[227] in libertarians
LP Release: Haiti Occupation
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (William Winter)
Wed Sep 21 14:50:24 1994
Date: 21 Sep 94 14:42:02 EDT
From: William Winter <73163.3063@compuserve.com>
To: Vernon Imrich <libertarians@MIT.EDU>
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NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
1528 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washington DC 20003
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For immediate release: September 20, 1994
For additional information:
Bill Winter, Director of Communications
(202) 543-1988
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End Haiti occupation, urges Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party today praised President Bill Clinton for
avoiding the bloodshed of an armed invasion of Haiti, but urged an immediate
and total withdrawal of American troops from that troubled Caribbean nation.
"Whether we use force, threats, or diplomacy, we have no business
occupying another sovereign nation. Whether our explanation is compassion or
imperialism, this is not our crisis. Whether it's for one week or one year,
American troops don't belong in Haiti," said Steve Dasbach, Chairman of
America's third-largest political party.
"And despite Clinton's claims that this invasion was needed to
maintain America's credibility, the only real way to re-establish our nation's
credibility is to make a firm commitment to stop meddling in the affairs of
other nations," he said. "The first down-payment on that credibility should be
an immediate withdrawal of our troops from Haiti."
Dasbach also noted the ironic timing of the Haiti occupation.
"On Saturday, the last American troops to leave Somalia arrived back
in the United States. On Monday, the first American troops were entering
Haiti. There were just 48 hours when we weren't engaged in the 'compassionate'
occupation of another nation. Frankly, we're tired of so-called government
compassion that costs American taxpayers billions of dollars and puts American
lives needlessly at risk. All we've done is traded Mogadishu for
Port-au-Prince -- traded one insolvable foreign crisis for another," said
Dasbach.
Dasbach repeated his objections to American intervention in Haiti,
first voiced when the invasion was threatened by Clinton. "Clearly, there is
no vital U.S. national security interest at stake," he said.
Dasbach also asked: "Where will Clinton stop? According to Freedom
House, an international human rights monitoring organization, Haiti is just
one of 55 nations that are 'not free.' So, who will Clinton save next? Zaire?
Cuba? Communist China? North Korea? What new, artificial crisis will Clinton
manufacture to justify his next needless military adventure?"
Dasbach concluded: "Let's end it here. Let's get our troops out of
Haiti, and make a promise to use the American military only to provide
security for the lives, liberty, and property of the American people in the
U.S. against the risk of attack by a foreign power. That's a sensible foreign
policy that the American public would embrace."
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