WikiLeaks' lesson on Haiti --

[defendandprotect]

WikiLeaks' lesson on Haiti

What the US embassy cables reveal about Washington's malign influence should make Latin American nations quit the UN force

Mark Weisbrot guardian.co.uk, Friday 17 December 2010









EXCERPTS ONLY --

The participation of these governments in the occupation of Haiti is a serious political contradiction for them, and it is getting worse. The WikiLeaks cables illustrate how important the control of Haiti is to the United States. A long memo from the US embassy in Port-au-Prince to the US secretary of state answers detailed questions about Haitian president Rene Preval's political, personal and family life, including such vital national security questions as "How many drinks can Preval consume before he shows signs of inebriation?" It also expresses one of Washington's main concerns:

"His reflexive nationalism, and his disinterest in managing bilateral relations in a broad diplomatic sense, will lead to periodic frictions as we move forward our bilateral agenda. Case in point, we believe that in terms of foreign policy, Preval is most interested in gaining increased assistance from any available resource. He is likely to be tempted to frame his relationship with Venezuela and Chávez-allies in the hemisphere in a way that he hopes will create a competitive atmosphere as far as who can provide the most to Haiti."

This logic is why they got rid of Aristide – who was much to the left of Preval – and won't let him back in the country. This is why Washington funded the recent "elections" that excluded Haiti's largest political party, the equivalent of shutting out the Democrats and Republicans in the United States. And this is why Minustah is still occupying the country, more than six years after the coup, without any apparent mission other than replacing the hated Haitian army – which Aristide had abolished – as a repressive force.

People who do not understand US foreign policy think that control over Haiti does not matter to Washington, because it is so poor and has no strategic minerals or resources. But that is not how Washington operates, as the WikiLeaks cables repeatedly illustrate. For the state department and its allies, it is all a ruthless chess game, and every pawn matters. Left governments will be removed or prevented from taking power where it is possible to do so; and the poorest countries – like Honduras last year – present the most opportune targets. A democratically elected government in Haiti, due to its history and the consciousness of the population, will inevitably be a left government – and one that will not line up with Washington's foreign policy priorities for the region. Thus, democracy is not allowed.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/17/haiti-wikileaks

[truedelphi]

1. Excuse me while I step outside to BARF.

Imagine that - a nation so desperately poor that it seeks assistance from some nation or group of nations other than those mentioned on our Secretary of States's list of approved nations!

And meanwhile, the Haitians have yet to thank us for that HAARP guided earthquake, that through them into such turmoil recently!

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4. kicky

[malaise]

2. Well when you appoint Clinton and Bush

Haiti's neighbors have a good idea that it is not the Haitian people who matter to you.
They have never forgiven Haiti for whipping the French. How dare a foreign government tell a leader of an independent country that he can't live in his own homeland.

[defendandprotect]

3. A ruthless chess game based on controlling others .... "America" and freedom?

Criminals have taken control of our government over decades --

and freedom is a sad joke now -- for America -- and any place

else our government can reach!

[EFerrari]

5. I like Weisbrot because he nails the situation without rancor. n/t

/oops