Democrats Criticize White House Role in Haiti

[Tinoire]

Democrats Criticize White House Role in Haiti

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers warned on Sunday of the possibility of more violence in Haiti until peacekeepers are in place, with some charging the Bush administration effectively helped topple former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

On ABC television's "This Week" program, Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, said a White House statement on Saturday questioning Aristide's fitness to govern effectively sealed his fate. The Haitian leader, under pressure from rebels at home and the United States, left his country on Sunday. "So I don't know who we deal with now, but one thing is clear: if you're elected as president of a country, don't depend on the United States to respect the rule of law," Rangel said.

Senator Michael DeWine of Ohio, a senior Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on the same program that he agreed with Aristide's leaving but said it was essential to get a peacekeeping force into Haiti.

"It's very important that troops be put in place immediately because ... there is a vacuum in Port-au-Prince today and we're liable to have more violence," DeWine said, adding it was "a very chaotic situation" inside Haiti and it will take force to restore order.

<snip>

"Democracy cannot thrive unless its roots are embedded in jobs," said Rangel. "We really have let Haiti down. It's really disappointing." Rangel added the Bush administration was guilty of "encouraging this coup."

<snip>


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=5&u=/nm/20040229/ts_nm/haiti_usa_critics_dc

[Renew Deal]

1. Rangel knows more now than he did then right?

[Tinoire]

2. Just added it. Thanks n/t

[cally]

3. The only encouraging thing

about the Haiti disaster is that Dems are speaking out about it. I know the US has overthrown governments before but I don't remember so many speaking out about it so quickly. I hope it gets more coverage.

The Dems and the UN need to demand to speak to Aristide now and find out what happened. He needs to be interviewed on TV so we all can learn what happened. I hope a UN force goes in immediately. It's the only hope to stabilize the country and reduce the US military force in Haiti.

[I AM SPARTACUS]

4. the UN Security Council was supposed to be meeting a couple hours ago

...to define and authorize UN action.

[mac2]

7. Bush rushes in before they can act...they should have known that

How about the UN demanding their leader be released to the World Court not to the Ashcroft camp. It's a message to other leaders who won't go along with the Bush agenda for all of the countries in the world.

[I AM SPARTACUS]

8. released, yes...

I'd like to see Rangel etal have a nice, private chat with President Aristide. I'd like to see the World Court interview President Aristide to gather evidence against the Bush misunderestimadministration for a case of illegal international intervention if not war crimes.

[Turley]

11. I'm thoroughly confused on Haiti

I've seen a lot of Dems saying basically Aristide is a crook and that his 90% of the vote was, to put it mildly, Saddamesque.

Even the French told the guy he needed to pack his bags. I still haven't seen the remotest evidence of any kind of coup here although plenty of D.U.ers continue to bang that drum.

I also frankly don't understand why the U.S. should have gotten unilaterally involved without the U.N. (or have we forgotten everything that's happened in the last two years?).

This is not to say that Bush has handled things well, or even that he even was aware that a situation existed. But I don't see why Dems should be backing Aristide who looks more and more like a crook. If WJC dropped him that's good enough for me.

[frank frankly]

5. how awful this is today

at least, literally AT LEAST, BushCo is being blamed by somebody.

to quote Jon Stewart, DO THEY THINK WE'RE ALL RETARDED?

thanks for the quotes, Tinoire...

[Robbien]

6. And just think, yesterday we didn't know that a Bush&Co coup

was being waged.

Pacifica and DemocracyNow rocks!

[xchrom]

9. well i hope this adds pressure

on bushco -- if they can add haiti and venezuela together so they can plant a pattern in the minds of the public -- that would be a good thing.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Hope enough people have tried to learn the facts, THIS time.

Due to the Internet, far more people were watching this time than the coup accomplished when the elder, ELECTED _Bush was in office. It would seem a LOT of Caribbean and Latin American countries are very concerned, rightfully:

(snip) Coup d'etat in Haiti


Monday, March 01, 2004



The deed is done.
Haiti has been raped.
The act was sanctioned by the United States, Canada and France.

For despite the fig leaf of constitutionality with which these Western powers, and supposed bastions of democracy, have sought to shroud the act, what happened in Haiti yesterday was nothing short of a coup d'etat.

Indeed, having pressured President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into resigning and going into exile, these powers have firmly placed their imprimatur on a politics that rewards violence and a process that abjures principle in favour of narrow ideological positions and personality preferences.

It is a lesson that Caribbean countries, and particularly Caricom states - which may feel a certain coziness about their democracy - ought to take seriously. For if they thought otherwise, democratically-elected leaders are easily expendable if they, at a particular time, do not fit the profile in favour with those who are strong and powerful.
(snip)

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/html/20040301T000000-0500_56431_OBS_COUP_D_ETAT_IN_HAITI.asp