19849: radtimes: Another failed state (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: radtimes <resist@best.com>

Another failed state

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/helledale/HD20040304.shtml

by Helle Dale
March 4, 2004

Sometimes there are no good choices -- just bad, worse and worst. The
easiest choice certainly would surely have been for the United States to
stay out of the awful mess that is Haiti. But, with a lot of well-founded
misgivings and reluctance, we already  have moved beyond that stage.

Right now, we are probably looking at a situation that could be categorized
as "bad." On Sunday, the first U.S.  Marines started moving back into Haiti
to restore peace and calm to the same impoverished island we last invaded
under President Clinton in 1994. Who would want to go back to Haiti after
$3 billion in U.S. aid wasted and the deployment of 20,000 U.S. troops just
a decade ago? Our previous intervention was a totally misguided effort, not
to mention an expensive one. The Bush administration's deep reluctance to
get deeply involved in what can only be described as Haiti's "quagmire"
hopefully indicates that the administration will look for other ways to be
involved than sending in thousands of Marines again.

Yet, there are also worse and worst. Worse would be for the United States
to go into Haiti alone. Sometimes multilateralism has its uses, and in this
case, it is better to let others share the burden, Canadians, possibly
Latin and South American nations, even the French and the United Nations.
Haiti is a tragic case of a failed state, but it is not a security threat
to the United States; this is one case where a coalition approach makes
sense. Furthermore, like a lot of other failed states around the world,
Haiti was once a French colony; its former dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier
remains in exile in France.

Absolutely worst of all would have been for the United States to return to
Haiti to restore former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power again, as
he was repeatedly pleading for over the past three weeks. After it became
clear that he had no support from the United States, France, or Haitian
citizens for that matter, the former president left Haiti on Sunday for the
Central African Republic. His departure constitutes by far the best chance
Haitians have had for years for a decent system of governance. That is
indeed a silver lining.

Now, there are plenty of Democrats here in Washington and on the campaign
trail that have screamed "racism" and accused the Bush administration of
letting Haitian democracy down. Mr. Aristide now claims preposterously he
was kidnapped by American soldiers, a charge repeated by Rep. Maxime
Waters, TransAfrica funder Randall Robinson and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
"Shattered Democracy in Haiti" ran the headline on New York Times
editorial. "President Bush's delay in sending the Marines to Haiti has left
democratic institutions there on shaky ground," said the newspaper.

Actually, we actually just gave Haiti a second or a third chance.

  Anyone who has watched Haiti under Mr. Aristide will know his tenure in
the presidency – before and after his gilded exile in Georgetown from 1990
to 1994  -- was characterized by political violence and corruption. He even
endorsed the practice of "necklacing" of political opponents, that is,
hanging a gasoline-filled tire around a person's neck and setting it on
fire with a gruesome death to follow.

Mr. Aristide was re-elected to the presidency in 2000 with 92 percent of
the vote and his party, the Fanmi Lavalas party, swept into power in
parliament. This was after an election campaign that sought to intimidate
and silence the opposition, which finally refused to take part.

Anyone that still calls Mr. Aristide a "democrat" should consult the 2003
"Freedom in the World" published by Freedom House. The following is what
that human rights organization had to say about Haiti last year:

     "Haiti is a nation under siege, beset by extreme levels of political
and criminal violence, lawlessness, and corruption. The past year saw no
progress in stemming the absolute decline of the political and economic
conditions that, for most Haitians, make life extremely difficult. Haiti
has the lowest life expectancy and highest infant mortality rates of the
Western Hemisphere."  Such was the state of the nation over which Mr.
Aristide presided, and which rebel leaders eventually rose up against."

Our best hope now is to allow Haitians to forge a peace settlement of their
own and help guide them towards a responsible government. Rebel leaders,
who halted their advance outside Port-au-Prince, showed unusual restraint
and called off the fighting once Mr. Aristide had agreed to leave.
According to Haiti's constitution, Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface
Alexandre will assume the presidency and may help guide Haiti towards new
elections. It is a process the United States and the international
community can support and guide, but Haitians need to take the lead.

Helle Dale is deputy director of the Davis Institute for International
Studies at The Heritage Foundation

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