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February 24, 2004
Guns and the Rebels Who Have Them
This AP interview with Haitian rebels was quite revealing.
CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) - Sitting poolside and fingering assault rifles, rebel leaders bent on ousting Haiti's president said Monday his big mistake was sending them home years earlier with their guns. All three have a vendetta against Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Hey! They have assault rifles! No wonder they've not been crushed by Aristide or by Ton-ton Macoute wanna-be's or something. I knew those guns were useful for something. Besides, without guns what we all do with our massive stockpiles of ammunition?
"We don't want any more bloodshed. We just want Aristide to leave," Guy Philippe told The Associated Press in an interview. He used to be the police chief in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city of 500,000 that rebels seized with little resistance on Sunday, the biggest prize in their 18-day revolt.
A city of 500,000 is nothing to sneeze at. I think these guys mean business. After all, they're carrying those evil assault rifles!
"He made a big mistake sending us home with our guns" said Remissainthe Ravix. "There's no such thing as the former Haitian army now. We have the weapons and the expertise to take the country. Nothing can stop us."
Those guns again! Ravix is essentially saying "Hahahaha you idiot! You let us have guns, and now we're going to kick your ass." Guns. Such wonderful things. As they've already taken half of the country in a couple weeks, and everyone keeps joining up with them, I think the outcome is inevitable. Maybe Clinton should intervene again. He was there chumming around with Aristide back in April of 2003, so it's about time for another visit.
In fact, what is fascinating about the Clinton voyage is the stark contrast between the glory Mr. Clinton insists on for his Haitian protégé and the disdain that so many Haitians -- once strong supporters of Mr. Aristide -- now have for their president.
Well I'll be a monkey's uncle. Both Presidents are now treated with disdain. Who'da thunk it? Maybe they can get together and join a support group.
This is especially evident among intellectuals and elites, who increasingly write and speak about Mr. Aristide as a man that cultivates a culture of fear and has destroyed a nascent democracy.
Hmm... Slight difference there. Our intellectuals and elites fawn all over Clinton. Of course, they don't believe in guns either, which is apparently where Mr. Aristide fucked up. The peasants are armed and approaching the gates, looking for one Mr. Aristide - Clinton lackey.
At least part of the resentment about the Clinton appearance in the Haitian capital centered on allegations of corruption. There are unflattering but unavoidable suspicions of the relationship between the Haitian president and Clinton Democrats who went into the long distance telephone business with him after his return to power in 1994.
Can't the Clinton's go anywhere without allegations of corruption following them around? It's like a stench that sticks to everything they touch.
For ardent defenders of Mr. Aristide such as the Congressional Black Caucus or for Caribbean ambassadors to the U.S. who dislike George W. Bush and have been known to actively support Mr. Clinton’s wife, the plea for more international aid for Haiti might have settled some debts. But for those serious about the Haitian struggle, what appears to be relentless Clinton advocacy for the Aristide presidency is disturbing.
Oh no. More politicians on the take. I guess Clinton is about to violently lose another part of his legacy. I wonder if taking Port-au-Prince will uncover a trove of documents to rival the Al-Mada revelations about the Food for Oil program in Iraq? Could be fun to see Hillary's name all over Aristides kleptocracy.
By now even a zombie would recognize how thoroughly discredited Mr. Aristide is and how critical international pressure is to altering the situation. Which raises the question of why Mr. Clinton doggedly pursues his cozy relationship with the Haitian president.
Well gee. It's not because he's still the President. It's not because he owns a vacation home in Haiti. Could it be that they've got some sweet little deals going? Nawww.... That would be too much like Arkansas. And just what were they saying back in 1995 when we were putting that asswipe back in power?
Opposition to President Clinton's boldest foreign policy initiative -- U.S. military intervention in Haiti last year with 21,000 troops at a cost of $3 billion -- has now come full circle. With the defection of former president Jimmy Carter as an uncritical supporter of the administration's effort to "restore" democracy to the Caribbean island, the White House's touting of Haiti as its greatest foreign policy "success" is sounding pretty silly.
Well, a Clinton foreign policy "success" is a relative thing. And a Clinton/Carter combo policy has to be graded on a very steep curve. On the bright side, Haiti isn't making atomic bombs while we give them food and oil. So I guess that counts for something. The article continues with some more nice tidbits.
But relations began to sour within months after Carter personally helped pave the way for Aristide's triumphant return in October 1994. By year's end, it was apparent to all but the most ideologically driven that Aristide was personally turning Haiti into yet another one-man dictatorship -- his own. This should surprise no one, considering Aristide's political personality and his Marxist beliefs.
Clinton had five years to try and fix it, but was apparently too busy sucking up to Aristide and his wife who runs the telecommunications industry. Why does Haiti need a telecommunications industry? Why to call the DNC all the time and get handy tips on Marxist thought, of course. Hopefully the rebels will get rid of this Clinton stooge and get a better government set up. If nothing else lets just hope we're finally done with the days of Clinton and Carter spending $3 billion to put a Marxist thug in power.
February 24, 2004 in Politics | Permalink
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