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

DATE: TUESDAY, October 18, 1994                   TAG: 9410180093
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TODAY'S TOPIC: HAITI

- Hope Kirk, Martinsville

COLEMAN: "Not one American life should be sacrificed to save President Clinton's pride. He talks about America's credibility, but it is Bill Clinton's credibility at stake, because his two years of weather-vane foreign policy have created an untenable situation where brinkmanship was the final strategy which prevented the need for American troops to invade a tiny country just to prove the United States will live up to its word.

"The president was fortunate that former President Jimmy Carter, retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, and Georgia Senator Sam Nunn were able to negotiate a last-minute agreement with General Cedras, because the president thus far has been unsuccessful in building a case for the kind of military action he intended to take. Now that U.S. troops are there as peacekeepers, I hope their stay will not be long. The president should remember that America's last military operation in Haiti lasted 19 years."

NORTH: "I oppose President Clinton's action in Haiti. Haiti does not represent a threat to American security or international peace and stability. I oppose sending U.S. troops into what can easily become another foreign policy disaster like Somalia."

ROBB: "Our initiative in Haiti has apparently prevailed, and the democratically elected president will be restored to power with a minimum of bloodshed. Generally, the U.S. should be prepared to protect U.S. lives and vital U.S. interests, and we must have the will to defend our words with actions. In June 1993 , the Haitian military junta, which overthrew the democratically elected government, promised the United States that they would surrender power on October 30, 1993. The date came, and the dictators thumbed their noses at U.S. insistence that the agreement be honored. Meanwhile, Haitian refugees were fleeing to our shores to escape the brutality of the regime. The will to use our troops to back up our words appears to have saved lives in Haiti and should discourage other countries from failing to honor their commitments to the U.S."

Keywords:
POLITICS