The Salvador Option

Russell Crandall

Cambridge University Press, May 23, 2016 - History - 698 pages

El Salvador's civil war between the Salvadoran government and Marxist guerrillas erupted into full force in early 1981 and endured for eleven bloody years. Unwilling to tolerate an advance of Soviet and Cuban-backed communism in its geopolitical backyard, the US provided over six billion dollars in military and economic aid to the Salvadoran government. El Salvador was a deeply controversial issue in American society and divided Congress and the public into left and right. Relying on thousands of archival documents as well as interviews with participants on both sides of the war, The Salvador Option offers a thorough and fair-minded interpretation of the available evidence. If success is defined narrowly, there is little question that the Salvador Option achieved its Cold War strategic objectives of checking communism. Much more difficult, however, is to determine what human price this 'success' entailed - a toll suffered almost entirely by Salvadorans in this brutal civil war.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• part one el salvador in the cold: 13
• Farabundo Martı La Matanza and a Stolen Election: 15
• The United States in Latin America: 25
• American Military Mission in El Salvador: 36
• Military Traditions Democratic Third Way and Liberation Theology: 46
• Guerrillas Are Born: 65
• part two jimmy carter: 77
• Revolution and Counterinsurgency in Guatemala: 79
• Mass Organizations: 90
• Carter Arrives: 102
• Carter and the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua 1979: 114
• An October Coup: 122
• Carter Engages Salvador: 132
• Archbishop Romero: 140
• Land: 149
• The American Churchwomen: 160
• Arming the Rebels: 167
• Guerrilla Final Offensive January 1981: 176
• Death Squads: 183
• part three ronald reagan: 199
• Reagan Arrives: 201
• Reagan and Salvador: 213
• El Mozote: 223
• Another Vietnam: 232
• Solidarity: 239
• Troop Cap and Certifying Human Rights: 251
• Reagan Gambles on Elections 1982 261: 261
• The Shultz Doctrine: 275
• Human Rights: 287
• Henry Kissinger: 300
• Contras: 306
• Elections Yes Dialogue No 1984 Presidential Election: 317
• La Palma: 331
• Esquipulas: 340
• Counterinsurgency I: 346
• Counterinsurgency II: 362
• Zona Rosa 371: 371
• Air: 377
• Jose Napoleon Duarte: 382
• IranContra: 397
• part four george h w bush: 403
• Elusive Justice 405: 405
• Pessimism: 409
• Bush Arrives: 415
• Bush Cristiani and the 1989 Vote: 421
• Guerrilla Second Final Offensive November 1989: 431
• Jesuit Killings: 442
• SAMs: 453
• United Nations and Peace: 461
• Demobilization: 472
• Postwar Salvador: 487
• Concluding Thoughts: 496
• Notes: 507
• Bibliography: 645
• Index: 677

About the author

Russell Crandall is a Professor of American foreign policy at Davidson College. His previous books include America's Dirty Wars: Irregular Warfare from 1776 to the War on Terror (2014), The United States and Latin America after the Cold War (2008), Gunboat Democracy: US Interventions in the Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Panama, and Driven by Drugs: US Policy toward Colombia (2006). Interwoven with his academic career, Crandall has held foreign policy appointments within several sectors of the US government, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, and the National Security Council at the White House. He is also a writer at American Interest magazine, a member of the editorial board at America's Quarterly magazine, and a contributing editor and book reviewer at the journal Survival: Global Policy and Strategy.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Salvador Option
• Author: Russell Crandall
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2016
• ISBN: 1107134595, 9781107134591
• Length: 698 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / 20th Century; Political Science / American Government / General; Political Science / Constitutions