A Call to Conscience: The Anti-Contra War Campaign by Roger Peace (review)
Although several books and articles have been written on various aspects of the antiContra campaign of the 1980s, Peace's is the first all-encompassing study. Starting with an overview of U.S.-Nicaragua relations, he lays out in convincing detail evidence that the Reagan administration routinely distorted the truth and broke both U.S. and international law in a fanatical quest to overthrow the Sandinista government. He then moves on to discuss the makeup and methodologies of the multiple organizations that worked to change U.S. policy toward Nicaragua. There were socialist groups in solidarity with the Sandinistas because they saw in them the potential for another Cuban-like state. There were pacifist and liberal organizations that favored negotiations with the Sandinistas over war. There were also groups with religious bases that opposed the Contra war without necessarily supporting the Sandinistas. Although these various organizations had divergent ideologies, they were able to overcome their differences and cooperate because they had two common overriding goals: the termination of U.S. support for the Contras and the prevention of a direct U.S. military invasion of Nicaragua.