In order to highlight the complicity of the American government, this thesis will discuss in depth the most important massacre perpetrated by the Salvadoran military. While the American government maintained publicly that respect for human rights was one of the main goals of its mission in El Salvador, the six billion dollars of aid and American actions in the region belied another reality. This examination argues that it is clear that the massacre at El Mozote in late 1981 was the direct result of U.S. foreign policy initiatives. Although the Americans kept themselves insulated to provide for plausible deniability, the policies of the Carter and Reagan administrations institutionalized the murder of civilians as a necessary element of American foreign policy in El Salvador.
","abstract_html":"<p>In order to highlight the complicity of the American government, this thesis will discuss in depth the most important massacre perpetrated by the Salvadoran military. While the American government maintained publicly that respect for human rights was one of the main goals of its mission in El Salvador, the six billion dollars of aid and American actions in the region belied another reality. This examination argues that it is clear that the massacre at El Mozote in late 1981 was the direct result of U.S. foreign policy initiatives. Although the Americans kept themselves insulated to provide for plausible deniability, the policies of the Carter and Reagan administrations institutionalized the murder of civilians as a necessary element of American foreign policy in El Salvador. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hill, Dustin"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:13Z","subjects":["Atlacatl Battalion","Central America","El Mozote","El Salvador","Massacre","United States Foreign Policy","International Relations","Latin American History"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2011 Dustin Hill"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/49","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hill, Dustin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Atlacatl Battalion","Central America","El Mozote","El Salvador","Massacre","United States Foreign Policy","International Relations","Latin American History"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2011 Dustin Hill"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/49"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In order to highlight the complicity of the American government, this thesis will discuss in depth the most important massacre perpetrated by the Salvadoran military. While the American government maintained publicly that respect for human rights was one of the main goals of its mission in El Salvador, the six billion dollars of aid and American actions in the region belied another reality. This examination argues that it is clear that the massacre at El Mozote in late 1981 was the direct result of U.S. foreign policy initiatives. Although the Americans kept themselves insulated to provide for plausible deniability, the policies of the Carter and Reagan administrations institutionalized the murder of civilians as a necessary element of American foreign policy in El Salvador.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Commitment Beyond Morality: American Complicity in the Massacre at El Mozote, El Salvador, 1981"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Hill, Dustin"],"dc:description.abstract":["In order to highlight the complicity of the American government, this thesis will discuss in depth the most important massacre perpetrated by the Salvadoran military. While the American government maintained publicly that respect for human rights was one of the main goals of its mission in El Salvador, the six billion dollars of aid and American actions in the region belied another reality. This examination argues that it is clear that the massacre at El Mozote in late 1981 was the direct result of U.S. foreign policy initiatives. Although the Americans kept themselves insulated to provide for plausible deniability, the policies of the Carter and Reagan administrations institutionalized the murder of civilians as a necessary element of American foreign policy in El Salvador.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/49"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2011 Dustin Hill"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Atlacatl Battalion","Central America","El Mozote","El Salvador","Massacre","United States Foreign Policy","International Relations","Latin American History"],"dc:title":["Commitment Beyond Morality: American Complicity in the Massacre at El Mozote, El Salvador, 1981"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:13Z"}