AA CCAALLLL TTOO CCOONNSSCCIIEENNCCEE THE ANTI–CONTRA WAR CAMPAIGN RROOGGEERR PPEEAACCEE “This page intentionally left blank” A Call to Conscience a volume in the series Culture, Politics, and the Cold War Edited by Christian Appy other titles in the series James T. Fisher, Dr. America: The Lives of Thomas A. Dooley, 1927–1961 Daniel Horowitz, Betty Friedan and the Making of “The Feminine Mystique”: The American Left, the Cold War, and Modern Feminism Tom Engelhardt, The End of Victory Culture: Cold War America and the Disillusioning of a Generation Christian G. Appy, ed., Cold War Constructions: The Political Culture of United States Imperialism, 1945–1966 H. Bruce Franklin, Vietnam and Other American Fantasies Robert D. Dean, Imperial Brotherhood: Gender and the Making of Cold War Foreign Policy Lee Bernstein, The Greatest Menace: Organized Crime in Cold War America David C. Engerman, Nils Gilman, Mark H. Haefele, and Michael E. Latham, eds., Staging Growth: Modernization, Development, and the Global Cold War Jonathan Nashel, Edward Lansdale’s Cold War James Peck, Washington’s China: The National Security World, the Cold War, and the Origins of Globalism Edwin A. Martini, Invisible Enemies: The American War on Vietnam, 1975–2000 Tony Shaw, Hollywood’s Cold War Maureen Ryan, The Other Side of Grief: The Home Front and the Aftermath in American Narratives of the Vietnam War David Hunt, Vietnam’s Southern Revolution: From Peasant Insurrection to Total War Patrick Hagopian, The Vietnam War in American Memory: Veterans, Memorials, and the Politics of Healing Jeremy Kuzmarov, The Myth of the Addicted Army: Vietnam and the Modern War on Drugs Robert Surbrug Jr., Beyond Vietnam: The Politics of Protest in Massachusetts, 1974–1990 Larry Grubbs, Secular Missionaries: Americans and African Development in the 1960s Robert A. Jacobs, The Dragon’s Tail: Americans Face the Atomic Age Andrew J. Falk, Upstaging the Cold War: American Dissent and Cultural Diplomacy, 1940–1960 Jerry Lembcke, Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, and Fantasies of Betrayal Anna G. Creadick, Perfectly Average: The Pursuit of Normality in Postwar America Kathleen Donohue, ed., Liberty and Justice for All? Rethinking Politics in Cold War America Jeremy Kuzmarov, Modernizing Repression: Police Training and Nation Building in the American Century A Call to Conscience The Anti–Contra War Campaign Roger Peace University of Massachusetts Press Amherst and Boston Copyright (cid:185) 2012 by University of Massachusetts Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America LC 2012007997 ISBN 978-1-55849-932-4 (paper) ISBN 978-1-55849-931-7 (library cloth) Designed by Sally Nichols Set in Arno Pro Printed and bound by Thomson-Shore, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Peace, Roger C. (Roger Craft), 1952– A call to conscience : the anti/Contra War campaign / Roger Peace. p. cm. — (Culture, politics, and the cold war) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55849-932-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-55849-931-7 (library cloth : alk. paper) 1. Peace movements—United States—History—20th century. 2. Nicaragua—Politics and government—1979–1990. 3. Contra Program (Central Intelligence Agency) 4. Solidarity—United States—History—20th century. 5. Solidarity—Nicaragua—History—20th century. 6. United States—Politics and government—1945–1989. 7. Christianity and politics—United States— History—20th century. 8. Americans—Nicaragua—History—20th century. 9. Nicaragua— Relations—United States. 10. United States—Relations—Nicaragua. I. Title. II. Title: Anti/ Contra War campaign. JZ5584.U6P46 2012 327.730728509′04–dc23 2012007997 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data are available In memory of Fr. Álvaro Argüello (1933–2010), an exemplary educator who used his intellectual gifts in service to humanity “This page intentionally left blank” Contents Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 1. U.S.-Nicaragua Relations, the Sandinista Revolution, and the Contra War 7 2. An Overview of the Contra War Debate 29 3. Origins of the Anti–Contra War Campaign 53 4. Expansion of the Anti–Contra War Campaign, 1983–84 81 5. Organizational Dynamics of a Decentralized Campaign 114 6. The Politics of Transnational Solidarity 145 7. Meeting the Political Challenge, 1985–86 177 8. Sustaining the Anti–Contra War Campaign, 1987–90 208 Conclusion 245 Notes 247 List of Personal Interviews and Communications 289 Index 293 [ vii ] “This page intentionally left blank”