All Disquiet on the Southern Front

The U.S. hardens its line on El Salvador, and confusion results

Just about the time John Paul II was preparing to leave for Central America, the Reagan Administration suddenly, and perhaps deliberately, began sounding alarm bells about El Salvador. Amid reports that leftist rebels were regaining the initiative in their struggle to topple the government, Ronald Reagan announced that he wanted $60 million in emergency military aid to El Salvador. The President was also considering an increase in the number of U.S. military advisers in the country, now informally set at a maximum of 55, together with an expansion of...