Say, Didn't We Invade Haiti Some Time Back?

[Tuckerfan]

I could swear that we did, even installed our own guy to look after the country a couple of years ago, and yet it’s promptly faded from the national news, even though I did find this interesting tidbit on how things are going in the country.

The State Department warned Americans on Thursday that travel to Haiti was dangerous and that it had ordered all U.S. personnel whose jobs were not essential to depart.

Also, the statement said, family members of all American diplomats were being instructed to leave Haiti.

Otherwise, U.S. citizens were advised to defer travel to the country, where supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide were demanding his return from exile. And Americans who live in Haiti were advised to leave, if they could depart safely.

Wonder why it’s not getting much coverage in the news?

[False_God]

The U.S first invaded Haiti in 1915, and there were some allegations that there was support for the Duvalier regime. In 1990, Jean-Bertand Aristide, a former priest, became Haiti’s first democratically elected president (even though a lot of people think he’s a bit of a sh*ithead), but was forced from power in 1994, and subsequently returned to the Presidency that same year by U.S., French, and Canadian troops to serve out the remainder of his five-year term. Aristide returned to power in 2000, although the election was marred by allegations of corruption (in Haiti? I am SHOCKED, shocked and appalled); then another coalition force led by U.S. troops entered to stablize the situation. Aristide was reportedly taken to the Central African Republic by U.S. military transport; he claimed later in telephone calls to members of Congress that this was against his will, which the U.S. denies. UN peacekeepers took the place of the U.S. forces, and there’s been a longstanding UN presence ever since. Aristide returned to Haiti, returned to power, and resigned last year, leaving the head of the Supreme Court in power as interim President, and it’s sort of collapsed like a flan in a cupboard since.

As to why it’s not getting more play, people in the US by and large don’t care about Caribbean politics unless it disrupts their vacations. Granted, there are a lot of Haitians in the US, but with everything else that’s going on my WAG is that people just can’t be arsed.

[Bricker]

@Tuckerfan

I could swear that we did, even installed our own guy to look after the country a couple of years ago, and yet it’s promptly faded from the national news, even though I did find this interesting tidbit on how things are going in the country.Wonder why it’s not getting much coverage in the news?

My WAG is because the Haiti peace-keeping authority and military force is the United Nations, not the United States (and therefore not the Bush administration), some of the folks that would normally complain loudly - and thus give the story a higher news profile - are disinclined to so so.

[Inigo_Montoya]

Happy, happy, happy island people…

[smiling_bandit]

But you can’t blame us for Haiti being cahotic. The place has been a madhouse owing to the unique circumstances of its obtaining independance, in what was a supremely heroic and supremely disastrous civil war (of sorts).