Jaguars

“Madam President, there is a more sweeping finding, but it does venture into conjecture. If I may--”

“Of course, Peter, go ahead,” she said politely.

“It seems that the Jaguares’ self-serving actions have been purposely destabilizing our relationships in El Salvador and Guatemala. Over the years, they have systematically discouraged, opposed, and blocked bilateral and multilateral alliances. Their violent overreactions are a main reason that human rights and humanitarian efforts in that part of the world have not progressed, and are always the subject of conditionality in our aid packages. They have prolonged wars and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and go a long way in explaining why these countries have had so much trouble policing internal abuses. And, why there is always some illogical sovereignty issue in the way of bilateral negotiations.”

“Define illogical sovereignty issue, Peter,” interrupted the President in a serious tone.

“Madam, there has not been a serious insurrection in that region for years. The gross national product of El Salvador and their neighbors has been rising steadily since recent trade agreements. Illegal immigration from that country has virtually stopped. There is more self-rule and stability today than at any other time in their history. Admittedly, there is still disparity among rich and poor, but the poverty rate has dropped significantly. Frankly, any anti-American sentiment is outmoded.”

The ambassador trailed off but maintained the worried look on his face.

“But something else is troubling you, Peter. You think this is more than just a criminal cult group caught in a time warp?”

Jerrold looked at Stone and the others. General Staggers shot him an angry stare while Red gave a reassuring smile. Stone nodded to him and Jerrold pressed on.

“You are very perceptive, ma’am. We do not think that they are any more than as you describe. It would appear, however, that because of international priorities, we may have ignored some basic principles in our multilateral relations.”

“Oh?” She uttered questioningly. She had noticed the group’s varied reaction and had started to say something, but stopped. Instead she briefly looked at Staggers, whose eyes were now cast down.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Jerrold. “In a period piece we uncovered, a humble Salvadoran patriot outlined a simple and basic criterion for defining the moral high ground during aggression. He said that it is the treatment of non-combatants that epitomizes the right-ness and wrong-ness of hostility. Simple words that warriors have not always followed.”

Staggers began to fidget uncomfortably.

“As a policy, we do not strategically target non-combatants during military actions, although. We have accepted a certain number of civilian casualties as inevitable. If the bomb strays, we take some solace in knowing that it was unintentional, albeit inevitable. At times, some soldiers have applied a more cynical attitude, ‘kill them all and let God sort them out.’ But that has never been what we are about. Yet here, we find mounting evidence that we may have tolerated some accepted practices in these countries because of broader interests or because they posed no direct threat to us, and in the process, innocent lives were sacrificed. And, this history is now scolding us. That is what is bothering me, ma’am.” He held eye contact with her.

“Arnie,” the President said abruptly, while slowly shifting her gaze to the general. “What is your take on the effect such a conclusion would have on our military programs with these countries, and within our military for that matter. I don’t want to put you on the spot of speaking for Defense, but unofficially, within the confines of this room.”

She had guessed right and he exploded. “Madam President, I could not think of a way to damage our bilateral relationships more. I know of no military officer who has ever condoned the type of behavior displayed by this rogue military unit. That is my personal opinion ma’am, but I doubt the Joint Chiefs would feel different. It is not an “accepted practice,” to use the Ambassador’s words, and to infer so would do an injustice to a great many warfighters.”

“But you do agree that there is evidence that these Jaguares have infiltrated the security services of these countries?”

“Yes, Madam, but my argument is with the inference of the term ‘accepted practices’ when referring to the military establishment. If they have been penetrated, and that is the word I would prefer, then that is the way we should spell it out. We have not been ignoring this duty, ma’am, and any suggestion to the contrary is offensive.”

“Yes, of course-- but for something like this to have survived so long would suggest an inordinate situation, wouldn’t you think,” she said directly.

Staggers nodded, his eyes blinking quickly.

She turned to Jerrold. “Peter, what else do you have to support your conclusion?    

“Madam, another finding concerns the number of homicides and disappearances that we have accepted as a norm. During our discussions, our