Marines to Haiti
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James Joyner | Monday, February 23, 2004 |
WaPo: Marines to Protect U.S. Embassy in Haiti
The Pentagon is sending 50 combat-ready Marines to Haiti today to protect the United States Embassy and its staff amid an insurgency bent on taking the country’s capital and toppling President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.The Marines are departing today, with the sole mission of securing U.S. facilities and associated buildings, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
The unit is called a FAST team, which stands for Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team, but defense officials were quick to point out that this deployment is not related to terrorism.
They are going “to provide an additional layer of security to what’s already there,” said Whitman.
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Defense officials said then that the dispatch of the team should not be viewed as an initial step toward U.S. military intervention. Since the outbreak of violence last month, the Bush administration has rejected the idea of sending U.S. troops or police to Haiti, saying it prefers to help broker a political solution.
Involvement in another insurrection, we don’t need.
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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I thought the article said that they are there to protect the americans, not aristede?
50 Marines is probably a superior force to that of the bandits.
Haiti is hardly a country, can't rule itself,
and anarchy & looting seem ready to go at all times.
Just get our people out and let the news cover the place.
Let the French invade Haiti! O, how I would enjoy watching them play BIG GUY with the tiny guys, LOL. They may even lose and be kicked out!! Hm, sorry. A little devil was making me say such a nasty thing. Just let the French invade Haiti :)
I don't think a long-term presence by the U.S. is the right thing to do, but we should augment the OAS to provide the aid and structural assistance necessary. What is the Peace Corp. doing, or what should it be doing? What is the OAS doing, or should be doing? What is the UN doing, or should be doing? I am tired of our troops always being tapped. Mom
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