Mark danner subtitles his chilling account of the massacre of hundreds of men, women and children by the salvadoran armys americantrained atlacatl battalion in december 1981 a parable of the cold war. Danner proceeds to not only bring these events to light, but. To a degree it is, in the sense that the ideological fervor of the early 1980s provided a rationale for the tangled web of halftruths, obfuscations and moral spinelessness that still clings. The salvadorian civil war is a fascinating part of south american history. In december 1981 soldiers of the salvadoran armys selec. The reagan administration, determined to preserve u.
Good overview of military, death squad, and guerrilla violence in early 1980shandbook of latin american studies, v epub. When mark danners reconstruction of these events first appeared. To his credit, his narrative doesnt flinch or turn away. In the midst of a civil war and at the approaching peak of american military funding, government forces waged a war on insurgent forces, lead by the renowned colonel monterrosa. Based on ten field trips to northern morazan between 1991 and 2012, as well as an exhaustive study of the. Mark david danner born november 10, 1958 is an american writer, journalist, and educator. When mark danner s reconstruction of these events first appeared in the new yorker, it sent shock waves through the news media and the american foreignpolicy establishment. December 10 edit on the afternoon of december 10, 1981, units of the salvadoran armys atlacatl battalion, which was created in 1980 at the u. When crimes are allowed to go unpunished, everyone is at risk and human rights are in crisis. Page 8 of 12 bonner and meiselas, and guillermoprieto, describe the trip in the same way. He gives multiple points of views and cites numerous eye witnesses to try and piece together something that has been tucked away by the government at the time.
A parable of the cold war, which was published in 1994. The book comes highly acclaimed from sources such as the washington post and new york times. To a degree it is, in the sense that the ideological fervor of the early 1980s provided a rationale for the tangled web of halftruths, obfuscations and moral. A parable of the cold war published by vintage books, a division of random house. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. And this was a case where the first american trained battalion was sent out over christmas time in 1981 into rebel controlled territory and it swept through this territory and killed.
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