Four years after the Contras had begun fighting in earnest against their former allies, the Sandinistas appeared ready to sue for peace. Mr. Abrams is low-key but persuasive and, as the Administration's point man in this region, extremely well informed. Two samples: "Democracy, that's the goal of the policy. We hope that democracy can be obtained through a negotiating track.... If it cannot, our view is you need to continue aid to the resistance as the only other method short of U.S. use of force

to obtain that goal." "I think it's fair to say that the largest group of ex-anything among the Contras is ex-Sandinistas, who have left in disgust and are now fighting for freedom in Nicaragua."