Clinton: Hindsight Doesn't Change Elián Decision

Bet Clinton's looking forward to an Elián-free day with some Dolphins after taking questions at UM.

Exactly a decade has passed since a certain hubub dominated headlines in Dade County and beyond. Small boy... medium-sized inner tube... extra-large international incident... perhaps you remember? Former President Bill Clinton does, and probably knew he wouldn't escape a weekend in the 305 on its 10th anniversary without being asked about the Elián González affair.

(After all, it did cost Janet Reno a high school.)

The question came Saturday at the University of Miami as Clinton spoke to college students gathered as part of his Clinton Global Initiative. In hindsight, an AP reporter asked, would he do anything differently than the decisions that led to Elián being ripped from the arms of relatives in Little Havana at gunpoint?

"No," Clinton replied, according to audio obtained by the Herald. "I did everything I could to try to have this resolved in a peaceful way...The law in America and the international law was as clear as day and the people who [had] young Elián González just didn't agree with it."

"Let me remind you," he continued, likening the case to family kidnappings, "We had children, American children who had been kidnapped. They were in Iran. They were in Germany. They were in country after country after country...

"If I had said,'I don't like Cuba and I like America better than Cuba and I don't care what the international law is and I don't care that his father wants him back,' then not only me but, no other American president, would have been able to say with a straight face, 'You can't kidnap my child and keep him in Germany and have some German court say we just like our German parent better. We like Germany better than America'...

"Believe me, I hated what happened, because I thought we would be able to do it in a different way."

Clinton went on to say that he mentioned several things in his memoirs he would change, "but this isn't one of them."

The former President likely won't field any tough questions this afternoon, when he's set to get dirty with Dolphins players fixing up the Homeless Trust Complex at Homestead Air Base.

Greg Camarillo, Patrick Cobbs and Lousaka Polite are signed up to work, along with hundreds of students, former Heat player Alonzo Mourning, and actress Heather Graham -- someone we might actually consider shipping to Cuba, if only for that vacant performance in Austin Powers.

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