-2 jet fighter-bombers (approximate combat range: 400 miles/armament: 6,500 lbs...
...Perhaps that is why the Honduran military "expect" a Nicaraguan attack in *Following Senate approval of the full amount, the House of Representatives cut to $13 million the request for $21 million by the White House to finance U.S...
...They seem to think that the U.S...
...bombs...
...Under optimal conditions, including level terrain, it would take 10 hours for the tanks to travel from Managua to Tegucigalpa...
...satellites photographed in Nicaragua and which were the subject of the briefing presented by the Administration last March...
...Thomas P. Anderson, in testimony before this Subcommittee, asserted that highly placed sources within American Green Beret adviser gives paratroop training sessions to Honduran youths as young as 13, carrying weights to bring them up to minimum weight of 110 Ibs...
...But the Hondurans should not be sanguine about this advantage in tracked vehicles...
...While tracking a target, the gun breech and turret can unexpectedly swing about, pinioning or crushing the loader if he does not nimbly dodge it...
...It has two J-85-GE- 17A turbojets, giving more than double the take-off power of the T-37 and permitting almost double the take-off weight...
...SeptIOstl82SNAICLA Renor T-37 "Dragonfly" Primary Trainer First jet-trainer designed as such...
...In fact, the Rio Coco does not recede until late April...
...Diario las Amiricas, October 6, 1982...
...The Israelis relied heavily on American Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) equipment and techniques and developed maneuvers to neutralize the SA-6...
...of Snakeye (retarded) bombs...
...For example, the "military garrison" near Somoto, where I stopped for lunch, was comprised of two small buildings and a onevehicle lean-to maintenance shed...
...But this goal will not be reached in the short term...
...parison the Nicaraguans' T-55s would have to travel over 300 miles of marginal/unpaved roads-half of which are mountain roads...
...Like the A-378, it is a "trainer...
...The projected U.S.-financed arms buildup to Honduras could tip this balance, and would likely elicit a countervailing reaction from Nicaragua...
...The maximum gradient a T-55 can manage is 30 degrees...
...This aircraft was participating in the relocation of a Honduras combat batallion to the sensitive border area next to Nicaragua...
...I would like to make one final comment about the internal situation in Honduras...
...I have talked with numerous exiles from the troubled countries of El Salvador and Nicaragua...
...intervention in Chile, Guatemala and Cuba-not to mention Nicaragua itself-these reports are entirely credible and Mocor6n is a likely element in this strategy...
...Today, however, with your permission I wish to violate the rules of military briefers...
...This terrain is highly unsuited to the use of tanks...
...and Mexico-on opposing sides...
...The mountains are steep, the valleys narrow and deep and cut by rushing, rocky streams...
...Information reaching me is that many of the older people want very much to reach an accord with the Sandinistas and return to Nicaragua...
...the turret is so cramped that the gunner nearly sits in the commander's lap...
...One possible scenario for the outbreak of a conflict between Nicaragua and Honduras is the following...
...military expect to hear these claims...
...These facts were not pointed out by Inman and Hughes during the March 1982 briefing...
...Doubtless the Sandinistas would accompany the T-55s with the 12 "Soviet built BTR-60 Armored Personnel Carriers" which can each carry two crewmen and eight troops...
...According to Newsweek expose, Alvarez reports to U.S...
...If Sandinista troops or militia are in hot pursuit of a counter-revolutionary group that is escaping back into Honduras, they must break off their pursuit at the border...
...Would that the same humanitarian interest was shown for the Salvadoran refugees at Mesa Grande...
...While in Honduras I again flew to the Miskito coast...
...What will the formidable Honduran Air Force find when it attacks Nicaragua...
...Ambassador to Honduras, John Negroponte, as liaison to counter-revolutionaries trying to overthrow Nicaraguan government...
...When asked if significant leftist guerrilla organizations currently operate within their country, most of the Hondurans I talked to-military and civilian-say No...
...How long that happy state will obtain is problematic as this Administration is pressuring Costa Rica to build an army...
