On the afternoon of december 10, 1981, units of the salvadoran armys atlacatl battalion, which was created in 1980 at the u. Additionally, he holds the delicate balance of mark danner. 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. Danner proceeds to not only bring these events to light, but. In december 1981 soldiers of the salvadoran armys select, americantrained atlacatl battalion entered the. Central america, the us and clintons trade initiative cnn 1993. 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. I cant find any reference to this fact in this article. Her testimony of the attacks, reported shortly afterward by two american reporters but called into question by the u. 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. Reportage resists easy definition and comes in many forms travel essay, narrative history, autobiography but at its finest it reveals hidden truths about people. A parable of the cold war, which was published in 1994. A parable of the cold war is a remarkable piece of longform journalism.
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. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. To his credit, his narrative doesnt flinch or turn away. The book comes highly acclaimed from sources such as the washington post and new york times. He is a professor at the university of californiaberkeley. 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. In all, the truth commission received 22,000 complaints of human rights abuses during the war. However, we do require that you cite it properly using the citation provided below in mla format ultius, inc. That article, an investigation into the notorious massacre in a remote salvadoran town, was granted an overseas press club award and a latin american studies association award. School of the americastrained salvadoran army unit known as the atlacatl battalion. Soon after the massacre, the reagan administration certified the salvadorean government as one worthy of receiving tens of millions of dollars in aid due to their commitment to human rights.
While the massacre itself is painted in steady, measured prose, theres no moralizing. This blog post is provided free of charge and we encourage you to use it for your research and writing. Craig whitney, then the deputy foreign editor, and the deskmen managed to rush bonners slightly shorter article, headlined massacre of hundreds reported in salvador village, into the papers late edition. A parable of the cold war published by vintage books, a division of random house. Although reports of the massacre and photographs of its victims appeared in the united states, the reagan administration quickly dismissed them as propaganda. 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.