Waters: Porter Goss - CIA

Senator John D. Rockerfeller, IV
Vice-ChaIRMAn
Senate Intelligence Committee
United States Senate
211 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Rockerfeller:

I am writing to express my concerns about the nomination of Congressman Porter Goss as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and to urge you to question Congressman Goss regarding the policies he would support in Haiti.

As you know, Haiti is currently a nation in crisis, where groups of heavily-armed thugs who were involved in the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, have set up bases in several towns and demanded the reestablishment of the Haitian Army. The Bush Administration helped to create this crisis by supporting the coup d'etat that overthrew President Aristide, the democratically-elected leader of Haiti, on February 29, 2004.

It is widely believed that Congressman Goss supported the coup d'etat in Haiti, and he certainly supported the policies of the Bush Administration that preceded this coup d'etat and made it possible. Furthermore, Congressman Goss has a history of supporting the wealthy elite business class in Haiti, many of whom supported the Duvalier dictatorship, the 1991 coup d'etat, and the activities of FRAPH (the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti), the notorious death squad, which carried out numerous human rights violations during the three years following the 1991 coup. Moreover, it is well known that Congressman Goss served in Haiti during his career in the CIA.

If Congressman Goss becomes the director of the CIA, he will be in a position to have a tremendous influence on the future direction of U.S. policies towards this small island nation. He will also have the opportunity to carry out covert actions towards Haiti, which could exacerbate the current crisis and assist those in Haiti who seek to seize and maintain power through the use of violence and human rights violations. It is imperative that Congressman Goss be questioned regarding his intentions for the CIA towards Haiti.

I urge you to ask Congressman Goss what policies he would support in Haiti as the Director of the CIA and what policies and actions he would carry out in Haiti using CIA resources. Please direct your attention to the impact that Congressman Goss could have on the future of the Haitian people. Thank you for your anticipated attention to my concerns.

Sincerely,

Maxine Waters
Member of Congress

MW:ks

cc:   Senator Carl Levin
       Senator Dianne Feinstein
       Senator Ron Wyden
       Senator Richard J. Durbin
       Senator Evan Bayh
       Senator John Edwards
       Senator Barbara A. Mikulski

See Also:

Congresswoman Waters:

URGES THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES, FRANCE AND CANADA TO DISARM THE THUGS AND KILLERS IN HAITI
"The United States, France and Canada created this mess, and they have an obligation to clean it up. There can be no democracy in Haiti until these thugs and killers are disarmed." - Sept 8, 2004

See Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee statements from May 5 2004

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters - CONDEMNS VIOLENCE IN HAITI - Feb 11, 2004

News HaitiAction.net