#1843: Re: #1781 Driver replies to Sinai

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Tom F. Driver <tfd3@columbia.edu>

Joshua Sinai asks me:  

    "In September 1994 when the U.S.-led "intervasion" restored 
    President Aristide to power, and undertook an enormous effort to 
    help build up democratic political and judicial institutions, was this an 
    example of thwarting the aims of popular movements...?  Was 
    Aristide not a representative of the "popular movements"?"

If the U.S. Govt. had wanted to reverse the 1991 coup against Aristide and 
the popular movement that had brought him to office, it could have done so 
almost immediately, as then-President George Bush at first promised to do.  
Instead, it waited three years, during which time the CIA was active in Haiti 
on behalf of Aristide's enemies, and arms continued to go, secretly, to the 
military in Haiti.  Aristide was not returned to power until, bowing to U.S. will, 
he agreed to the economic plans the U.S. wanted.  His doing so put a crack 
in the Lavalas movement that has grown into the deep and paralyzing split 
that exists today.

I do not for a minute belive that the U.S. since 1994 (or at any other time) 
has put "enormous effort" into building up Haiti's democratic political and 
judicial instituions.  Of course, it CLAIMS to do so, but look at the results.  If 
you saw the CBS '60 Minutes' story about the USAID's work on the Haitian 
judicial system, you saw that these "enormous efforts" have done virtually 
nothing to answer the cries of the people for justice.


-------------
Tom F. Driver
New York City
<tfd3@columbia.edu>