21178: Hess: Re: 21168: Marina: ANALYSIS OF ASSETS & THEIR (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: DougRHess@aol.com


I'm concerned that all this worrying about Aristide having any ill-gotten
gain is detracting from the amount of ill-gotten gain that many other sectors in
Haiti make off with.

I don't know if JAB did steal money, or what dealings some might see as
stealing and some not. Definitions of graft vary enormously from nation to nation.
For instance in the US, the ins and outs of accepting and using money to
campaigning for office operates in a fashion that many nations would find illegal,
not to mention the bizarre tradition in the US of appointment of ambassadors
for many nations based on the campaign contributions of these new Excellencies.

Regarding JBA's wealth. He has, or had, many very wealth admirers. Add some
money from them, to salaries he may have paid himself for various projects
while out of office, book sales, etc., and he could live well without graft
(although this is not proof that he did not).

Regarding the people who are representing him, I assume some of them were on
salary for the government of Haiti. I don't know what the tricky ins and outs
will be of how their contracts are defined once they are now representing a
President that some will say is, de facto, the ex-president.

Finally, that the US government is "Shocked! Shocked!" that people take money
from allowing drug trafficking is, of course, a farce. It is well documented
that the US government has used drug money, drug traffickers, and also paid
money to government/military officials that would be illegal under the nation
where the payment took place. Is it that surprising that in a volatile situation
like Haiti this has happened, too?  The corruption and violence that comes
with the drug trade is something for which we owe reparations to other nations.
After all, it is people like Bush (when he was a wild young one), and kids in
the extended Bush family, that are snorting this stuff up and give rise to the
trade. It's not like tons of coke are going through Haiti because Haitians
are partying with it.

-Doug