An Unofficial Diplomat
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has a history of intervention in international crises:
1979: Jackson travels to Israel, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon to lobby for Mideast peace.
1984: In Syria, he arranges the release of Navy Lt. Robert O. Goodman Jr., whose bomber was shot down by Syrian antiaircraft guns in Lebanon.
1984: In Cuba, he works out arrangements for the release of 46 American and Cuban prisoners.
1990: In Iraq, he meets with Saddam Hussein and secures the release of about a dozen Americans held hostage after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
1993: In Haiti, he acts as unofficial U.S. envoy to inform military leaders that they faced U.S. force unless the country’s democratically elected president was restored.
1994: In Nigeria, he delivers a message from President Clinton that the U.S. is concerned about the nation’s lack of progress toward restoring democracy.
Sources: Associated Press; Facts on File
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