Weeks later. we belatedly ended arms sales to India. It is a sad commentary that the war raging on the subcontinent today is being fought on both sides with U.S.-made weapons. While we were all too free with military assistance we provided far too little in the way of humanitarian assistance needed to deal with so immense a refugee problem. We failed to go to the United Nations until the bloodshed was widespread. We failed to put the needed emphasis on a ceasefire. We failed to insist that this dispute be limited to the question of refugees rather than the historical power struggle between India and Pakistan. And now we have failed the crucial test of refraining from inflammatory rhetoric. thus denying ourselves the potential for helping to arrange even a temporary peace. Mr. President. the errors of the past year are all too clear. The plight of millions of refugees without food. shelter. or minimal medical care. along with the mounting number of casualties. must be the center of our concern. We must immediately demonstrate our neutrality and thereby reestablish our credibility as a peacemaker. We must insist on action for peace in the General Assembly of the United Nations where all parties concernedincluding spokesmen for the refugeesshould join in the search for constructive action. We must mobilize the resources at our command. while working with the international community. to refocus attention on the refugees and provide relief for these and other victims of the war. Finally. we must stop the game of pointing fingers and instead give peace the priority it deserves. To do any less than this. to engage in name calling. to falter in the drive for a ceasefire. to become lost in diplomatic gamesmanshipnone of these responses would be satisfactory.
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refugee refugeesshould refugees