Marines Headed to Haiti
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James Joyner | Sunday, February 29, 2004 |
washingtonpost.com: Aristide Bows to Pressure, Leaves Haiti
A contingent of U.S. Marines was headed to Haiti as peacekeepers Sunday night, hours after the resignation and departure of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide aboard an American aircraft.President Bush said he dispatched the troops as “the leading element” of an “international force to help bring order and stability to Haiti.” The United Nations Security Council was meeting Sunday evening to authorize the deployment.
Aristide, the first democratically elected president of the impoverished nation, resigned Sunday morning under U.S. pressure amid an armed rebellion he was incapable of putting down. It had already engulfed Haiti in violent anarchy and threatened to worsen. The deteriorating conditions prompted U.S. officials to insist on Aristide’s resignation more than nine years after U.S. forces restored him to power following a coup.
After the news spread Sunday, looting, shooting and burning swept the capital city, leaving bodies in the streets and plumes of black smoke rising into the sky. The current chief justice of Haiti’s highest court, Boniface Alexandre, was sworn in as interim president.
“The constitution of Haiti is working,” said Bush. “There is an interim President, as per the constitution, in place.”
Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Unless there’s an “angry mob runs the president out of the country” clause in the Haitian Constitutution.
While I’ve got some trepidation about getting involved here–I’m not sure that Haiti isn’t a hopeless cause–I don’t see a lot of options, either. I’m glad to see this done under U.N. auspices. Clearly, this is a long-term problem with no real security implications. That’s an ideal misson for the U.N.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Is there a tugboat powerful to just tow the whole wretched mess further into the Atlantic?
Insensitive, I know.
But hey, we tried it with Newfoundland.
Given Haiti's history, I think an âangry mob runs the president out of the countryâ clause in the Haitian Constitutution would show a great deal of foresight and pragmatism.
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