Date: 1994-10-06
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. there have been so many unanswered questions regarding this situation in Haiti. I wish we had had this debate before we made the decision to go. because there is no defined national interest. in spite of what people say none to warrant us being there. Now that we are there. by the way. without the consent of the Congress. or the American people. for that matter. I think the highest priority that we need to ask is. what is our purpose in Haiti? What is our mission? Why does the White House have to clarify and alter the mission day by day? Things keep changing. What are the responsibilities of our troops in Haiti? I know they have said they do not really know in some cases. Why did we only send U.S. combat troops -to what is supposed to be an international peacekeeping mission? The President keeps constantly referring to the U.N. resolution regarding Haiti. which states it is an international mission with international backing. Where are the international troops and support we need. when there are 19.000 United States troops in Haiti right now and no U.N. troops involved? Maybe a few from the Caribbean republics are starting to filter in in small digit numbers. With an illdefined mission our troops are wondering every day what their duties are. Are they there to stop violence. to stop looting and chaos in the streets?.Are they there to be a Haitian police force? If so. when did these duties -become the job description of the U.S. military? They are trained as combat troops.. Today we learned the American taxpayer is going to pay Haitian police force wages for a couple -of months. Wow. Are our troops there to ransack peoples homes looking for guns. or are they there .to pay $50 to $300 in U.S. taxpayer dollars for guns and rocket launchers? I do notthink so. In the latest reports today we learned that our own CIA helped assemble. the antiAristide police force that we are now trying to disarm. I ask again. what is our purpose in Haiti? What is the cost of this mission? The money for 1994 was transferred out of our military operations budget. preventing our troops from training. and in my view. severely hampering our U.S. military readiness. We still have no idea what it is going to cost us in Must the American taxpayer again fund more supplemental appropriations. just to support this Illformed mission? We need full details of how much this mission will cost. Why are we restoring Aristide? He is . an accused drug trafficker. He is certainly not supporting the --United States. He is refusing to sign an agreement not to hold our forces liable for their actions. He isthe one who asked us to intervene. Where is his support now?. Are these not valid questions we ought to ask and we ought to get answers to? This administration continues to involve our Armed Forces in conflicts with no clear or consistent mission or goal. Americans do not want. do not need and do not deserve this sort of defense. This kind of policymaking is dangerous to our servicemen and women and dangerous to the future of America. With so many unanswered questions. it is imperative that we remove our troops from Haiti immediately. I ask Members to support that resolution. Let us get them out of there now.