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- WORLD, Page 51A Scandalous Record
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- When the Reagan Administration's policy of support for El
- Salvador began in the early 1980s, the goal was honorable. It
- was to establish democracy and thereby bring peace to a
- repressive country. Nearly ten years and $4 billion later, there
- is still no peace.
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- The causes of El Salvador's cycle of violence have not gone
- away. By key measurable standards, from per capita income to
- infant mortality, the country is worse off today. Instead of
- helping win the peace, U.S. money has in large part financed an
- unwinnable war. Washington should rethink its relationship with
- a democratically elected government that cannot control fanatic
- right-wing elements in the armed forces.
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- El Salvador's armed forces, nourished by American dollars,
- bear primary responsibility for the country's scandalous human
- rights record. Washington should cut off military aid unless
- travesties like the killing of the six Jesuits are stopped.
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