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Such diplomatic talk notwithstanding, there were signs that the tempo of the Central American conflict might soon quicken. In the first phase of a Viet Nam-like operation known as the National Plan that has long been advocated by U.S. advisers, the Salvadoran army began chasing guerrillas out of the strategically important San Vicente province and prepared to stay a while to create a shield for a government-sponsored effort to rebuild schools, roads and medical centers. In Honduras, 100 U.S. advisers arrived last week to train Salvadoran troops, against a backdrop of new clashes on the Honduran-Nicaraguan border. "The Honduran question is getting some attention right now," said an Administration official, referring to the danger of war between Nicaragua and Honduras. "If you had 15,000 to 20,000 Cuban troops in Nicaragua, you might do something bold." That unsettling possibility certainly seemed remote enough, but late last week TIME learned of the recent arrival in Managua of Cuba's General Arnaldo Ochoa, Castro's leading specialist in expeditionary forces. "This," says an Administration aide, "is ominous. It worries the hell out of us."
Taking all this in, Congress nevertheless remained wary of any new pressures, whether from the White House, El Salvador or Honduras, to up the Central American ante. Congressional committees recently cut in half the Administration's request for $60 million in aid to El Salvador, and sentiment seemed to be building for a different, nonmilitary approach. Democratic Senator Henry ("Scoop") Jackson of Washington and Republican Charles Mathias of Maryland proposed a bipartisan commission on Central America, similar to the one that helped design the Marshall Plan after World War II. The panel, which would formulate a strategy of economic aid to the whole region, would consist of business, government, labor and religious leaders, and scholars and representatives of the area. Reagan is said to be interested. "We'll be supportive if Congress funds it," said an Administration official.