The Foreign Service Journal, April 2013

the Foreign Service journal | april 2013 43 But as was often the case in Central America during the 1980s, Washington’s plans did not work out quite as antici- pated. Though the press conference came off without a hitch, and the New York Times and other news outlets reported on it, Means’ denunciation failed to generate the hoped-for media buzz. Instead, it was drowned out by the revelations of what soon became known as the Iran-Contra affair. That debacle would prove the undoing of the U.S. ambassador and station chief in Costa Rica, as well as several officials back in Washington, D.C. Their ranks included Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and CIA Director William Casey, who were both indicted for their roles in the plot. The Persistence of Folly President Ronald Reagan survived the scandal and the inimitable Russell Means went on to other pursuits, in Hol- lywood and elsewhere. And a certain young diplomat went on with his Foreign Service career for a few more years. The death of Russell Means last October prompted me to reassess all the pieces of a puzzle I observed so many years ago in San José, but was unable to put together at the time. The events called to mind the hubris of men in power who believe that wars can be shaped and controlled to serve their interests with scant regard for unintended consequences. If we learned anything from that tumultuous period, it should be that no one has a monopoly on truth or virtue, and that war ought to be pursued only as a last resort. As he railed against the Sandinistas after his ordeal in Nicaragua, Russell Means’ heart was in the right place and his message to the world was sincere and well-intentioned. One might even say the same for some in the U.S. government. But even that was not enough to make a difference in a war which—like all wars—had its own perverse, unpredictable logic and, ultimately, showed “wise” men to be fools. n If we learned anything from that tumultuous period, it should be that no one has a monopoly on truth or virtue, and that war ought to be pursued only as a last resort.