Only last spring, the civil war in Nicaragua, deep into its eighth year, seemed to be in a peaceful lull. The Marxist-oriented Sandinista government was meeting face to face with the U.S.-backed contras and loudly promising to install democracy in Managua. In Washington the House defied Reagan Administration pleas and voted down military support for the guerrillas. But last week, in a sudden burst of high-handed actions, the Sandinistas raised fresh doubts about their intentions and provoked forceful new White House calls for lethal aid to the contras.
The crackdown began when police used tear gas and truncheons to break up...
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