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’No Enthusiasm’ to Send Troops to Haiti
2004-02-18
EFL
With officials alert for a potential refugee crisis, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday the administration had "no enthusiasm" for using U.S. forces to quell unrest in Haiti. He added that some nations may be willing to send peacekeepers once peace is restored.
Ah, Colin, you’re forgetting something.
The White House said it was up to the Haitian people to decide whether embattled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide should remain in power. But Powell dismissed suggestions from some of Aristide’s opponents that he step down. "We cannot buy into a proposition that says the elected thug president must be forced out of office by thugs and those who do not respect law and are bringing terrible violence to the Haitian people," Powell said.
"We'd rather wait until you drag him through the streets and kill him. That way we know he won't come back."
With Haiti’s latest crisis in its 11th day, U.S. officials said they saw no sign at this point of a repeat of the refugee crisis of the early 1990s, when the country was under military rule. Nevertheless, they said there are contingency plans at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for a Haitian exodus. They added that no refugee shelters were being constructed at the base.
"Move over, Mahmoud, you got company!"
"Hey! What's that in his hand?"
"It's a chicken!"
"And who's that guy with him?"
"Don't mind him. He's dead."
The administration is reluctant to intervene militarily this time, partly because there is no obvious successor.
... and partly because we keep doing that over and over again, and the end result is always the same.
In 1994, Aristide had a legitimate claim to take over after the junta was ousted, based on his election in 1990. Powell talked on Tuesday with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who told reporters on Tuesday that France was weighing the possibility of sending peacekeepers. But, he added, it would be very difficult to do so while Haiti is in the throes of violence. France has 4,000 military personnel on the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe.
I’m sure they’d get a hot warm welcome in Haiti.
Posted by:Steve White

#16  New Orleans
Posted by: Stephen   2004-2-18 9:52:02 PM  

#15  No, Shipman's right. I can see that extra 2/3's to account for the large undead zombie population that supposedly likes to hangout there. My question is, who gets them?
Posted by: tu3031   2004-2-18 4:28:57 PM  

#14  What's wrong with five thirds? Even an English major (ahem) should recognize that 5 thirds is the same as (or equvalent to as we say in science) third here, third there, plus 3 thirds or to sigma the whole thing 3 and 2 thirds or 19.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-2-18 4:21:53 PM  

#13  It's UN math. Same as they use in their bookkeeping.
Posted by: Steve   2004-2-18 3:50:53 PM  

#12   doesn't that make five thirds? Or is that doable in higher mathematics?
It's probably doable in Haiti. In fact, I think it's probably eminently doable. Just ask Aristide...
Posted by: Old Patriot   2004-2-18 3:49:29 PM  

#11  Mmm, Shipman? I am but a humble English major, but doesn't that make five thirds? Or is that doable in higher mathematics?
Posted by: Sgt. Mom   2004-2-18 3:00:56 PM  

#10  They simply don't have the educated populace at this point.

That's the least of their problems.... Haiti is damn near out of topsoil... it's time to temporarily depopulate that part of Hispanola. 1/3 to the US, 1/3 to France, 1/3 to Quebec, 1/3 to South America, 1/3 to Cuba.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-2-18 1:34:26 PM  

#9  Ruprecht, that would seriously dilute teh quality of the Dogers farm system. It won't happen.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-2-18 1:16:31 PM  

#8  The OAS and the UN should encourage the Dominican Republic to take over the entire island as occupier, colonist, or in Trust. Haiti was the second Democracy in the western hemesphere and they still haven't managed to make a go of it. They simply don't have the educated populace at this point.
Posted by: ruprecht   2004-2-18 12:39:44 PM  

#7  The french have to think hard about going, after all they got kicked out of there, and just about every Haitian is proud to tell you that they did it. The french army would have to put their losing streak on the line. Best dressed losers I ever met.
Posted by: TopMac   2004-2-18 12:17:38 PM  

#6  I'm not sure how many people know it, but we've intervened in Haiti five times in the 20th century. Nothing ever changes. These people are still fighting the same battles in 2004 they were fighting in 1824. Until the people of Haiti change, the politics - including the murder, rape, and total destruction - won't change.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2004-2-18 11:11:19 AM  

#5  Anon - that was a lame comment. Why should we go there or rather, how many times should we go there until enough is enough.

I don't think there were allot of oil rigs in Afghanistan, Liberia, and Bosnia.

The Haitians are a lost cause. They are not willing to do anything for themselves. All they are interested in are fVckin' and fightin'. The Dominican Republic shares the same island with them and they don't have similar problems.

You can't help people who aren't willing to help themselves. Past actions there prove they are a lost cause - Dead Enders.

1 more point - where is the precious UN conerning this? I haven't seen or heard them stepping up to the plate to help the Haitians either.

Go hug a tree.

Posted by: Yosemite Sam   2004-2-18 10:05:26 AM  

#4  Ohhh, I think I just found the Reverend's retirement spot.
Posted by: Anonymous2U   2004-2-18 9:36:19 AM  

#3  They are going to have to kill Americans to generate the requierd enthusiasm. Hopefully, they are too intelligent to go that route.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-2-18 9:02:55 AM  

#2  Probably more than in Afghanistan, Anon.
Read this and then tell us why any nation should intervene in Haiti: Why Haiti's Such a Mess (And Why Bill Clinton Was So Wrong to Prop Up Aristide)
Posted by: GK   2004-2-18 7:55:04 AM  

#1  Yup, no oil in Haiti.
Posted by: Anonymous   2004-2-18 7:34:01 AM  

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