The Idea of an Essay, Volume 2

111 American war combined (Daggett 1). There can be no honest claim that the United States was not significantly involved in the economic aspect of the Guatemalan civil war. This type of claim implies that four wars in America’s history were insignificant based on the amount of funds used during wartime. This funding provided by the United States prolonged the conflict in Guatemala also prolonging the suffering of the Mayan people. The US was partially responsible for the continual suffering of the Mayan people, so they should help correct these wrongs. Although the United States government was involved in Guatemalan politics during the war, many believe it holds little responsibility because the Guatemalan military personnel were the ones actively involved during the killings of the war; nevertheless, the United States was involved in the war even from a distance. Even if the Guatemalan army is mostly responsible for the atrocities of the war, this does not let the United States go free of all responsibility. One side cannot assume all responsibility. There is combined fault in many situations from the war. The American CIA and other government groups were supporting the Guatemalan government throughout parts of the war both politically and economically. As the Guatemalan government performed countless murders and injuries against the Mayan people, the United States provided aid; therefore, the United States holds responsibility for these actions as well. The Guatemalan army, which received aid from the United States throughout the civil war, targeted the Mayan people. During the Guatemalan civil war “the crisis was particularly cultural and racial,” and the Guatemalan government fixated on “the poor … indigenous groups who spoke little Spanish and had been banished to isolated mountain villages” (McPherson 82). The government targeted the Mayans directly, but the indigenous people also suffered from unintentional factors. During the civil war “most of the violence and massacres took place in the predominantly indigenous areas” (Booth 155). The indigenous people living in the mountains suffered a majority of the damages partly because of the geographical positions of the war. Today, “more than half of Guatemalans are descendants of indigenous Mayans and a substantial proportion of the population are of mixed European and indigenous ancestry” (Chamarbagwala 43). Most Guatemalans