More on Reagan's Legacy

For anyone feeling a little misty-eyed about the demise of the Gipper: check out this Guardian article. Young women in Guatemala are being brutally assaulted and murdered at a feverish rate. The murders and assaults are attributed at least in part to the legacy of war, which has desensitized some to the point where they'll engage in such horrific acts, while at the same time it induces a fear on the part of the victims' families to report such crimes.

By viewing Central America as a cold war sideshow, Reagan contributed to the emergence of conditions seen throughout the region. The wars themselves were bad enough. Now Central America is once again off the radar screen (back to "the backyard," I guess). Desperate poverty is the norm for the majority of people. Combine this with an ease and availibility of weapons, and it's not surprising that crime is an enormous problem. El Salvador, in particular, has seen a large rise in gang related violence--Salvadoran gangs operate in Los Angeles, and arrestees are often deported.

By the way: John Negroponte, soon to be Super-Ambassador in Iraq, was plain old Ambassador to Honduras during the more murderous years (1981-1985). Honduras became the Thailand of Central America at the time--essentially an non-mobile aircraft carrier. Contra and US troops used it as staging point for raids into Nicaragua--and as safe haven following said raids.

Not that I'm much of a god-worshipper, but if there is a heaven, I hope that those standing in judgement of Reagan include the seven nuns killed by the army he funded in El Salvador--and, to round out the jury, it'd be nice if the young women noted in the article above were added to the list.