19663: radtimes: The Left's favorite thug (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: radtimes <resist@best.com>

The Left's favorite thug

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/richlowry/rl20040301.shtml

by Rich Lowry
March 1, 2004

If there was one moment when recent U.S. Haitian policy went wrong, it
might have been in 1993 when Bill Clinton was considering whether or not to
restore the exiled former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide by force of
American arms. Aristide had a well-earned reputation for thuggish tactics
and emotional instability. Huddled with top aide George Stephanopoulos,
Clinton briefly considered and then dismissed a CIA report that Aristide is
a manic depressive. "You know," Clinton said, "you can make too much of
normalcy."

Well, as Aristide again heads into exile having left his country in
shambles thanks to his erratic behavior and anti-democratic rule, it is
time to value normalcy in Haitian leaders again. Clinton deployed troops to
Haiti on Aristide's behalf because he was a darling of the American left,
which he remains despite a disastrous interlude in power. President Bush is
being assailed as a betrayer of democracy and Colin Powell as a betrayer of
blacks ("an immoral traitor to his race," according to activist Randall
Robinson) for giving Aristide a shove out the door.

For anyone who truly cares about Haiti, however, Aristide's departure is a
case of double good riddance. His ouster is an act of political hygiene
that at least creates the chance -- Las Vegas odds-makers still wouldn't
rate it a good one -- for a better future in the tiny Caribbean nation.

Aristide made his own mess. The Organization of American States pronounced
his 2000 re-election fraudulent, a judgment accepted by nearly everyone.
Aristide repeatedly refused to follow through on commitments to reform,
working to consolidate his power instead. As the Haitian National Police
dissolved under the pressure of its own corruption, Aristide began to rely
on gangs to work his will. Hence, a seed of the current rebellion.

Former Aristide gangs, outraged that he allegedly ordered the assassination
of one of their leaders, rose up against him. They were joined by
right-wing gangs, as the country steadily slipped out of the unpopular
Aristide's control. The democratic opposition got caught in the middle. The
situation was intolerable so long as Aristide remained in power.

This wasn't a "unilateral" determination by the Bush administration. None
of the important international players wanted to commit troops to Haiti
with Aristide in office. "Everyone said we're not going to send a dollar or
person to save this crumbling regime," says Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who
has been active in Haitian diplomacy. It's no accident that a U.N. Security
Council resolution authorizing troops passed the same day Aristide left
with a one-way ticket to the Central African Republic.

Bush critics complain that Aristide wasn't given enough aid. By the end
almost all assistance to Haiti was being funneled through nongovernmental
groups, because no one trusted the government. The OAS and the European
Union, especially the French, didn't want to hand aid over to a corrupt
regime. The United States withheld certain aid, but didn't cut it off
entirely ($71 million in bilateral aid last year), continuing a stream of
assistance that has been generous by any standard.

Since 1994, the United States has spent $850 million on Haiti. If you count
money spent on U.S. troops in the country and on repatriation of refugees,
the figure is roughly $3 billion. "If that's not a commitment to a country,
I don't know what is," says a senior administration official.

With Aristide gone and the rebellion subsiding, the United States will try
to restore constitutional government in Haiti. The chief justice of the
supreme court has stepped into the presidency, as stipulated in the
constitution. The international community will work to find a consensus
choice for prime minister and then set a timetable for elections.

So, the Bush administration has helped depose a corrupt autocrat, avoided a
refugee crisis and forged international agreement on a path for the
post-Aristide future. Bush critics shouldn't let their affection for the
twice-former Haitian strongman cloud their appreciation of these
accomplishments. Alas, love affairs with thugs apparently die hard.

Rich Lowry is editor of National Review, a Townhall.com member group, and
author of Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years.

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