...It is designed to provide close air support, armed escort for troop-carrying helicopters and truck convoys, armed reconnaissance and forward air control The wings can carry a variety of ordnance including fire and demolition bombs, guns and rockets, for a total of 5,680 lbs...
...They also possess unknown quantities of Soviet supplied AT-1 and AT-3 anti-tank missiles...
...10 F-86 Sabre Jet fighter-bombers (combat range: 460 miles/armament: four 20 mm cannons, 2,000 lbs...
...They have a maximum vertical range (High Explosive) of about 25,000 feet and an effective vertical range of approximately 12,500 feet...
...I had discussions with local and U.S...
...Turning to ground forces, the CIA-DIA estimate that Nicaragua now has 20,000 regular troops and a militia of 50,000 people...
...House of Representatives on U.S...
...I will discuss this date in more detail in a few moments...
...As it is with the T-55, so it is with many other elements of the Sandinista arsenal...
...The Sandinistas have purchased 7,000 SS-11 (range: 3,000 meters) and SS-12 (range: 6,000 meters) anti-tank missiles from France...
...I will be happy to answer any questions regarding these trips upon completion of my statement...
...The audience conjurs up visions of a vast phalanx of Soviet T-55s rumbling across the plains of Western Europe or the deserts of the Middle East...
...How many of them reach the hands of the Somocistas...
...Information I have coming out of Central America is that a war between these two countries will start in December...
...This system is very similar to that of the American Redeye...
...In fact, my assessment of Nicaraguan military power leads me to believe that the capabilities of the Sandinistas have been deliberately exaggerated by the Reagan Administration during this briefing and on other occasions...
...During my visit to El Salvador in July, I visited a regional commander of the Salvadoran Army and was briefed by him and his staff on the military situation in his zone, Cuscatlin department, scene of many heated military encounters...
...Its range is about five miles...
...It can race along at 72 Km/h, has a 400 Km range and mounts a 67 mm gun and two 7.62 machine guns...
...5 A-37B Dragonfly ground attack bombers (combat range: 400 miles/armament: 7.62 Minigun in forward fuselage and 4,100 lbs...
...they probably would never make it to Tegucigalpa...
...Again, I am not suggesting that these encounters with the Central American military make me a military expert...
...The A-37's two powerful turbojet engines give it exceptional lift...
...Fortunately, this plane did not crash on landing for we were hauling ammunition for the Honduran troops that were occupying the zone...
...It would exact a terrible price from the people of Honduras and Nicaragua, and stain the name of the United States in the eyes of all of Latin America and the world...
...On one 30-mile stretch of road, the tanks would have to climb from about 500 feet to around 5,000 feet...
...It is a misguided policy and if it is not soon reversed the people of this land and the rest of this continent will suffer for decades from its Reprinted from...
...John H. Buchanan, USMC (ret...
...Because," they say, "the rainy season will be over and the Rio Coco will be down...
...Military Capabilities After analyzing the military capabilities of Honduras and Nicaragua, and the limitations that each of them faces, the nature of their conflict and the threat that they pose to each other, I can only conclude that it would be ludicrous for Nicaragua to assault Honduras and equally foolhardy for Honduras to attack Nicaragua...
...I saw little significant difference between a "Soviet-style obstacle course" and the obstacle courses I ran as a young Marine...
...This time the aircraft was a U.S...
...A few weeks later I learned that several of the young Sandinista soldiers I was with were killed in one of the frequent ambushes that the Somocista counterrevolutionaries mount from Honduras...
...My information is that Honduras now has 15,050 regular military personnel (Army: 12,800, Navy: 850 and Air Force: 1,400) and 3,500 police...
...It is no coincidence most of the counterrevolutionary military bands operating in the area are also entrenched in the vicinity of Mocor6n...
...That confrontation would be an act of war...
...This is particularly true of the logistical infrastructure needed to sustain a protracted war...
...And since our ambassadorial family in Honduras has taken a personal humanitarian interest in the Miskito Indians in Mocor6n it seems that ample food, medicine, clothing, etc...
...Optimally, General Alvarez should wait until the United States has "pre-positioned" air munitions and fuel at these airfields before he orders a surprise air attack against Nicaragua...
