[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 131 (Monday, September 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              LET THE HAITIANS RESOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS

  (Mr. ROTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, my reaction to the bizarre developments of the 
last 24 hours is a mixture of relief and concern, relief that the 
President has pulled back from an ill-advised invasion of Haiti, a 
country in which the United States has no vital interest, concern over 
whether we are headed toward adopting this violent and troubled nation 
as the new American colony. This fuzzy agreement seems to pose more 
questions than it answers. How long will we be there? How will we get 
out? How much will it cost the American taxpayers? Who will decide 
these questions; the United Nations or the United States?
  Mr. Speaker, we should have learned in Somalia that the best 
intentions can still lead to tragic consequences. Haiti has never had a 
democracy. To say that we are going to restore democracy is just utter 
nonsense. The minute we leave, Mr. Speaker, things will be just as they 
are today.
  This is a domestic dispute. Let the Haitians resolve their own 
problems, Mr. Speaker. President Clinton is taking responsibility for 
Haiti's future. This is not a wise policy for Mr. Clinton or for the 
United States.

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