For the better part of the past year, hundreds of Sandinista troops have wandered in and out of Honduras, looking for the rebel forces known as contras. And for most of that time, the Honduran military has looked the other way. On Dec. 6, however, Honduran President Jose Azcona Hoyo shattered that arrangement by ordering his air force to strafe the Nicaraguan positions inside the country. Later that day, Azcona summoned U.S. Ambassador Everett Briggs and urgently appealed for U.S. logistical support. President Reagan responded promptly, authorizing an airlift. Last week U.S. troops flying twin- rotor Chinooks and Huey helicopters ferried...
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