cover image The Guerrilla Wars of Central America: Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala

The Guerrilla Wars of Central America: Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala

Saul Landau. St. Martin's Press, $35 (222pp) ISBN 978-0-312-10373-6

Landau, author of Dangerous Doctrine and a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., here condemns the United States intervention in three Central American countries, with the focus on events during the last two decades. His tendency to view the complex political-military situation in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala in good guy/bad guy terms, his simplistic characterization of imperial hubris (``U.S. policy was genocide, called by other names and justified as anti-communist war strategy'') and his romantic view of the guerrillas will dismay readers seeking an objective evaluation. And Landau's sweeping judgments of ``the Foggy Bottom crowd,'' ``Ivy Leaguers in policy posts'' and ``John Wayne types in Special Forces uniforms'' are tired. (Jan.)