...John Buchanan is a member of the Center's Commission on U.S.-Central American Relations...
...Thus the Sandinistas would have only 96 troops to ward off Honduran ground forces...
...air munitions and fuel are stored in Honduras is hopefully some time off and General Alvarez seems to be under personal pressure-from some of the Honduran military and the U.S...
...Significant divisions exist within the Honduran military regarding the conflict in Nicaragua, involvement in El Salvador's civil war and the future of democratic rule...
...The funds will be used for a "contingency" air base in Comayagua, Honduras...
...2seaidclgg2 busy ones for me...
...This is the sort of map that men engaged in mortal combat use-not the sort used in budget battles...
...The Honduran Air Force will also encounter the Nicaraguan air defense system...
...The briefers include stimulating statistics like 25 "Soviet built T-55 tanks," or 12 to 16 "Cuban supplied MIGs" and then let people's imaginations run wild...
...The Honduran battalion is now headquartered in Mocor6n, about 15 miles north of the Nicaraguan border...
...citizen who became so appalled by this Administration's militarization of Central America's economic and social crisis that I felt compelled to examine thoroughly the military situation in the region to find out what is really happening there...
...grave consequences...
...I flew with the Sandinista Air Force in one of their two or three Cessna 180s to a small jungle airstrip on the Miskito coast...
...I brought with me a detailed map of the region...
...I do not possess the expertise, resources and intelligence gathering capabilities of General Alexander M. Haig, or hLlOll082 3NACLA Report General Wallace H. Nutting or General Vernon A. Walters...
...This is evident in the statement by Colonel Leonidas Torres Arias on August 31 in Mexico City in which he condemned the intent of Gen...
...I cannot be sure right now...
...I accompanied a Sandinista combat patrol right along the border with Honduras in northwest Nicaragua near Somoto...
...More specifically, I am here to oppose the present Administration's creation of a military crisis between Honduras and its neighbor, Nicaragua, and its sponsorship of a military buildup in Honduras, a move which will only encourage increased repression in that country...
...We later flew that aircraft back to Managua at night...
...rocket pods...
...There is only one oil refinery -highly vulnerable to attack-and two largecapacity fuel storage tanks, one of which was cracked in the 1972 earthquake...
...And I walked confidently among the free, exuberant citizens of Costa Rica...
...the average rate of fire is only four rounds per minute...
...of ordnance...
...one oil refinery near Managua...
...According to Undersecretary of State for Defense Francis West, the bases in Honduras will be used for the planes of aircraft carriers assigned to the Caribbean...
...At half that speed it would take 20 hours, etc...
...a: .L the State Department had confirmed the existence of direct U.S...
...Typical load is two 50 caliber machine uns, two 750 lb...
...Super Skymaster O-2A A twin-engined aircraft electronically equipped for forward air controller missioins, including visual reconnaissance, target identification and marking, ground-to-air coordination and damage assessment, as well as attack bomber and counterinsurgency aircraft...
...a couple of oil tanks at Corinto...
...So why do Honduran military officers think the war will start in December...
...The UH-1H can carry up to 14 combat troops and 5,000 lbs...
...the interior of the T-55 is so small that the gun cannot be reloaded unless it is fully elevated...
...Many are also leery of the Sandinista experiment that is transpiring across the border...
...When I drove those twisting Honduran roads, some of them seemed at least that steep...
...Seating crew of two in tandem, it has dual controls and blind-flying instrumentation, allowing combat-qualified mercenary pilots to be physically in control during combat while a student pilot remains in legal "command...
...Before I address what I believe are the factual military capabilities and limitations of Nicaragua I want to direct your attention to a couple of military briefing techniques...
...businessmen in Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador, including the National Private Enterprise Association (ANEP) and the Chamber of Commerce in El Salvador...
...the bulky D-107 gun takes up a large portion of the turret space and further congestion is caused by a ready rack of ammunition storage along the rear wall...
...Its two engines, one in the nose and one behind the front fuselage compartment, give it exceptional lift and speed...
...Once these rounds are expended, the loader must perform acrobatics in order to acquire ammunition from the racks at his feet...
...air munitions and fuel...
