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| − | The Contras were a collection of guerilla groups and political parties dubbed "counter-revolutionaries" by the leftist [[Sandinista]] government of [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s. The [[United States of America|United States]] under Presidents [[Jimmy Carter]] <ref> "After the Sandinistas took power, Carter authorized the CIA to provide financial and other support to their opponents." [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html] </ref> | + | The Contras were a collection of freedom fighters and political activists opposed to communism in [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s. They were dubbed "counter-revolutionaries" by the leftist [[Sandinista]] government of [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s. The [[United States of America|United States]] under Presidents [[Jimmy Carter]] <ref> "After the Sandinistas took power, Carter authorized the CIA to provide financial and other support to their opponents." [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html] </ref> |
| | and [[Ronald Reagan]] covertly supported the Contras. | | and [[Ronald Reagan]] covertly supported the Contras. |
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| − | Revelations of this covert funding fueled the [[Iran-Contra_Affair|Iran-Contra affair]]. [[Oliver North]], who was intimately involved with the funding, is currently a senior correspondent at the [[Fox News Channel]]. | + | Revelations of this covert funding fueled the [[Iran-Contra_Affair|Iran-Contra affair]]. [[Oliver North]], who was intimately involved with the funding, is currently a senior correspondent at the [[Fox News Channel]]. No one was ever convicted of violating any law by finding the Contras. Convictions for other aspects of the covert operation were overturned on appeal. |
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| − | Opponents of the Contras portrayed them as even more notorious brutes than the [[Sandinistas]]. According to this portrayal, the Contras "regularly destroyed health centers, schools, agricultural cooperatives, and community centers-symbols of the Sandinistas' social programs in rural areas." [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html]
| + | Communist propaganda portrayed them as even more notorious brutes than the [[Sandinistas]]. According to this portrayal, the Contras "regularly destroyed health centers, schools, agricultural cooperatives, and community centers-symbols of the Sandinistas' social programs in rural areas." [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html] |
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| − | Despite their reputation for brutality, the Contras were called the "Moral Equivalent of our Founding Fathers" by President Reagan.
| + | President [[Ronald Reagan]] honored the Contras by describing them as the "Moral Equivalent of our Founding Fathers." |
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| | See: [[Boland amendment]]. | | See: [[Boland amendment]]. |
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| | *[http://cuban-exile.com/doc_201-225/doc0224.html#Nicaragua Cuba: State Sponsored Terrorism] Nicaragua 1979. | | *[http://cuban-exile.com/doc_201-225/doc0224.html#Nicaragua Cuba: State Sponsored Terrorism] Nicaragua 1979. |
| | *[[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html]] | | *[[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html]] |
| | + | [[category:politics]] |