Not since the Vietnam War had the United States been so dramatically divided over a foreign policy as it was over Central America. As a matter of fact, in the 1980s, Americans were extremely uncertain about its world role, especially about its involvement in Central America. “The Reagan Administration's strenuous efforts to combat leftist rebels in El Salvador and a leftist Government in Nicaragua provoked sharp splits not just within the policy elite but among the public as well” (Carothers). For the entire 1980s, Washington was involved in endless debates over whether the numerous leftist rebellions in Central America were Soviet provocations or just local acts of resistance, whether the country’s support for the Nicaraguan contras and the Salvadorian military was morally right, and whether the American goal of democracy was real.
William M. LeoGrande, one of the professors of government at American University, discusses this complicated topic in “Our Own Backyard.” The author insists that various debates over the policy in Central America emerged as a result of the Vietnam War because people were afraid of seeing the Soviet government in the third world countries. Nevertheless, U.S. involvement in the issues of Central America deepened a tension in that region because Central Americans desired to control their own destinies. However, LeoGrande writes, “Central America was not intrinsically important. Its significance derived from its place in a global context; it was a theater in the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union” (LeoGrande). Reagan was a successful film actor and approached politics as if it were a theater as well. On the other hand, the American people doubted whether the Soviet government would bring an aggressive power to those countries, the United States was no longer willing to bear a burden in further struggles against Communism.
Works cited
CAROTHERS, THOMAS. "Dithering in Central America." Www.nytimes.com. N.p., 1998. Web. 20 Aug. 2016.
LEOGRANDE, WILLIAM M. "Our Own Backyard The United States in Central America, 1977-1992." Www.nytimes.com. N.p., 1998. Web. 21 Aug. 2016.
