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Clinton Administration: The Relations Between Cuba And Haiti

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What justifications could the Clinton administration make when assessing their actions in both Cuba and Haiti during Clinton’s time in office? When trying to answer this question one must look at the motivation behind the administration’s actions, the principles that the administration stood behind, and the message that they were trying to deliver. The cases of Cuba and Haiti are different in various senses and in the degree of change that occurred within those countries resulting from US policies. In the case of Cuba, President Clinton acted in a manner that created less fundamental change in the governmental system of Cuba than was the case for his relations with Haiti. In Haiti, Clinton and his administration made decisions that …show more content…

Although the US population did not have an extremely large interest in Cuba issues with this country were largely ones that were pursued because of lobbying by interest groups (Pastor). Although most Florida residents favored Clinton’s actions involving immigration standards and legislation for Cuba the Cuban-American community was not pleased and chose to act (Pastor). The Cuban-American community had Senator Jesse Helms and Congressman Dan Burton introduce a bill used to try to topple Fidel Castro and his regime (Hillyard, and Miller). This bill had the goal of “tightening the embargo, discouraging foreign investment, and precluding meaningful negotiations until Fidel Castro was removed from power. (Pastor)” Although this bill passed it was widely criticized by the international community because of the various economic results that it created (Hillyard, and Miller). By acting in both of these countries to both appease part of his constituency as well as to deal with foreign policy issues President Clinton made the correct choice to act when looking at what he felt was best for America at the time. Clinton not only made these choices out of political self-interest but also because he felt that he was making the best decisions for the US’s interests. Clinton’s motivation to act in each of these countries was not solely being advanced by the agendas of interest groups but also out of interest for securing our borders.

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