The U.S. and El Salvador Death Squads

Paper Summary:

The paper reveals that there is a large body of documentation and evidence to support the view that the United States supported the death squads in countries like El Salvador during the Cold War period in order to bolster what they saw to be a threat to the democratic growth of the country. The paper examines the view that the government and military of the United States not only aided the death squads through policy and advice, but also through training and financial support. The paper then briefly considers the ethical and moral issues this evidence raises.

Outline:
Introduction
Brief Background Overview
Evidence of Complicity
Counter Views
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The involvement of the government and military of the United States in the formation, training and even implementation of so called 'death - squads ' in El Salvador is a subject that has been a much debated issue in recent years. The release of information and documentation that tends to confirm US complicity in these death squads has also added fuel to conjecture and assumptions about such involvement.
"For example, while some of the views are still in the realms of conjecture, there is a growing body of evidence concerning military involvement from the United States that certainly indicates US policy as a form of complicity in these politically motivated deaths."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Allan Nairn. BEHIND THE DEATH SQUADS:An exclusive report on the U.S. role in El Salvador's official terror. From: Nairn, Allan. "Behind The Death Squads." The Progressive May 1984: 20-28. http://www.votb.org/newsanalysis/behind_the_death_squads.html (accessed September 20, 2008)
• Blachman, Morris J., and Kenneth E. Sharpe. "Central American Traps: Challenging the Reagan Agenda." World Policy Journal 5, no. 1 (1987): 1-28.
• Buckley, William F. "Death Squads & U.S. Policy." National Review, February 24, 1984, 62+.
• Clark, Gregory R. Words of the Vietnam War The Slang, Jargon, Abbreviations, Acronyms, Nomenclature, Nicknames, Pseudonyms, Slogans, Specs, Euphemisms, Double-Talk, Chants, and Names and Places of the Era of United States Involvement in Vietnam. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1990.
• Gutierrez, Donald K. "Review of Gareau, State Terrorism and the United States." Social Justice 33, no. 1 (2006): 138+.

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