...turret space is so limited that only three rounds can be carried in the turret...
...The knowledge and insights I gained through these experiences have been crucial to my understanding of the turmoil that the Central American isthmus is now enduring...
...American officials said the Coontz was on a "routine patrol...
...the T-55 has no air conditioning system, a definite drawback in the tropics...
...By comUSS Coontz, a guided missile destroyer, was detected off Nicaraguan coast in April, its DDG-40 rockets pointed at Corn Island...
...after the 1972 earthquake most of Managua already resembles a bombed-out city...
...The Border Conflict The analysis outlined above indicates a situation in which the armed forces of the two nations have different areas of strength and weakness but the overall effect is a balance of force in the realm of more sophisticated armaments...
...It is not in our interests as a nation...
...How much of this material reaches the counter-revolutionaries...
...The request for funds for the second base in Honduras was postponed...
...Incidentally, throughout this testimony I will not identify my sources of "information...
...this cramping is made worse because the T-55 is filled on the inside with small fittings and brackets that regularly inflict the crew with cuts and bruises...
...Yet these two countries seem to be headed for a war, one which this Administration is encouraging...
...standards its equipment is modest, it has become the most formidable air power in Central America relative to its neighbors...
...Who, in that forsaken region, can keep an accurate account and control of weapons, ammunition, radios, etc...
...these include Guillermo Ungo, H6ctor Dada, Col...
...A good example of this is the CIA-DIA briefing on "Evidence of Military Buildup in Nicaragua" presented 9 March 1982...
...Speaking generally, I am here to criticize the present Administration's policy toward Central America...
...Not only does the T-55 loader have to maneuver these heavy rounds in a very cramped space, he must ram them home with his left hand...
...The Gainful's maximum range at high-altitude is possibly 32 miles, at low altitude probably 16 miles...
...Its maximum altitude is about 53,000 feet...
...And just how much is the United States involved...
...The Sandinistas flew in a new propeller, and my young pilot used a screw driver and a hammer to straighten out the dents in the wings and tail of the aircraft...
...for obvious reasons their names cannot be revealed...
...These months have been Gen...
...In addition, a Sandinista armored thrust would face intense attack from the Honduran Air Force...
...covert intervention against the Sandinista government...
...At this point it is impossible to answer these questions definitively...
...Alvarez and other hardliners to lead Honduras into a war with Nicaragua...
...transmissions in the T-55 have never been a strong point and the clutch accounts for 40 % of the mechanical breakdowns alone...
...In a daze, I have stumbled through the remains of the victims of Salvadoran death squads...
...I would categorize myself as a concerned U.S...
...Do they orchestrate operations, share communications, etc...
...Majano and Leonel G6mez of El Salvador and Heraldo Montealegre of Nicaragua...
...UH-1H (Huey) "Iroquois" Utility Transport Helicopter In service in over 50 countries, and used in greater numbers than any other aircraft flying today...
...General Alvarez is now arguing that his Air Force must receive 12 Northrop F-5 E/F fighters to meet its security obligations...
...government-to engage in a war with Nicaragua in the near future...
...internal fuel and oil supplies are supplemented by 4 light steel tanks (panniers) on the right running board of the tank and in two drums at the rear of the hull which are highly vulnerable to attack...
...He retired from the U.S...
...In both cases, poor nations are being forced to divert scarce resources from social and economic development into costly and increasingly lethal military hardware...
...Clearly, however, many Hondurans fear that the political violence which characterizes El Salvador and Guatemala will spread to Honduras...
...Such a war would truly be a "war without winners...
...Who will finance the $120-million price tag is a question that willSapI0 tlU92 soon be put to you Congressmen...
...While the Honduran Air Force is markedly superior to Nicaragua's, the Nicaraguan air defenses offset this advantage...
...Inside the SA-6 envelope the Honduran pilots will run into anti-aircraft gunfire...
...They never interrupt these reveries with details about the capabilities and limitations of the equipment, the terrain, etc...
...general capacity-unconfirmed...
...On landing, the plane veered off the runway and crashed into the trees...
...prepared statement of Lt...
Vol. 16 • September 1982 • No. 5
