
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 13, 1994                   TAG: 9411160017
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SOME WINS FOR U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

BILL CLINTON'S foreign policy has been widely derided, with some cause, as ineffectual. But events of recent days, and overlooked accomplishments of his presidency, should counter that impression at least somewhat.

President Bush was regarded, with some cause, as strong on foreign policy. But it's worth recalling that, before Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, Bush downplayed Iraq's troop buildup and tried to mollify the dictator. Bush's wobbling probably contributed to Saddam's tragic miscalculation. Clinton, by contrast, moved quickly, firmly and with no ambiguity in response to troop movements near Kuwait last week. He left no room for confusion, and Saddam backed down.

In Haiti, meanwhile, Clinton seems on his way to accomplishing his principal missions: getting rid of the thugs who had seized control of government, and restoring democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the presidency. The coup leaders are out; Aristide is scheduled to return this weekend.

And not to imply that military intervention (without congressional consent no less) is foreign policy's best tool (it certainly is not), we ought not to forget a diplomatic triumph that the world awaited for 45 years: Jordan's king and Israel's prime minister making formal peace. Who was standing between the two? Bill Clinton, even though it won him little public applause.

Certainly as significant was his success, early in his administration, in persuading the U.S. Congress and public to back Russian President Boris Yeltsin politically and with foreign assistance. One immediate benefit: Clinton was able to persuade Yeltsin to withdraw Russian troops from the Baltics on schedule.

So far, President Clinton has kept America out of war. Even as persistent a critic of the administration as Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., says lack of credit for foreign policy successes has been "unfair to the president." Said Gingrich: "The truth is that on the Middle East they have had very good results. [Secretary of State Warren] Christopher has been very good. And the policy toward Boris Yeltsin has had the result that Russia today is decidedly safer and more democratic than it has ever been."

No one should believe the hard part is over in Haiti or the Middle East. While Aristide was elected, democracy has never flourished on the divided, impoverished island. Clinton would make a big mistake in believing the United States, or anyone else, can "restore democracy" there or build a new, peaceful and prosperous Haiti. The intervention force, sent improperly without congressional assent, needs to be withdrawn soon.

Similarly, the immediate cause of Saddam's bluff remains: the international sanctions exacting increasing punishment on Iraqis. The general cause of instability in that part of the world remains as well: the lack of democracy. Operation Desert Storm may have reversed Saddam's invasion, but it has left Iraq - and Kuwait - as backward and undemocratic as ever.

And a huge barrier to international peace remains: the lack of a standing police force capable of intervening in conflicts before they become full-scale wars. Clinton is doing little to push development of such a force. Nor do his foreign-policy successes, such as they are, redeem his failures - including his inconsistency and his tendency to say things he doesn't mean, both of which undermine U.S. credibility.

Yet, all this notwithstanding, Clinton has been chalking up some foreign-policy gains - most impressively, now, in Haiti and the Middle East. For these he surely deserves a measure of credit from fair-minded Americans.

by CNB