Porter Goss: “I took the well last evening because we had received a surprise from Haiti. We were getting ground reports that the 82d…”

“I took the well last evening because we had received a surprise from Haiti. We were getting ground reports that the 82d Airborne had arrived in that country, at least in company strength, and was very visible on Humvee vehicles with machine guns and battle gear going around the capital city and elsewhere in the country. The people were puzzled about what was going on, so we asked for an explanation from the administration. Today is another day and today is another day we have had more silence from the administration on exactly what are our increased American troops doing in Haiti and what, in fact, is going on in Haiti. Many people who do not follow what goes on in that friendly neighboring country just to the south of Florida, which is my district, are not aware that they have just had the equivalent of their O.J. Simpson trial there over the death of a respected man named Guy Mallory who was assassinated a few years ago, among many assassinations that have regrettably taken place in that country. That trial came out that they acquitted two suspects that they felt they had pretty good evidence. And now the President of the country has come along and said there was something, quote, suspicious about the verdict. The judicial system does not work very well in Haiti. It is a country where passions tend to run very quickly and very intensely.”