Haiti

Gee, perhaps I was right about those rebel promises to disband after all.

International peacekeeping efforts forged ahead in Haiti, but a political solution seemed elusive as rebels pressed to re-establish the army - something Washington opposes - and former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's supporters demanded his return. Even as U.S. special forces ran missions in northern and western Haiti to support the country's National Police in disarming rebels, the shadow of Aristide threatened to push the shaky situation back to the open conflict of last week. About 3,000 protesters marched in front of the American and French embassies Friday, shouting insults at U.S. Marines in the first massive protest since Aristide fled to Africa on Sunday. "Up with Aristide! Down with Bush!" the protesters shouted as U.S. troops watched impassively.

  Guardian article

The whole world loves him.

Rebel leader Guy Philippe said later Friday he was gathering signatures for a petition to re-establish the country's army... U.S. Gen. James Hill of the Southern Command opposed the idea, saying, "There is no need for a Haitian army." Past troops fomented 32 coups in Haiti's 200 years of independence, and the army's murderous instincts and corruption are largely blamed for making the Caribbean country one of the most miserable in the world.

Then, tell me again why it is we sat back waiting for Philippe's crew to overtake all the major cities, kill Aristide supporters, and march on the presidential palace, knowing Philippe's past and his intent?

Philippe also said he had spoken to rebel commanders to persuade them to disarm. But his adviser, Paul Arcelin, has told The Associated Press that the rebels would keep their weapons as long as Aristide militants were armed.

Philippe must have been trained in politics in the U.S. Plausible deniability.

The U.S. Marines so far have met no resistance, though there has been none of the jubilation that accompanied their last intervention in Haiti.

Hmmmm....that's not what we've been told. There was great celebrating, if U.S. media can be believed. You say that "if" dwarfs the Grand Canyon?

Anyway, now that I'm on the media, that report is from the Guardian (UK). And it is taken practically verbatim from an AP article. Typical of U.S. media, as well. They don't send their own journalists, and would it matter if they did? Are journalists trained in objectivity and authenticity any more? Okay - with the exception of Al Giordano's bunch and a relative few independents. No wonder it's impossible to get accurate pictures of what's happening anywhere. One or two journalists file a report, and the rest simply cut and paste or plagiarize, taking what they need to present their own politics.

There was actually a little more information in the AP report (filed by Fox News) that clues us in a bit better on Mr. Philippe and his promises.

Philippe said he had spoken Friday to rebel commanders in Gonaives about the need to lay down their arms. "At the beginning, they didn't understand it, but I talked to them and explained it," he said. "It's OK, we have no problems." His adviser, Paul Arcelin, told The Associated Press earlier that rebels would keep their weapons as long as Aristide militants were armed because "tomorrow they'll come here and kill us." Asked where the rebel guns were, he said: "We hide them." Philippe, apparently under pressure from Washington, has promised that his fighters would disarm. But no plan have been announced for the rebels to hand in their weapons, which Philippe said were at their bases around the country.

   Fox News article

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that event.

... On the political front, the seven-member Council of Sages is expected to name a new prime minister within days, the Organization of American States said. The council was chosen by members of Aristide's Lavalas Family party, the broad-based opposition Democratic Platform coalition, and the international community, said OAS spokesman Edward Alexander. The council met for several hours behind closed doors, ending its first session without a decision. Opposition leaders have been pressing for the replacement of Yvon Neptune, Aristide's premier. One possible choice is Lt. Gen. Herard Abraham, who succeeded Gen. Prosper Avril when he was ousted in a palace coup in 1990. Abraham immediately surrendered power to Haiti's Supreme Court justice -- probably the only Haitian army officer ever to voluntarily hand power to a civilian. That allowed the transition that led to Haiti's first free elections in December 1990, which Aristide won in a landslide.

Ah yes, the Council of Sages. I do wonder how sage they might be.

So what happens if General Abraham is selected again? What happens when elections are held again? What happens if Aristide is re-elected?

Another fine mess George has gotten us into.

I suppose I really can't blame the Idiot Son (alone) for this one. It's more the result of American foreign policy which keeps our southern neighbors poor and mired in drug traffic. And that's been going on since before the administration of the Evil Father.

I can, however, blame the BFEE (Bush Family Evil Empire).

And I don't think I've posted anything yet about the fact that Aristide did have a U.S. contingent of guards, which, according to some reports, the U.S. ordered to stand down.

According to Aristide, American officials in Port-au-Prince told him that rebels were on the way to the presidential residence and that he and his family were unlikely to survive unless they immediately boarded an American-chartered plane standing by to take them to exile. The United States made it clear, he said, that it would provide no protection for him at the official residence, despite the ease with which this could have been arranged. Indeed, according to Aristide's lawyer, the U.S. blocked reinforcement of Aristide's own security detail. At the airport, Aristide said, U.S. officials refused him entry to the airplane until he handed over a signed letter of resignation. After being hustled aboard, Aristide was denied access to a phone for nearly 24 hours, and he knew nothing of his destination until he and his family were summarily deposited in the Central African Republic. He has since been kept hidden from view. Yet this Keystone Kops coup has apparently not worked entirely according to plan: Aristide has used a cellphone to notify the world that he was forcibly removed from Haiti at risk of death and to describe the way his resignation was staged by American forces.

  Common Dreams article

They'll frisk more carefully next time.

There are several tragedies in this surrealistic episode. The first is the apparent incapacity of the U.S. government to speak honestly about such matters as toppling governments. Instead, it brushes aside crucial questions: Did the U.S. summarily deny military protection to Aristide, and if so, why and when? Did the U.S. supply weapons to the rebels, who showed up in Haiti last month with sophisticated equipment that last year reportedly had been taken by the U.S. military to the Dominican Republic, next door to Haiti? Why did the U.S. cynically abandon the call of European and Caribbean leaders for a political compromise, a compromise that Aristide had already accepted? Most important, did the U.S. in fact bankroll a coup in Haiti, a scenario that seems likely based on present evidence? Only someone ignorant of U.S. history and of the administrations of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush would dismiss these questions. The United States has repeatedly sponsored coups and uprisings in Haiti and in neighboring Caribbean countries.

Fortunately for George Double-face, there are a lot of people in this country ignorant of U.S. history and the administrations.

Ignorance is no sin, nor is it a character flaw. And, if you don't care, hey, you don't care. That's your right. Refusal to be educated while still claiming the right to act either directly or by proxy (such as choosing leaders to act on your behalf), however, is another story.

Read the rest of the Common Dreams article for more detail and background.

And here follows a link to previous YWA posts on what's going on in Haiti. (Admission: I was just as ignorant about these facts as anyone could possibly be before I started to check into the matter.) Also, a link to a page I am keeping on my website to information about Haiti and the current events.

Previous posts on Haiti
More information on Haiti

"With a violence-prone U.S. government operating with impunity in many parts of the world, only the public's perseverance in getting at the truth can save us, and others, from our own worst behavior." -- Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University