Bob Dole: “some involved in the administration's Haiti policy are shopping for an invasion rationale, and they ended up at the…”

“some involved in the administration's Haiti policy are shopping for an invasion rationale, and they ended up at the narcotics counter. This is a new twist to President Clinton's foreign policy--looking for reasons to invade a country. According to recent news reports, United States government agencies have been tasked to find evidence that would justify United States military action in Haiti to fight narcotics smuggling. It seems to me that an island under blockade is not a very good drug transshipment point, if you have ships all around the island. But despite the obvious, the administration has begun a fishing expedition. The administration does not need to look any farther than the State Department's April 1994 Comprehensive Report on International Narcotics. On page 191, it says, Compared to trafficking indicators in other areas such as the Bahamas or Mexico, the current level of detected air and maritime drug-related activity in Haiti is low. On page 192, the report goes on to say the United States government 'does not have evidence directly linking senior [government of Haiti] officials to drug trafficking * * *' Activity is comparatively low, and there is no evidence of direct complicity. The record seems pretty clear--an invasion in search of a reason would be hard pressed to use Haitian drug smuggling.”