COMMENTS ON THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000200920032-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 14, 2003
• Sequence Number: 32
• Publication Date: October 22, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
Approved For Rele4secaOia342i0BaYelaylet15076-001t49
COMMENTS ON THE DOMINICAN ; has nothing to do with whether the !
REPUBLIC I- chairman's views are solicited or desiredl
Mn FULBRIGHT. Mr. President, I' by people in the executive branch. !
. have followed with interest the comments I Second. I thought it my responsibility I
, to conunent on U.S. policy in the Domini-
made by my colleagues, by the press, and ;
can Republic because the political oppo-
0 of September 15 regarding the Domin-1
; by private individuals after my speech'
sition, whose function it is to cricitize, I
I
; lean Republic. I have also followed with: was simply not doing so. It did not be-1
I ! cause it obviously approved of U.S. inter-
interest events in the other body that
' m , vention in the Dominican Republic and
may have been related to my speech. '
presumably, had it been in-office, would I
'? Much of the discussion, I have noted have done the same thing. The result of ;
' - to my surprise, has been about me rath-1 this peculiar situation was that a highly'
er than about the Dominican Republic controversial policy was being carried out;
and Latin America. Some of these per- , without controversy?without debate,I
? sonal comments have been complimen-without
. tary, and to those who made them I ex- I ? without review, without that necessary'
i t nt which is a vital part!
..
-press my thanks. Others have been un-
democratic process. Again and
complimentary, and to those who made; _
1 of the
?
again, in the weeks following the corn- I
,' them I can only say that our country is mittee hearing I noted the absence of'
` still strong enough to survive an occa-1 any challenge to statements appearing I
I- siona.1 dissenting view even though' the I-
, in the press and elsewhere which clearly;
': consensus is virtually unanimous. . contradicted evidence available to the 1.
There has been a good deal of dis- I
1 Committee on Foreign. Relations. ,
. cussion as to whether it is proper for i - Under these circumstances I am not ,
the chairman of the Senate Foreign Re-' impressed with suggestions that I had no I
lations Committee to make a speech crit-I ?, right to speak as I did on Santo Domingo. ,
?ical of an administration of his own party' The real question: it seems to me, is I
. which he generally supports. There is'. whether I had the right not to 'speak. ?
something to be said on both sides of' Insofar as it represents a genuineIrec-
Ithis question and it is certainly one
. which I considered with care before de-1 'onciliation of differences, a consensus is
thing;a fine Insofarit represents the
ciding to make my speech on the Do-:
i concealment, of differences, it is S. mis-
. minican Republic. I concluded, after carriage of democratic Procedure. 14
hearing the testimony of administration, think we Americans tend to put too high
' witnesses in the Committee on Foreign, ? a value on unanimity?on bipartisan-
Relations, that I, cmild do more to en- ship in foreign policy, on politics stop- ,
courage carefully considered policies in, ' ping at the water's edge, on turning a!
the future by initiating a public discus-i. single single face to the world?as if there were
sion than by acquiescing silently in a! something dangerous and illegitimate
policy I believed to be mistaken. It! about honest differences of opinion hon-
seemed to me, therefore, that, despite I ,estly expressed by honest men. Prob-
! any controversy and annoyance to in. I
II ably because we have been united about
dividuals, I was performing a service to 1 so many things for so long, including the
I the administration by stating my views ,
, basic values of our free society; we tend
publicly. , I' to be mistrustful of intellectual dissent,
I I do not like taking a public position I confusing it with personal hostility and
I criticizing a' Democratic administration I. Political disloyalty, .
;. which in most respects I strongly sup-1 , As the distinguished commentator,
. port; I do not like it at all. Neither do I Marquis Childs, recently' noted, we tend
I* I like being told, as ? I have been told, in America toward a tyranny of the ma-
, that my statement was "irresponsible" or I jority. More than a century ago, Alexis
I that it has given aid and comfort to the )
I enemies of the United States. I am quite i de Tocqueville took note. of that tend-1
ency in these words:
I prepared to examine evidence suggesting,
I know of no country In which there is aol
that my statement contained errors of 1 little independence of mind and, real free-'
; fact or judgment; I am not prepared dom of discussion as in America. Profound
to accept the charge that a statement ! changes have occurred since -demooracy in'
: following upon many hours of listening I America first appeared and yet , it may be
i?
to testimony in the Foreign Relations :. asked whether recognition of the right' of
r Committee and many more hours of ex-
Ft0002009200.cps over" "preeent-day
examples of social,political or Intel actual :
nonconformity.
