The title of William M. LeoGrande’s latest book could read otherwise, for it is mostly a study of “Central America in the United States,” of Washington’s formulation and execution of policy towards Central America, and not the other way around. Furthermore, it deals mostly with the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was in the White House, and has little to say about previous or successive administrations. However, since Central Amer-ica only became a paramount issue in U.S. politics under the Reagan Administration, it makes sense for LeoGrande to focus on the 1980s.
The author’s objectives are clear: describe in as much detail as possible the manner in which the last cold war warrior to occupy the White House, together with his coterie of advisors and ideologues, decided to make life miserable for the Sandinistas in Nica-ragua and the FMLN guerrillas in El Salvador. Into the story are mixed the Republican and...
