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assure you that I have international terrorism voll ...U.S. war moves 6 SOCIALIST ACTION APRIL 1986 (continued from page 1: “Philippines: How long the honeymoon?”)

also noted that the Democrats, "who either believe in the aid or do not want to be branded as soft on Communism," will most likely approve a modified version of Reagan's request on April 15, the date of the next contra aid vote in the House.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega explained that the defeat of Reagan's request would not bring Nicaragua closer to peace.

Barricada, the official FSLN newspaper, in a pointed criticism of the House Demo -crats, stated, "No one is talking of peace or self-determination." FSLN Commander Omar Cabezas [see interview page 7] went further: "The only thing they are debating in Washington is how and when to destroy us."

Provocation off Libyan coast Understanding that more than lies, sian -ders, and Reagan's direct appeal to the American people would be needed to attempt to shift public opinion in favor of the administration's policy in Nicaragua, the U.S. ruling class decided to up the ante.

Shortly after the contra vote, Reagan announced that three U.S. aircraft carriers and 30 other warships would be conducting "war games" off the coast of Libya, allegedly "to assert the [U.S.] right to move through international waters and air space." By the time the two-day "games" were over, the U.S. Navy claimed it had sunk three Libyan patrol boats and destroyed a Libyan missile base.

White House spokesman Larry Speakes emphatically asserted that the firing by the Libyan government on the U.S. planes was "totally unprovoked." But as a Los Angeles Times article (March 28, 1986) noted, "Knowledgeable officials said [Secretary of State George] Shultz and [National Security Adviser John] Poindexter chose the maneuvers three months ago as a longsought chance to use American military power."

The Los Angeles Times article quotes one official who participated in the planning of the U.S. maneuvers: "We would have been disappointed if Qaddafi had sent nobody up to challenge us....It was a provocation, if you want to use that word."

The day after the contra aid was defeated in the House, a Washington Post/ABC poll revealed that 65 percent of the U.S. public, fearing a drift toward direct U.S. military involvement in Central America, opposed military and economic aid to the contras. After the White House struck the Libyan ships, 67 percent of those surveyed, under the impact of the sensationalist reporting in the press, indicated support of Reagan's attack on Libya.

Clearly, Reagan sought to "bully Libya" (as one Western European diplomat put it) in order to reassert U.S. military power around the world and regain the initiative lost by the contra vote.

Falsification on Honduras

Another falsification aimed at paving the way for greater U.S. intervention against Nicaragua is the claim by the Reagan administration that "Nicaragua invaded ...TWA Unions PLEASE SUPE THA FLIGHT ATTENDANTS Honduras" on March 25, and that "Nicara gua, as aggressor, cannot claim self-de fense" in its war with the contras.

Honduras has been turned into a major U.S. military outpost in the region. The contras, moreover, use Honduran territory as their base of operations to strike at Nicaragua. "The entire border region has become a war zone over which Honduras can no longer claim control," said Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. . The border war did not begin last month. In their attempt to defend themselves against the U.S.-backed contras, the Sandinista forces have been compelled to chase (continued from page 16: “TWA flight attendants: "We are breadwinners'”) gone along with concessions totaling percent. Non-union employees have had 15percent cuts imposed on them.

During the first days of the strike the IAM did honor the IFFA's picket lines, shutting down TWA's maintenance base in the aggressors back to their encampments. Last May, for instance, Nicaraguan troops struck at the main rebel base of Las Vegas, inside Honduras. But unlike the recent border battle with the contras, that attack was given almost no publicity by Amer -ican or Honduran officials.

"What Nicaragua has done is to defend itself against attacks by the counterrevolution, which is based in Honduras," Ortega said. "This is a legitimate right which Nicaragua will continue to exercise.' Right to self-determination The U.S. antiwar movement must oppose U.S. intervention in Central America and support Nicaragua's right to self-determination. The call for a negotiated settlement in the region proposed by the Contadora group of Latin American nations—and supported by the Democratic Party and several antiwar groups—is a violation of Nicaragua's right to self-determination. It is also a trap for oppo -nents of U.S. intervention-to suck them into accepting a U.S. role in Nicaragua.

The Contadora group last October called for the FSLN to put down its arms and negotiate a peaceful settlement with the contras. The call for a dialogue with the contras has always been aimed at getting the Sandinista government to surrender its power to the very same forces that were overthrown by the Nicaraguan Revolution. The FSLN government has rejected this proposal.

Opposition to the U.S. war against Nicaragua runs deep among the American people. Speaking at a press conference on March 12 to urge support for the San Francisco April 19 antiwar demonstration [see page 3], Sister Margaret Cafferty of the Sisters of the Presentation, expressed the views of millions when she said:

airlines have expressed their solidarity with the TWA flight attendants by joining the picketline as individuals. More important, United Airlines Council 57 of ALPA, which represents United pilots in Los Angeles, voted unanimously to condemn the decision by TWA pilots not to honor the IFFA's picket lines.

Flight attendants at United Airlines had refused to cross picket lines set up by "For us, aid to the contras represents a direct assault on the things we thought our nation stood for-principles like human rights, self-determination, and the rule of law."

This antiwar sentiment must be organized into a visible and powerful mass movement in the streets which, like the anti-Vietnam war movement, can stay the hands of the U.S. imperialist warmakers. The potential exists for building such a movement. The time to build this move -ment is right now!—The Editors Kyan ist c on. loe Janine Chagoya (left), director of Nicaragua Interfaith for Action, and Martha Cranshaw, FSLN secretary of Region Il of Nicaragua, at March 26 forum in San Francisco sponsored by Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice.

United pilots during last year's strike. The lessons of that experience, obviously, have not been forgotten by some.

This idea needs to be extended throughout the entire labor movement, beginning with the pilots and machinists at TWA, who owe it not only to the flight attendants but to themselves to join the strike. That is the way to defeat union busters like Carl Icahn-and all concessionary demands.