The man who stands apart from 'the
crowd?because he does not believe in Clod,
because he pickets against the war in Viet-
nam, because he demonstrates for civit!
rights?is regarded as harmful to the Amer-
lean way of life by two out of three of his
fellow citizens, a survey of a carefully drawn!
cross-section of the adult public shows.
Far from being the danger many of us-;
make it out to be, responsible dissent Is'
?one of the great strengths of democracy.
France, for example, is unquestionably in,
a stronger position today in her relations -
with the emerging nations of Asia and:.
Africa because during the years of her
colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria a,
large and articulate minority refused,
to acquiesce in what Was being done and,
by speaking out, pointed the way to the
enlightened policies of the Fifth Repub-rt.
lie. The British Labor Party, to take an- 1,
other 'example, not only protested the
Suez invasion in 1956 but did so while
the invasion was being carried out; by so ';
doing, the opposition performed the pa-
triotic service of helping Britain to re-1
cover its good name in the wake of a dis-1
estrous adventure, starting to repair the 2
damage while the damage was still being
.1
done.
It seems to me a manifestation of the .?
tyrrany of the majority that there has i
been so much talk about when it is
proper for a Senator to make a speech
and so little about the subject matter!,
involved, which was the Dominican
public and Latin America. It was my
intention on September 15 to start a.:
discussion about these and not about my-
sell. There is a very great deal to be
said about U.S. policy in Latin Amer- ;1
lea?about political and economic reform
and the Alliance for Progress, about col-
'calve security and the Organization of :I
American States, about social revolu- )
tions and the interests of the United;..
States. I should like very much to hear ;
the views of my colleagues on these and ?i
other matters, including the suggestion ;
tentatively put forth in my statement of .1
September 15 that. an inter-American,,,
partnership of equals in the long run,I
might be advanced by a loosening of ;
ties in the short run.
I would especially like to. hear the-
-
eviews of my colleagues on the proposition
I
put forth by President Johnson in Yds.:,
address of August 17 to the Latin Amer-
,Ican Ambassadors to the effect that the
United States hopes to see Latin Amer- _1
leans achieve the same kinds of reform
through the Alliance for Progress that
we seek for ourselves through the Great?
Society. Starting with this premise,
there is much to be said about how the ;
United States can aid and support the
-true friends of social reform in Latin
America?men like President Belaunde
?
Terry of Peru and President Frei of :4
Chile, whose programs for social justice
are also, and for that reason, antidotes to :;1
communism.
STAY
dissent has gained substantially in practice_
1 amining and evaluating relevant docu- , . as well as In theory. 4
, ments was irresponsible. Nor do I take. 1, Tocqueville was a friend and admirer)
kindly to the charge that I gave aid I ?
of the United States but he regarded the
tyranny of the majority as the greatest
of dangers in a democracy.. .
Tlae smallest reproach?
' be?an interesting discussion could be i .,..,.
e wrote? .-
' developed as to whether it is my criti- I Il
i ?
' cisms of, U.S. policy in the Dominican' irritates its sensibility and the slightest joke
that has any foundation in truth renders It
Republic or the policy itself -which has
indignant; from the forms of its language up
I given aid and comfort to our enemies. , to the solid virtues of Its character, every.,
A Senator has a duty to support 'his thing must be made the subject of en-
i President and his party, but he also has comium. igris' writer, whatever be his eml-
? a duty to express his views on major is-; fence, 'can escape paying this tribute Of
;
. sues. In the case of the Dominican cr1-1 adulation to his fellow citizens.
i SiS I felt that, however reluctant I might! A recent Harris survey, showing strong
; be to criticize the administration?and, public disaproval of nonconformist opin- '
.. I was ver Y reluctant?it was nonetheless; ions, tends to sustain Tocqueville's view
I my responsibility, to do so, for two prin-1
; of tyranny by the majority. In an ar-
cipal reasons. 1
ticle in the Washington Post dated Sep-,
6 First. I believe that the chairman of tember 27, 1965; Mr. Harris writes:
ithe Committee on Foreign Relations has!
America has long prided itself as a nation
I a special obligation to offer the best ad-' of rugged Individualists where the pioneer
I vice he-can on matters of foreign policy; tradition allows a man to hold his own Views
i it is an obligatio1AMSOMM CP8,114/020a3CIADROP7S101)1919
; herent in the chaiffilanshiplht5ot it trreurvey .reveals .vmeapreag piagivinga ,
r and comfort to the enemies of the United
'e States. If that accusation is to be
pressed?and I should hope it would not
A general discussion of the Latin
American policies of the United States- 1
_would be interesting and rewarding, far.41
more so than personal recriminations
about tolerance of communism and in-
fatuation with revolutions. I myself am "
too old to change, but there is still hope
for the United States and Latin America. 1.
, Mr. President, in the 'weeks since I'
made my speech on the Dominican Re-
public I have received over 1400 letters
commenting on it. Approximately 90
ReeeibiOalatera expressed con-. ;
aerwabout Vie way; in: whien theNn4ed ;
? , . Carttlinte d
Approved For Release 2003/12/02 : CIA-RDP75-00149R000200920032-7
States intervened in Santo Domingo.'
This public reaction suggests that a large
sector of the American public shares my;
i concern about the Latin American poi- -
icy of the United States. Many of the
letters .I received expressed concern
1" about the role of the Department of De-
fense and the role of the Central Intel- ;
' ligence Agency in the conduct of Amer-
lean foreign policy. Many, I am pleased
to note, expressed the conviction that the
; .United States should abide by its obliga-
' tions of multilateralism and noninter-
vention under the Charter of the Orga-
f'
nization-of American States, and a great
many eXpressed the view, in one way or
.?;
1, another, that the foreign policy they de-
r sired for? the United States was one
which was true to its own democratic,
values.
There has been a great deal Of press
and periodical commentary on my speech.Z
of September 15, much of it favorable,-`
?.! much of it unfavorable. I have selected
comments, pro and con, which I judge)''''
6 to be representative and which I ult..;
unanimous consent to have printed in 3
Ithe RECORD at this point. For the bene-
. fit of those who may not 'have seen the
f entire text of 'my speech, and to provide
ra. a point of reference, I ask unanimous -4
consent that the text of my speech be .
inserted just Prior to these insertions In.
:the Recoso. . , ? . ? -.4 ,
; There being no objection, the ?sPeech
and material Was ordered to be printed in
RECORD? as follows: ' ' ' '5
OCT 2.2 196$
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
Approved For Release, 200?tlaRgagick-K8375-00149R000200920032-7
[From the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal, 1,
Sept. 17, 19435) ,
, WISE COUNSEL AND PLAIN TALK AGAIN
r FROM SENATOR FULBRIGHT
'1
E. It is possible that if there were no Senator
, FULBRIGHT in the Senate he might have to '
I be invented. Time and again he expresses
the opinions of moderation?of what he likes
to call flexibility?against all the zigs and
- zags of a foreign policy that seems to him 1
,
to respond too much to mood and not enough
Jto reason.
ro Senator FULDRIGHT'S observations on our 1
' intervention in the Dominican Republic
; could hardly be expected to bring the open .
r, approval of President Johnson. But if the
.. President is willing to listen to counsels of '
j moderation, and recent events indicate this. 4
' _ willingness in increasing proportion, he intylt.,1
1 acknowledge the witclom and justice of the,
,.Senator's criticism. "
/
, Mr. Futunzeur attributes what he calls the t:
. failure of our Dominican intervention to
I faulty advice given the President. And in .
: particular he warned against the tendency .g
in this country to over-react ?against any 4
' suspicion of communism in Latin American .4
i efforts for social change. This attitude, he 1
t feels, makes impossible any effective coop- ' t
eration fro& this country in the social rev- T.),
olutions so necessary in nations to the south 41
r of-us.
I Mr. FULBRIGHT, as he freely acknowledged, 4
E.?spoke from hindsight. But it was informed ?,,..
hindsight, gathered after 13 hearings of the .i
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held ,
. r 4
r in the past two months. If it can help re- '
chart our policies, not only in Latin Amer-' .
Ica but toward the Western world, the Sen-
1 ator'N warning will have great value. What ,
. he is trying to tell us, after,all, is that the '.
word Communist no longer sums up one ^
i? monolithic evil to which we must react by.
, instinct. The currents and divergences of '
Conununism are as great in their way as the 4
( differences between democracies. All of
1r them are not potentially deadly to us and ,
k many of the people who have been labelled 1
Communist in struggling Latin American re/ ..
- ? publics are home-grown revolutionaried ',I
k struggling to right their own home-grown in- - 'cl
? 1(
' justices. I
If we are to intervene in every such sit---,
i uation because people the ._CIA calls Corn- c'f,
n munists are in the forefrontrebel move, 1
f- ments, we have already lost touch with the li
f needs and the desperation which are
f, lng all Latin America vtoward change.
Wgr ,..44 4 iS? {I% ?,411...:,????:, b. aim....a, .,,,.. --,-,0.4.,K.-1,40.1,1 4.-
. ,
?
????
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
Approved For Release 2M3021.1iblbeLIA91?3DP75-00149R006200920032-7
, [From the San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 17, ?;,
! 19651 ;
!: A DEVASTATING POLICY BLAST
?
; After having conducted a 2-month inquest:.:
j into the Dominican Republic affair, Senator -!
J. W. Fureruenv has delivered in the Senate:.!
! a devastating arraignment of the Johnson
, administration's course of action.
It Is a highly effective example of the duty
!' of a Senator to criticize and lay bare .the',1
i? follies of Government policy when he .pro-i.
foundly disagrees with it.
We sent troops into Santo Domingo last,.,
April, he said, from "overtimidity and over--,i
reaction." Throughout the episode, which
is not .yet ended, the administriition acted
'f
with a "lack of candor."
? t The intervention arose from a decision" '
!-that the revolution launched by the Domini-
can rebel movement "should not be 'allowed
.?
L to succeed."
r It rested on exaggerated estimates of Com-.,
. ? rnunist influence on the rebels and it failed
to perceive that if we automatically oppose
any reform movement the Communists
here to, We shall end up opposing every
? reform movement, "making ourselves the
prisoners of reactionaries."
Senator FULBRIGIIT la the President down...1
easy by saying he had been given faulty? l
advice which exaggerated the Communist vi
.1. 'danger. That is true, for the President does
A have to base decisions on advice, yet it re-
r mains a fact?though rIILBRIGHT ?
refrained from saying so?that basing for-?.t.
eign policy too much on the advice. of CIA L-)
?k and FBI agents, as the President did, can
be fatal to the proper ends of that policy.'
,,L? As the chairman of the Senate Foreign?
r, Relations Committee, PULDEIGHT has not only'
?;- struck a very hard blow at the President's '!
?l! excuses for "forcibly and illegally" invading
Santo Domingo, but he, has also raised the
ultimate question about American policy ?f
toward Latin America. His words were: ..;
"t ?
- "The direction- of the Alliance for Progress"!
r is toward social revolution in Latin Amer.
ica; the direction of our Dominican inter- .?,4
i!vention is toward the suppression of revolu-
tionary movements which are supported by'
?Communists or suspected of being influenced
i,by Communists * ? ? ?
"We simply cannot have it both
rwe must choose between the Alliance for
' Progress and a foredoomed effort to inistain
I., the status quo in Latin America."' ,
This needed to be said. As Senator FoL-;
rmaim remarked after dropping his bomb:,,
e "I think maybe they'll stop 'and think 'a bitt,
("before rushing into, more military, .111teriV%
. ? 4 2.
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STATI NTL
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