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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JULY 29, 1983
PAGE 8
no Satan around to deceive them during the Great White Throne
Judgment. Thank you so much for taking a heavy load off my mind.
G.F. (Mansfield, OH)
Thank you for your booklet WHY WERE YOU BORN? I found out that
today's religious teachings are far from what Jesus was teaching
in His time. I am glad I sent for your booklet.
G.K. (Dalton, PA)
--Richard Rice, Mail Processing Center
ON THE WORLD SCENE
CENTRAL AMERICA: DIRECT U.S. MILITARY INVOLVEMENT BEGINS;
THE PRESIDENT CONFRONTS A FEARFUL CONGRESS AND A DISBELIEVING PRESS
Ominous developments, with far-reaching implications, are now underway in
strife-torn Central America. President Reagan has suddenly embarked on a
strong show of U.S. military force in the region in order, he says, "to
provide a shield for democracy." Soon, two aircraft carrier battle groups
along with the battleship New Jersey will be positioned in international
waters just offshore the Pacific and Caribbean coastlines.of the embattled
region. Approximately 4,000 U.S. troops will undergo extended six-month
maneuvers in Honduras.
The President, heeding the advice of his National Security adviser, William
Clark, his U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, and CIA Director William
Casey, is clearly sending a message to both Havana and Moscow: Further med
dling in the region, especially the support of Communist-backed guerrillas
in El Salvador, supplied through Marxist Nicaragua, can no longer be
tolerated. (It was a recent step-up in arms supplies from the Soviet Union
and other East Bloc countries that prompted the show of force.)
Mr. Reagan defended his plans in a televised press conference on July 26.
As usual, the press was overwhelmingly skeptical. Unfortunately, because
of a fearful Congress and a disbelieving press, the President is forced to
describe his military buildup in terms other than it really is. After all,
"military maneuvers" involving up to 4,000 troops lasting six months,
rather than the usual week to two weeks, are highly unusual.
The President's dilemma in resorting to classic "gunboat diplomacy" was
briefly explained by one reporter: How can Mr. Reagan scare the Sandinis
tas without scaring the American public?
(Although polls indicate the
public is more confused than scared, it's the press and the Congress that is
running scared.) Even some top officials in the Pentagon express some con
cern over the effectiveness of the big show of force. Said one: "You don't
scare Salvadoran guerrillas in the jungles with aircraft carriers over the
horizon."
(They will generally be positioned about 150 miles offshore.)
Other military officials are worried that the public will be more disap
pointed than ever if the carrier task forces are withdrawn, as planned,
some five months from now, not having affected the war on the ground.
And what, indeed, is the real task of the task forces, anyway? Mere saber
rattling? It appears so. All indications are that they have no orders at
present to intercept foreign (meaning Soviet Bloc) ships headed for the
area, even those suspected of carrying weapons for the Sandinistas and
their Marxist allies.