Minimalist Diplomacy

[maddezmom]

Thursday, February 26, 2004; Page A20


THE CRISIS in Haiti worsens by the day -- and the Bush administration, neglecting the historical U.S. role in responding to trouble in this hemisphere, still tries to minimize its engagement and leave the hard work to others. Violence and looting yesterday spread to the Haitian capital as foreigners sought to flee the country, food shortages spread and authorities in neighboring states braced themselves for a wave of desperate refugees. U.S. officials were said to be busy trying to broker a political agreement between the government and the opposition. Yet the foreign diplomat working most conspicuously to end the anarchy in a land 600 miles from Florida was French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who unveiled a plan to create a new Haitian government and dispatch an international police force to restore order. Why was Mr. de Villepin seizing the initiative? Perhaps because the French government, which has said it will contribute its own forces to an intervention, perceives the Bush administration's unwillingness to make such a commitment. Asked about possible U.S. action, President Bush promised "a robust presence with an effective strategy" -- not to help Haiti but to ensure "that we will turn back any refugee that attempts to reach our shore."
~snip~

more:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7200-2004Feb25.html

[ixion]

1. yep, the neocons are too busy swingin' at shadows

The War on Terra, the War on Drugs, the War on Gays and building a US theocracy to worry about a little thing like civil unrest in Haiti. :eyes: