PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. "BILL" CLINTON - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 10/20/1999 - HFSID 286044
Price: $5,500.00
BILL CLINTON
President Bill Clinton signed this typed letter to Senator Pat Moynihan in 1999
regarding live bombing exercises Vieques, Puerto Rico that had killed a native Puerto
Rican earlier that year. He added an autograph postscript that "I will do all I can to
bring this to a satisfactory conclusion"… and he did.
Typed Letter Signed: "Bill" as President, 2p, 7x10½, separate sheets. The White House,
Washington, 1999 October 20. On White House letterhead to The Honorable Daniel
Patrick Moynihan, United States Senate, Washington, D.C. Begins: "Dear Pat". In
part: "Thank you for your letter on the Navy's target practice at Vieques, Puerto Rico.
I especially appreciate your thoughts because of your personal experience as well as
the insight you provided on Puerto Rico matters in general. You helped me understand
the Puerto Rico issue during the dinner you recalled in your letter and at other points
early in my presidency…I also recognize the unprecedented unity and strong feelings
Puerto Ricans have regarding Vieques…At the same time, as you understand, I must
ensure a solution for Vieques that provides the training necessary to meet the combat
readiness requirements of Navy and Marine Corps forces before they are sent into
harm's way abroad. I want to make sure we do all possible to develop a solution that
addresses the concerns of Puerto Rico and the people of Vieques while meeting Navy and
Marine Corps training requirements. To begin to develop such a solution, I asked that
Secretary [of Defense] Bill Cohen establish a special panel to independently assess
military needs, consider Puerto Rican concerns, and explore any alternative sites and
training methods that would fulfill readiness needs…." Handwritten postscript: "I will do
all I can to bring this to a satisfactory conclusion-". On April 19, 1999, during routine
training, the crew of a U.S. Marine Corps jet accidentally dropped two live bombs on
an observation post in the Vieques, Puerto Rico weapons range, killing a Navy
contract employee who was a native Puerto Rican and re-ignited longstanding anti-U.S.
military sentiments in Puerto Rico. Eight miles southeast of the main island of Puerto Rico,
Vieques had been used by the U.S. military for over 50 years. On December 3, 1999,
President BILL CLINTON ordered the Pentagon to end live-fire training exercises on
Vieques unless residents there agreed to let the practice continue. Accepting a recommendation
from Secretary of Defense Cohen, Clinton also ordered that all military training on
Vieques be phased out over the next five years, unless the 9,000 civilian residents of
Vieques decide otherwise. In January 2000, the Clinton administration set a May 2003 target
date for withdrawing from Vieques, but Congress required the Navy to certify that alternative
training sites were at least as good as Vieques. On May 1, 2003, training on Vieques ended
and military exercises were transferred to bases in the southeastern United States and
areas at sea. DIRECTLY FROM THE SALE OF THE ESTATE OF SENATOR
DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN. Moynihan (1927-2003) represented New York as a
Democrat for four terms (1977-2001).A prolific author, he served in the administrations
of four Presidents: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. Estate inventory numbers stamped
at left margins and written in ink (unknown hand) at upper right margins. Staple holes at upper
left blank corners. Fine condition.
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