Secret Bombing Of Cambodia

  245.  Telegram 2923 From the Embassy in Pakistan to the Department of State, April 4, 1972, 0708Z Chargé Sober questioned Pakistani President Bhutto about the request for arms put forward in Washington by Secretary General Ahmed.  Bhutto said he did not expect a reply on the bulk of the request until after the U.S. presidential election, but added that the need for spare parts to keep old ... [Read More]

Democracy Papers - Publications

Above all, the presidency functions within a political culture that simultaneously defers to the presidential office but is highly skeptical of the executive power it wields. Under the system of separation of powers, the presidency does not embody the nation's sovereignty. Presidents are not absolute monarchs and they are not above the law: The courts have held that no president is immune from a private lawsuit while in office, and incumbents must provide evidence to the courts when required to do so by the judges, and are subject to judicial process. While we have statutes that allow the Secret Service to investigate and arrest people who make direct threats against the president, we have no laws making it a crime to show disrespect to the office or the occupant of it, and no laws prevent the press or opposition parties from directly criticizing the president or members of his administration. The American political culture of high respect for the office of the presidency, but healthy ... [Read More]

East Asia and Pacific

To encourage respect for human rights among members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies, the Embassy sent approximately 150 law enforcement officials to the International Law Enforcement Academy for courses with human rights, ethics, rule of law and anti-corruption components. In addition, the Legal Attaché’s Office coordinated with the Philippine Public Safety College to train senior executives from Philippine law enforcement agencies on ethics, human rights, jail management, and American law enforcement standards. A separate U.S. Department of Justice program sent senior management officials from the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Immigration to the FBI's National Academy in Virginia for training on similar topics. The International Criminal Investigative Training and Assistance Program, funded by The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, provided the Embassy with a temporary police attaché to conduct a ser ... [Read More]

USIS Washington File: TRANSCRIPT: STATE DEPARTMENT NOON BRIEFING, APRIL 9, 1998

MR. RUBIN: Yes. Let me say that there has been some increase in the intensity of guerrilla warfare, the guerrilla insurgency in Colombia. We also know that some of the guerrilla movements fund through cause through participation in the drug trade. The United States has a national security interest in Colombia to stop the cultivation. We are working diligently with elements of the Colombian government. Our policy is to assist in fighting narcotics production and trafficking. Our assistance to the government of Colombia was over $100 million last year, the largest single counternarcotics program in the world. In the final analysis, the responsibility to deal effectively with narco-trafficking rests squarely with the Colombian government. With respect to the issue of Blackhawks, we believe that purchasing and maintaining three Blackhawks is not the best expenditure of taxpayer dollars. They are extremely costly to buy, maintain and operate. We are planning to address the problem o ... [Read More]

03. Security Policies

The U.S. Government's Humanitarian Demining Program supported President Clinton's goal of eliminating the threat of landmines to civilians by the year 2010 (the Demining 2010 Initiative launched by Secretary of State Albright and Secretary of Defense Cohen on October 31, 1997). (Document III-1) Since 1993, the Humanitarian Demining Program, administered by the Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, saved countless lives by assisting 37 countries on five continents in confronting the direct and indirect effects of landmines. U.S. humanitarian demining assistance reduced landmine casualties, restored agricultural land to productive use, helped refugees and internally displaced persons return to their homes, provided health care for mine victims and their families, and enhanced the political and economic stability of nations affected by landmines. The Humanitarian Demining Program also helped numerous countries develop an indigenous, self-sustaining demining capabilit ... [Read More]

Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress

Oversight of PolicyCongress shapes foreign policy through regular oversight of executive branch implementation of foreign policy. This involves such mechanisms as hearings and investigations. In particular, hearings on annual authorizations and appropriations of funds for executive branch agencies carrying out foreign policy provide an opportunity for committee members to question and influence activities and policies. The Senate Foreign Relations and House International Relations Committees oversee the Department of State and other foreign affairs agencies; the Armed Services Committees oversee the Defense Department; the Intelligence Committees oversee the Central Intelligence Agency, and other parts of ... [Read More]

Daily Press Briefing for July 22 -- Transcript

MR. BOUCHER: I can't make a whole lot of it at this point because the Argentine investigation is still underway. They're still investigating the bombing. There's a trial of several persons suspected of involvement in the attack that continues in Buenos Aires. Of course, Hezbollah is suspected of the bombing, and that is an organization that, as we know, is supported by Iran. ...

MR. BOUCHER: The recommendations in the report are slightly different. I think the team actually looked at the situation and brought back a lot of important information for us. And that is the foundation of what we had to decide. But the legal analysis was done after the report. The legal analysis was done to include other information that became available to us. One of the things the team that went to China had recommended to us was that we get a hold of copies of a number of Chinese regulations. ... [Read More]

Docs 368-394

5. SYG informed me that on recent visit to Italy Fanfani reported to him that Pol[ish] ICC Ambassador had had conversation with Ho Chi Minh on June 27 in which Ho presumably said that they would be prepared to engage in serious discussions with US, notwithstanding Chinese and Soviet objections, if bombing were suspended and if Viet-Cong participated in talks. According to Thant, this information relayed by Pol ICC Ambassador to Italian Ambassador in Saigon who in turn communicated it to Fanfani. Thant further reported that Fanfani believed message contained two new elements: (a) that Ho was not insisting on unconditional cessation of bombing, merely a suspension; and (b) Ho not insistent that Viet-Cong be sole representatives of South Vietnamese people at such negotiations. Fanfani had also told the Secretary General that he thought this message of such importance that it warranted sending a special Italian emissary to Washington to communicate the substance of it to United States offi ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Excerpt: Burma, Other Asian Nations Cited for Human Rights Failures

The Government's human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses. The Government continued to deny the right of citizens to change their government. Police sometimes beat suspects during arrests, detention, and interrogation. Several sources also reported that security forces detained, beat, and were responsible for the disappearances of persons during the year. Incidents of arbitrary detention of citizens, including detention for peaceful expression of political and religious views, continued. With some exceptions, prison conditions remained harsh, particularly in some isolated provinces, and some persons reportedly died as a result of abuse in custody. Prisons usually required inmates to work for little compensation and no wages. The judiciary was not independent, and the Government denied some citizens the right to fair and expeditious trials. The Government continued to hold a number of political prisoners. The Government restricted citizens' pri ... [Read More]