Nicaraguans Will Decide

[bemildred]

Robert Novak's "Losing Nicaragua, Again" correctly criticized the U.S. policy toward Nicaragua, but it did so for all the wrong reasons. Mr. Novak failed to mention that José Rizo, the candidate Oliver North endorsed, represents a political party that has a power-sharing pact with Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas. While Mr. Novak warned of a return of the Sandinistas, the reality is that Mr. Rizo and Mr. Ortega are two sides of the same coin.

But whether or not the United States has supported the "right" candidate is beside the point. Mr. Novak's attitude toward tomorrow's elections parallels that of decades of U.S. foreign policy in the region: namely, that Nicaragua is ours to lose (or win).

At no point did Mr. Novak mention that the Nicaraguan people will decide who their next president will be or that they should have the freedom to do so without outside interference.

WaPo