ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the crisis in Central America began to unfold, US policymakers were unable to abandon an imperial preoccupation with the stability of existing structures of power in the area. The most significant development was the impending defeat of US-backed forces in Southeast Asia; such defeat solidified a growing conviction among the American public that future overt interventions had to be rigorously avoided. The developments just mentioned gave birth to a new dimension in US foreign policy, the theme of "human rights." The chapter reviews the record of American policy toward Nicaragua from the emergence of the revolutionary crisis up until the fall of Somoza. The Somoza dynasty rested upon two pillars of support: the National Guard, transformed by patronage into a personalistic instrument of political repression, and the backing of the United States, ensured by the Somozas' anti-communism and their ability to maintain order.
