HAITI / CHAOS & SERIOUS QUESTIONS
Arianna Huffington once said " Never believe anything the Bush Administration says ".
With that truism in mind let's look at the current Haiti chaos as a case in point. It appears
the U.S. has been actively backing the rebels and at least one news agency reports
removed from the palace by U.S. troops
today on this latest example of U.S. enforced ' regime change '.
Allen L Roland
More Chaos, More Questions
Center for American Progress March 1, 2004
With the departure of Haitian President Jean Bertrand-Aristide, questions are swirling about the Bush Administration's past and future role in the crisis. While Aristide faced legitimate questions about his leadership and human rights record in Haiti, he was democratically elected to a six-year term in 2000 .
That "counted little as rebels gobbled up territory" – but it also seemed to count little to the Bush Administration, which ultimately echoed the demands of the " drug traffickers and death squad leaders " who pushed for Aristide's removal. While Secretary of State Colin Powell initially repudiated the coup, Powell changed his position , calling on Aristide to undertake a "careful examination" of whether he should step down. Soon after, the White House " hardened its position " and essentially demanded that Aristide step down "in a harsh statement that placed much of the blame on the Haitian president for the deadly crisis."
WHAT'S NEXT?:
With international peacekeepers being sent to Haiti , questions still remain about whether the U.S. has any plan to restore law and order on the island. Will there be police training? Will there be a resumption and expansion of international aid? Already, many are skeptical. As Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) said, " The problem for Haiti is that it's not oil-rich . It's a people of African descent. And they're not campaign contributors . I hate to say that, but I believe if the people's circumstances were different, I think they'd see a very different reaction from this Administration."
COMPLICIT IN THE OVERTHROW?:
U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) said on ABC's This Week that the Administration is " just as much a part of this coup d'etat as the rebels , as the looters, or anyone else" because they "made it abundantly clear that Aristide would do best by leaving the country, which means that the rebels, the looters ... [were] given to believe that they should never, never, never accept Aristide as the president ." Not only did the Administration demand Aristide's removal, but it refused to send peacekeeping troops until Aristide left . Said Rangel: "All we had to do was to send 200, 300 troops over there and tell those people to put down the arms." And at least one news agency reports that the caretaker of the Haitian presidential palace witnessed Aristide being forcibly removed from the palace by U.S. troops.
Rangel's point was reinforced by one diplomat who noted that when Aristide was negotiating with rebels over the last two weeks, "it was clear that Washington had its own agenda during the mediation ." Specifically, "the United States refused to talk about sending in peacekeepers to help thwart the gunmen's uprising in the countryside as part of a peace plan." As the diplomat said, "When they were refusing to address the security concerns, it was clear they had other things in mind ," the diplomat said. "It was clear to me two weeks ago that Aristide was a goner."
WEAKENING TIES IN THE LAST FEW YEARS:
Knight-Ridder reports that the " U.S. cut off aid to the Haitian government after flawed legislative elections in 2000, leaving wobbly institutions like the National Police to flounder, then turning around and condemning the government for letting drug traffickers use the country as a pit stop." Additionally, the Administration "pushed the Inter-American Development Bank to freeze loans to Haiti - even though the bank had lent money to the country during the reign of the dictatorial Duvalier family."
"THE COUNTRY WILL BE BETTER OFF":
The Administration has said that Haiti will " be better off [because Aristide] relinquished power ." But AP reports that " mayhem erupted in Port-Au-Prince as Aristide left ." The Miami Herald notes that " greater strife could fill a post-Aristide vacuum " and that "the prospects for peace after a departure by him appear poor." Why? Because, as the NYT reports, "the armed men trying to seize power in Haiti are led by death-squad veterans and convicted murderers ." The rebels are led, in part, by the Haitian Front for Advancement and Progress – FRAPH for short. This is the same group that "was an instrument of terror" after Aristide was overthrown in 1991, "killing thousands over the next three years."
EVIDENCE OF U.S.-REBEL CONNECTIONS:
Despite the rebels' sordid history, the FRAPH and its leaders have had troubling connections to the American military and intelligence services . For instance, Human Rights Watch notes that "FRAPH reportedly was founded with CIA assistance and 'Toto' Constant, its director, has repeatedly stated that he received regular CIA payments." This was corroborated by Knight Ridder which reported that Constant acknowledged he was on the CIA payroll . The current rebel leader, Guy Philippe, who is " infamous for human rights abuses ," was trained by the U.S. military . And the NYT reports the rebels' "assault weapons and crisp camouflage uniforms suggest they have outside support ." The Haitian Army and its National Intelligence Service, which was disbanded after Aristide returned to power but whose remnants are part of the rebellion, were agencies "created and financed by the C.I.A. that committed acts of terror and trafficked in cocaine."
Allen Roland's weblog: http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/
Website: www.allenroland.com
ONLY THE TRUTH IS REVOLUTIONARY
