Posted on 05/07/2002 5:45:36 AM PDT by TonyInOhio
Edited on 04/13/2004 1:39:34 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
WASHINGTON
(Excerpt) Read more at usatoday.com ...
|
WASHINGTON - President Clinton has taken needed steps in response to the crisis in East Timor, but his unilateral recognition of Indonesia’s sovereignty was a mistake that neither U.S. law nor international law supports, U.S. Rep. Tony Hall, D-Ohio, said today.
|
|
Related Past Releases on East Timor 100 Members of Congress Call on President to Use All Channels to Press Indonesia on East Timor [August 11, 1999] |
"President Clinton’s move to suspend military aid to Indonesia and take other actions to pressure its leaders to do the right thing in East Timor are steps in the right direction - but his assertion that Indonesia enjoys sovereign rights over the people there is flat wrong. I urge him to correct his misstatement, and to take action in accordance with the many findings of the United Nations, with the long-time policy of the United States -- which has voted repeatedly for U.N. resolutions condemning Indonesia for its action -- and with last month’s vote of East Timor’s people. All declare Indonesia’s self-serving claims of sovereignty to be bogus.
"But while it is clear that the United Nations stumbled, blame must be shared by its members, and particularly by the United States. Organizations at the edge of financial ruin, as the United Nations is, are not known for their bold and wise decisions. We cannot expect peak performance when the United States is responsible for nearly two-thirds of the U.N.’s financial instability. Our failure to pay our dues makes the issue of a U.N. peacekeeping force doubly difficult, as the United States is responsible for one-quarter the cost of any such force. Because the United Nations has borrowed heavily from peacekeeping accounts to ease the burden of the U.S. debt, it is wary of further extending itself.
"If other Security Council members block it, the United States cannot prevail in creating a peacekeeping force -- but we surely can’t win if we don’t try. Indonesia has a 24-year record of letting violence and starvation kill more than 200,000 of East Timor’s people; it already has had ample opportunity to stop the recent violence. Now it is time for the international community to act.
"Finally, my thoughts and prayers are with Bishop Belo and the hundreds of thousands of people of East Timor he has devoted his life to protecting. I believe his actions in recent days in the face of these atrocities - militias even violated the sanctity of his home and church’s sanctuary - underscore the Nobel Committee’s wisdom in awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize."
Hall has been active on behalf of East Timor independence since 1980 -- nominating Bishop Belo for the Nobel Peace Prize, introducing several bills, and regularly leading letter-writing campaigns to raise attention to the situation. His last letter, to President Clinton in August 1999, was co-signed by 99 other Members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Hall also has pressed for the United States to pay its U.N. dues, and last month forced a vote on the issue; the measure was narrowly defeated, 221-206.
Hello?! Wake up. Come on now. Wakey wakey. Do you really believe that Clinton will be cut off from the media? Is he *ever*?
I doubt he'll be over there for very long.
This was a stupid thing for Bush to do, IMO.
Tuor
Bush's problem is that if he doesn't use Clinton, he looks petty and vindictive. Clinton is jumping up and down demanding to be sent somewhere. He is volunteering to go to the Middle East (do you want him there), to North Korea (that's a big help), even come to Cincinnati (no thank you). Condi Rice has to answer the question over and over, "why doesn't the administration use Clinton." So, send him to East Timor. To me, it's not a big deal. Gets him out of the headlines.
Clinton will be a thorn in the side of any administration because Clinton is always about Clinton and the press adore him.
As president, Clinton either abused power and intimidated witnesses, or he did not. He either IS a traitor, or he is not. If one supported his removal from office, one cannot then support him as a representative of the US government ANYWHERE for ANYTHING. You can not have it both ways. There is NO defense of principle left!
That pretty much sums up my feelings on this as well.
My first reaction was to fault Bush for involving ImpBill in any official capacity in his administration, but it does get him away from any important foreign policy issues, and gets him away from America for a while.
I can only hope that the usual fawning press is so upset about being sent to this small out of the way place that they will be disinterested in making a big deal of it.
While I Probably vote for a democrat, I pobably will stay home on election day.
Bush took a potential negative against his administration and threw it back at Clinton AND derailed Clinton's bid to get involved in areas that matter. My guess is Clinton may be a little less likely to use his political clout against Bush again.
I personally think Clinton knows EXACTLY why he is being sent there, and so do Bush's bosses - UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
You are quite right. President GHW Bush did some stuff like this for Clinton, if I remember correctly. Also all the Presidents showed up at the White House for the NAFTA thing.
Well, I just wish this guy would fade into obscurity. By the way, where is THAT BOOK that he got the huge advance for? Where is HER BOOK? You would think they would be busy enough without needing to get involved on foreign policy.
Ugh. I know I will see pictures of him acting like the Big Cheese in East Timor. What a maroon!
He isn't going to be the ambassador. He's just going along for the ride, as it were. He'll go there, gab for a while, shake some hands, and come back home having made East Timor our good friends (because everyone loves Bill).
Once again, the Deep Game apologists are quick to applaud this move, which only tells me how braindead it really is.
Tuor
Exactly! I couldn't put it better myself.
You and me both. But he's not going away. So, to keep him out of things that matter, Bush is going to have to send him places that don't.
East Timor! LOL!
Clinton is a reasonably intelligent guy, but I doubt that his narcissism will allow him to come to that conclusion, no matter how obvious it is to everyone else.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.