20218: (Chamberlain) 20194: Esser: Re: 20181 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

This is all desperate stuff from Esser and the Central Committee boys about
"why" the US "had to" invade Haiti to expand the US economy and further
sinister political goals.


> * It had a populist president that was held in high esteem by the
very poor, not a good thing in the eyes of the Washington establishment.

"Not a good thing" -- what does this fuzzy phrase mean?  Aristide, having
become reviled by so many of his people (not just the rich or the
educated), doesn't scare anyone these days, and probably never did since
his magic and poetry, while important and inspiring, didn't translate into
anything substantial, largely through his own organisational failure.  He
raised the hopes of many Haitians, and then they simply saw through the
rhetoric.  But the politico-religious foreigners didn't.


> * Aristide refused to bow to all demands that were made on him, that
also didn't make him more popular.

In fact he did bow to them all, if we are to believe the ultras on the
Central Committee, plus Big Ben and our secretive friends the PPN.  Where
did he hold the line?  Teleco?  We know why that was kept out of private
hands, because it was already _in_ them, as the traditional cash cow of
Aristide and others before him as they drained it for themselves and to
fund all manner of dirty deeds.  Régie du Tabac under the Duvaliers -- same
thing.


> * Haiti is a good sized export market, go in any of the outdoor
markets in Port-au-Prince and see where the apples come from , the
chicken parts, the rice, the sugar and so on. Export markets are of
great value and no, Haiti's market has not been opened fully to U.S. goods

Apples, chicken parts, rice and sugar for people who can barely pay for
them is hardly the best market.  US goods not allowed in are negligible.


> * Haiti is also of interest as a source of cheap labor, see the new
factories along the Dominican border and the assembly sector in
Port-au-Prince. But a president that speaks of raising the minimum
wage is, from a U.S. business point of view, not very good.

Offshore factory owners have dozens of other countries these days where
conditions are more "stable," workers better equipped (health, literacy)
and utilities more reliable.  Haiti is today a businessman's nightmare
(esp. after all the trashing of infrastructure in the latest events,
throwing thousands out of work).  That's why the factories are along the
border, to benefit from the better all-round supply conditions in the DR.


> * Haiti  also does export goods, and many times if you look as to why
something takes place, you also have to look at the long term
strategies. Haiti still has very fertile areas and markets in
tropical fruits are expected to grow. Now if you look at the fights
over banana imports to the EU it becomes clear that what might look a
very small market to you and me, is of great importance to others.

There's not a "long-term strategy" in sight.  Thanks to the incomptetence
of the rulers of the "République de Port-au-Prince," Haiti has a long way
to go before it exports any but the smallest quantities from the meagre
amount of exhausted arable land.  As for bananas, very few would reach the
port in any fit condition to be accepted after for shipping after
travelling over the bad roads.  The whole infrastructure -- transport,
handling, corruption, cultivation methods etc. -- has to be sorted out and
upgraded before that can be of any significance.


> * Haiti has improved it's ties to Cuba which is definitely a no-no
for any President that would like to stay in power. Having Cuban
doctors and hospitals in Haiti is rather offensive to the political
right-wing in the U.S.

Nobody is afraid of the doctors.  It seems (one hopes this will stick) that
even the nutters running parts of the US government realise that booting
hundreds of doctors out of such a poor country wouldn't make sense.  But we
are invited to believe that Aristide was overthrown for a few useful and
purely economic ties to Cuba, which helped Haiti not Cuba...


>  * In light of ongoing problems between the descendants of African
slaves and descendants of their white masters in the U.S., having a
black republic a few hundred miles off shore is dangerous. African
americans and descendants of Africans world-wide still look up to
Haiti and it's ongoing struggle for independence.

Dangerous??  This is why the US invaded in 2004??


> * Haiti is a favorite playground for U.S. churches and NGO's that
have interests that must be protected.

They protect them very well by themselves, without the help of their
governments.


>  Dominicans haven't moved much forward since their last occupation,
look at their refugee numbers and so haven't other countries that weren't
left in peace...

Both the DR and Grenada have done very nicely since they were US-invaded.
Nothing especially to do with the invasions.  The DR was doing especially
well until last year when the giant banking fraud brought down the economy.


When is the foreign-based Central Committee going to stop wasting time on
this blame game and these ridiculous conspiracies and use their energies to
help Haiti and Haitians move towards the standard of living achieved by all
their neighbours many years ago?   Once again, don't hold your breath...


        Greg Chamberlain