Bush supporting Haitian terrorists

[rman]

The so called rebels use mass violence against the population of Haiti in order to get their political way: not democratically elected Arestide, but the wealthy families who lost out to the democratic process, must govern Haiti. To use that kind of violence for that purpose is by definition terrorism.
This hypocracy of the Bush regime does not surprise me, nor does it really surprise me that all of the West is siding with the US, either overtly (Canada, France) or silently (all nations that do not speak out against this). What saddens me is that the hypocracy and the immorality of the West is more obvious and transparent then ever, and still they get away with it thanks to the political correctness of the population of the West.

[Kagemusha]

1. Hey, it's not like Canada can invade Haiti.

Army's broke, financially, and broken, manpower-wise...

[rman]

2. Canada isn't alone and they are not forced to support the rebels

It is a matter of choice, not one of capabilities.

Why is it that troops can be send to support the rebels but not to support the democratically elected president?

Western nations other then the US could make a stand against the US. Of course they won't because they are scared shitless of the US. They should come out and just say that, as opposed to pretending supporting the rebels is the right thing to do.

[izzie]

3. Well Bush likes War.

He seems to like to kill people.

[KharmaTrain]

4. Where Are The Miami Cubans?

A friend in So. Fla. thinks the South Florida Cuban Mafia...Elian's friends, and big, big bushbots...both bunnypants and Jebbie...are deeply involved with this Haitian mess.

His reason include having another base in the region (they already have substantial assets in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic) and ready to pounce on Havana the moment Castro goes. The Cubans know they haven't had a better friend and a better time than now and to start making their moves to muscle out other groups for control of the Island. Looks at this just like the Chalabi/Iraqi situation.

Not sure if I go that tin-hat, but I could see this "community" playing hardball as they know they hold key votes in November and see what type of favors they get from the regime in our White House.

[eablair3]

5. here's some links and alternative source for those who want to know

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/25/1613200
The US lawyer representing the government of Haiti charged today that the US government is directly involved in a military coup attempt against the country's democratically elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Ira Kurzban, the Miami-based attorney who has served as General Counsel to the Haitian government since 1991, said that the paramilitaries fighting to overthrow Aristide are being backed by Washington.

lots more info here -

http://zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=54&ItemID=5043
Haiti - Insurrection in the Making - Feb 25, 2004

http://zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=54&ItemID=4977
Media vs. Reality in Haiti - Feb 13, 2004

US Congresswoman Maxine Waters issued a press release Feb. 11th, on the heels of her recent visit to Haiti, that called on the Bush administration to join her in condemning the “so-called opposition” and, specifically, Andre Apaid Jr., who is a “Duvalier supporter” that, along with his Group of 184, is “attempting to instigate a bloodbath in Haiti and then blame the government for the resulting disaster in the belief that the U.S. will aid the so-called protestors against President Aristide.” <5>

She also took aim at the World Bank and IMF and their “continuing embargo” , which amounts to hundreds of millions of desperately needed funds. Rep. Waters outlined the following positive measures that Aristide has initiated:

“Under his leadership, the Haitian government has made major investments in agriculture, public transportation and infrastructure…The government doubled the minimum wage from 36 to 70 gourdes per day, despite strong opposition from the business community…President Aristide has also made health care and education national priorities. More schools were built in Haiti between 1994 and 2000 than between 1804 and 1994. The government expanded school lunch and school bus programs and provides a 70% subsidy for schoolbooks and uniforms”

Rep. Waters made clear assertions on Aristide’s behalf that are otherwise absent from Bush administration commentary and corporate media deceptions regarding Haiti. Waters completed her statement with an important appeal, which called on the corporate media to “discontinue the practice of repeating rumours and innuendos,” whereby they function as “international megaphones for the opposition. They lie shamelessly on a daily basis.”

Another Congresswoman, Barbara Lee, directly challenged Colin Powell in a formal letter to him February 12th, after Powell had announced that the US administration is “not interested in regime change” in Haiti. Said Lee: “It appears that the US is aiding and abetting the attempt to violently topple the Aristide government. With all due respect, this looks like “regime change”…Our actions – or inaction – may be making things worse.”

Anyone ever question why the comments of Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee are not being reported at all in the corporate mass media?

_______________

more-

http://zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=54&ItemID=4996
The US Double Game in Haiti - Feb 16, 2004

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=54&ItemID=5045
Haiti's Lawyer: US Is Arming Anti-Aristide Paramilitaries, Calls For UN Peacekeepers - Feb 26, 2004

[eablair3]

6. Repugs are anti-Aristide and criticized Clinton

from the Feb 25 article above at ZNet --

snip

What is the role of the US in Haiti? The US was the main supporter of the Duvalier dictatorship. In 1986, when Haiti's pro-democracy movement finally succeeded in overthrowing the hated dictator, he was ferried to safety by the Reagan Administration.

Only with the rise of Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected president, did US support shift from the Haitian leadership to those who orchestrated the 1991 coup d'etat.

In 1994, public pressure and fear of an influx of Haitian 'boat people' led the Clinton Administration to reverse the coup d'etat and restore Aristide to power.

Republican leadership strongly opposed the intervention. In 1995, when Republicans took control of Congress, they pushed to cancel US aid to Haiti and to finance the opposition by reallocating federal funds to Haitian non-governmental organizations opposed to Aristide.

In 2000, the Republicans exploited Haiti's electoral controversy as an opportunity to discredit Aristide. The Bush Administration pressured the Inter-American Development Bank to cancel more than $650 million in development assistance and approved loans to Haiti -- money that was slated to pay for safe drinking water, literacy programs and health services.

The seven contested senators are long gone, but the embargo remains in place, denying critical services to the poorest people in the hemisphere.

What is Aristide's record? The US allowed Aristide to be reinstated on the condition that he implement a neoliberal economic agenda.

Aristide complied with some US demands, including a reduction of tariffs on US-grown rice that bankrupted thousands of Haitian farmers and maintenance of a below- subsistence-level minimum wage.

But Aristide resisted privatizing state-owned resources, because of protests from his political base and because he was reluctant to relinquish control over these sources of wealth.

Aristide eventually doubled the minimum wage and -- despite the embargo -- prioritized education and healthcare: he built schools and renovated public hospitals; established new HIV-testing centers and doctor-training programs; and introduced a program to subsidize schoolbooks and uniforms and expand school lunch and bussing services.

Aristide has tried to walk a line between US demands for neoliberal reforms and his own commitment to a progressive economic agenda. As a result, he has lost favor with parts of his own political base and Haitian and US elites.

snip