Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Weakness and Deceit: America and El Salvador's Dirty War

Rate this book

“A landmark book . . . Bonner reveals the full extent of Washington's complicity with a murderous regime bent on eliminating even its mildest critics. This story not only sets the record straight, but, as importantly, it also speaks to the future, serving as a fresh warning of the perennial perils of American engagement in secret wars.” —Alan Riding, author of Distant Neighbors: A Portrait of the Mexicans; former Mexico City bureau chief, The New York Times



“Weakness and Deceit vividly depicts the failure of U.S. policy to take human rights seriously in Central America in the 1980s. Its lessons are more relevant than ever today as policy-makers struggle to respond to crisis situations in the Middle East, and elsewhere. For three decades Bonner's relentless pursuit of the truth has set the gold standard for investigative journalists everywhere.” —Michael Posner, professor of Ethics and Finance at New York University, former
U.S. assistant secretary of state



“Thirty years ago, Raymond Bonner wrote a fundamental book about the United States and Latin America. Here it is again, a major work by a big-hearted reporter, with new and fascinating details about the tragedy of U. S. interventionism during the Cold War, and the lies we have been told.” —Alma Guillermoprieto, author of Looking for History: Dispatches From Latin America, and The Heart That Bleeds: Latin America Now



A land and culture poorly understood by analysts, politicians, and voters in the far-off United States. A regime permeated with corruption; a country in the steel grip of a few families that disdained any system which might give a voice to the millions who kept them in comfort: guarding their children, watering their lawns and putting food on their tables. A brutal and remorseless police force and army trained in America, armed with American guns, and fighting a bloody proxy war against anyone who might conceivably be an American foe—whether or not they held a gun.



Sound familiar?



This was Central America in the 1980s, at a time when El Salvador was the centerpiece of a misguided and ultimately disastrous foreign policy. It resulted in atrocities that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and destabilized a region that has not recovered to this day. At a time when the Reagan Administration’s obsession with communism overwhelmed objections to its policies, Ray Bonner took a courageous, unflinching look at just who we were supporting and what the consequences were.



Now supplemented with an epilogue drawing on newly available, once-secret documents that detail the extent of America’s involvement in assassinations, including the infamous murder of three American nuns and a lay missionary in 1980, Weakness and Deceit is a classic, riveting and ultimately tragic account of foreign policy gone terribly wrong.

392 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 1984

13 people are currently reading
310 people want to read

About the author

Raymond Bonner

10 books17 followers
After graduating from Stanford Law School and serving in the U. S. Marine Corps (including a tour in Vietnam), Raymond Bonner practiced public interest law for several years before turning to journalism. He has been a foreign correspondent and investigative reporter for The New York Times, a staff writer at The New Yorker, and has written for The New York Review of Books. He has reported from more than a hundred countries. He is the author of four books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a shared Pulitzer, and the Louis M. Lyon award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism from the Nieman Fellows at Harvard.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
33 (56%)
4 stars
18 (31%)
3 stars
3 (5%)
2 stars
3 (5%)
1 star
1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
17 reviews1 follower
September 11, 2007
Bonner wanted to work the Wall Street beat for the NY Times. Instead, they sent him to El Salvador. He wrote this book when he discovered the horrors on which he was reporting were getting buried in the paper. It is an extremely well-written book but a difficult one to read. I joined Amnesty International after reading it.
44 reviews
December 20, 2019
A stinging indictment of the US Government's involvement in El Salvador's Civil War (1979-1992). On October 15 1979 a military coup in El Salvador forced the dictator Carlos Humberto Romero to resign. Composed of a mixture of those on the left, right and center, the new government or junta inspired hope that democracy was on the horizon. However, this was merely an illusion as the military never relinquished their power and slowly pushed out the other less conservative members. Some moderates like the Christian Democrats stayed on but others on the left would form Guerrilla groups and end up in a brutal civil war lasting 13 years and costing up to 75000 lives. This was in the midst of the Cold War and the 'Communist' Sandinistas earlier in the year had toppled the government in Nicaragua. There was some fear in the US that the same could happen in El Salvador and every effort was made to support the El Salvadoran government despite their brutality. Death squads trained by the US military roamed the countryside exterminating anyone with the slightest or even perceived sympathies for the guerillas. Those murdered included babies, women, the elderly, clergy and these were not casualties caught in the crossfire...so called 'friendly fire.' It was coldly calculated to inspire fear.

Every 6 months Congress had to certify that El Salvador was making progress on human rights or military aid would be suspended. The Reagan administration repeatedly misrepresented or even outright lied about the situation. Bonner presents ample evidence that the Reagan administration was aware of the atrocities but turned a blind eye. At the time, we had a very myopic foreign policy perspective, looking at the world as either pro-Soviet or pro-West. In the end aid was re-certified every 6 months until finally Congress abolished the law requiring certification.

I found the writing to be a little dry. Bonner focuses a lot on policies and documents he's obtained through Freedom of Information requests. It is very informative though and definitely worth the read. It's interesting how multiple administrations have justified military entanglements through deceit from Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq, El Salvador and recently we're finding out about Afghanistan.

This is the 3rd book I've read on El Salvador's Civil War and neither have been comprehensive. I feel like Bonner should have had the foresight to write this in '93 or '94 after the war had ended. Guess I'll have to find a 4th book that covers the entire war. :)
Profile Image for John Oliver.
Author 6 books11 followers
Read
April 1, 2020
This book shows the history of our foreign policy towards El Salvador, how both and Carter and Reagan administrations denied that the Salvadorian military and security forces engaged in the grossest human rights violations. the book shows how the Salvadorian military, instead of being a force defending the country, was more of a mafia family engaged in corruption so that the officers could get rich, and a force for repressing any effort of workers and farmers to better their lives.
678 reviews11 followers
September 10, 2016
I am on an OR Book binge and this is where I stopped for the time being. _Weakness and Deceit_ chronicles all of the problems happening within the borders of El Salvador. Both caused by their citizens and how the US helped keep in power the military who held absolute power.

For me, the book was gut wrenching. Page after page of accounts on the living hell the non-elite found themselves. Some of the atrocities are worse than a previous OR Book I read about the Narco history of the US & Mexico. US tax payer money went to this little country to ensure it didn't fall into "Leftist" hands. Which it wouldn't of, as the rebels in the hills just wanted to have a fair form of government.

As an example of how bad US policy can go wrong, this well crafted and documented book is an excellent example. The stories of the people pull at the heart. Afterwards I walked around in a bit of a daze, as such day-to-day horrors are unknown to me. It took a fiction book with a somewhat happy and defined conclusion to help me get over my reading funk.
Profile Image for Paul Grant.
4 reviews2 followers
March 11, 2016
I read this for the first time 30 years ago. For all those who remember fondly the good ol' days of Reagan and his administration this book is sobering. I had always opposed the POTUS adventures in Central America and this well documented book closed the deal. A must read to understand the 80's.
23 reviews
Read
March 29, 2010
Weakness and Deceit: U.S. Policy and El Salvador by Raymond Bonner (1984)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.