Kerry Condemns Bush for Failing to Back Aristide

[sangha]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/politics/campaign/07KERR.html?hp

Kerry Condemns Bush for Failing to Back Aristide

"Had he been sitting in the Oval Office last weekend as rebel forces were threatening to enter Port-au-Prince, Senator John Kerry says, he would have sent an international force to protect Haiti's widely disliked elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

"I would have been prepared to send troops immediately, period," Mr. Kerry said on Friday, expressing astonishment that President Bush, who talks of supporting democratically elected leaders, withheld any aid and then helped spirit Mr. Aristide into exile after saying the United States could not protect him.

"Look, Aristide was no picnic, and did a lot of things wrong," Mr. Kerry said. But Washington "had understandings in the region about the right of a democratic regime to ask for help. And we contravened all of that. I think it's a terrible message to the region, democracies, and it's shortsighted."

...In his first in-depth interview on foreign affairs since effectively winning the Democratic nomination, Mr. Kerry hop-scotched around the world in the course of an hour. He took issue with Mr. Bush's judgment beyond their well-aired differences on Iraq, questioning his handling of North Korea, the Mideast peace process and the spread of nuclear weapons and arguing that he would rewrite the Bush strategy that makes pre-emption a declared, central tenet of American policy..."

[aldian159]

1. Repeal the bush doctrine, John

and that will be the first step. Hopefully, I hate being the aggressors. Even if everyone else is weaker, a EU allied against us out of fear would launch a cold, perhaps hot war.

[w4rma]

2. I am in full agreement. (n/t)

[WiseMen]

3. Hurrah. Thank God for some straight talk. Powell sidekick Noriega

spent hours before the senate mumbling double talk and B.S.

[mmm]

4. Good for Kerry!

[sangha]

5. *kick*

for the evening crew

[Minstrel Boy]

6. Very glad to hear this.

I have qualms about Kerry, but he wins a lot of points for straight talk coming down on the side of international decency.

[Karmadillo]

7. Kick

n/t

[incapsulated]

8. So...

Think he'll get mad props for this from all those "idealistic progressives"?

?

?


*crickets*
 
 

[rdfi-defi]

11. kerry's stance is a good start, but

he does not get "mad props" because he failed to nail bush on arming the rebels in the first place.

in my opinion, kerry can use the coup in haiti as a campaign issue. tie it in to the big picture, use it as one of many examples of the bush admin.'s imperial foreign policy.

[redqueen]

13. What about the situation surrounding Aristide's ouster?

Aristide Declares He Still Rules Haiti

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040308/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_040308125807

By PAISLEY DODDS and IAN JAMES

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Jean-Bertrand Aristide declared from African exile Monday that he was still president of Haiti, while U.S. Marines investigated a shooting that left five people dead during a march celebrating the former leader's ouster.

Sunday's shooting had prompted the Marines to return fire in the first armed action of their weeklong mission to stabilize Haiti. Angry survivors accused the Marines and their French colleagues of not doing enough to prevent the attack in the central Champs de Mars plaza.

(snip)

In his first press conference in exile, Aristide insisted he was still president and called for "peaceful resistance" against what he called the "occupation" of his homeland.

"I am the democratically elected president and I remain so. I plead for the restoration of democracy" in Haiti, Aristide told reporters in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. "We appeal for a peaceful resistance."

[redqueen]

15. Anyone think this will merit a mention? n/t

[sangh0]

9. kick

again

[redqueen]

10. Sounds good

not as good as Kucinich, but hey...

[jonnyblitz]

12. good is right!!!

yay kerry!! :thumbsup:

[rdfi-defi]

14. "yay kerry," but should he do more?

should he address the hole issue, or the media acceptable part?

i think it is important to expose the nature of the bush foreign policy, this is a perfect oppertunity to do so.

do you think kerry should press bush or is half the story good enough?

[MISSDem]

16. So explain to me what should have been done

I can agree that the USA should support Democratically elected governments. But what should have been done, if anything, about the abuses of power that I have read and heard about (from JBA)? How should this be handled? Should we wait for him to be voted out but if he is corrupt and acting like a dictator then that won't happen. I know that I sound naive but ...

[redqueen]

17. That's another subject altogether

There are myriad ways of dealing with these things.

What's glaring is that we would not help Aristide before the rebels ousted him, but now all of a sudden we can bother with it.

[Streetdoc270]

18. Bring both sides together

Camp David style peace talks, possably some back-channel deals that lets Aristide step down with grace. Whatever the solution the rule of Law and Democracy should be preserved. You must support a democratically elected president.