[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 126 (Monday, September 12, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   PRESIDENT USING HAITI AS A MEANS TO DEMONSTRATE POLITICAL PROWESS

  (Mr. WELDON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
material.)
  Mr. WELDON. Mr. Speaker, as an 8-year member of the Committee on 
Armed Services and a strong supporter of our men and women in the 
military, I am extremely concerned by what appears to be an unstoppable 
movement by our President to invade Haiti sometime this week or in the 
next several weeks. My constituents over the district work period asked 
me why he would do this, and they understand that the President is 
saying it is to restore order and democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, I will enter into the Record a Survey of Freedom review 
which looks at all countries nationwide. There are 20 nations in the 
world with the same type of status as Haiti in terms of freedom, in 
terms of human rights. I would ask the President if he intends to 
invade all 20 of these nations.
  I would think rather, Mr. Speaker, the reason for the President's 
action is what was stated by Dante Caputo, the U.N. Special Envoy to 
Haiti, when he wrote his memo to Boutros-Ghali. He stated in the memo, 
and I will put this in the Record this evening in a special order, that 
the movement by the President is politically desirable. He further 
states that this type of action is designed to show, after strong media 
criticism of the President, the President's decisionmaking capability 
and the firmness of leadership in the international matters.
  Mr. Speaker, not one American life is worthy of this President using 
Haiti as a means to demonstrate his political prowess.

       The 20 Worst Rated Countries: Afghanistan; Angola; Bhutan; 
     Burma (Myanmar); Burundi; China; Cuba; Equatorial Guinea; 
     Haiti; Iraq; Korea, North; Libya; Saudi Arabia; Somalia; 
     Sudan; Syria; Tajikstan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan; and 
     Vietnam.
       The Six Worst Rated Related Territories: East Timor 
     (Indonesia); Irian Jaya (Indonesia); Kashmir (India); Kosovo 
     (Yugoslavia); Nagomo-Karabakh (Armenia/Azerbaijan); and Tibet 
     (China).

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