Noam Chomsky - Turning the Tide U.S. intervention in

The Fifth Freedom
5. The Crimes of Nicaragua
Classics in Politics: Turning the Tide Noam Chomsky
117
n the same grounds, we can explain the reaction of US elites to
the Sandinista revolution. The mood in Washington is conveyed
by Representative William Alexander, who describes “the lust
members [of Congress] feel to strike out against Communism.” 68 It is, in
fact, notable that even congressional and media critics of the war
against Nicaragua feel obliged, with only the rarest of exceptions, to
make clear that they have nothing good to say about the Sandinistas;
their position, rather, is that US interests do not require such an attack,
or that its means are inappropriate. “Only the bravest will say a word for
the Sandinistas or question the president’s premise that he has a perfect
right to practice unlimited ‘behavior modification’ in a small, peasant
nation,” Mary McGrory writes. 69
What is the reason for this “lust,” this mood reminiscent of
Khomeinist frenzy (but more extreme, since Iranians had sound
historical reasons for hatred of their “Great Satan”)? The official claims
can hardly be taken seriously; even if all minimally credible charges are
accepted, the Sandinista record compares favorably with that of US
clients in the region today, and in the past, and elsewhere, to put it
rather mildly. 70 O
The conclusions that follow from comparisons within the
region are too obvious for discussion among sane people, so let us
consider the state that is by far the major recipient of US aid, asking
how it would fare under the charges brought against the Sandinistas. If
the charges cannot withstand this test, then the level of hypocrisy is
profound indeed.
US propaganda regularly denounces the failure of the Sandinistas to
meet their alleged “obligations” to the Organization of American States