U.S. must aid Haiti to quell rebellion

Breeze Reader's View

Haiti, one of the United States' Caribbean neighbors, once again is plummeting into rebellion and chaos. Factions opposing President Jean-Bertrand Aristide have engaged police forces in 11 cities, capturing and holding several. At least 50 people have been killed in the fighting.

When Haiti last underwent such inner turmoil in the early 1990s, it took a U.S. invasion in 1994 to restore order. That 15,000-strong invasion suffered minimal casualties and was successful in its mission to restore Aristide to power after the government had been seized by the military.

Though the elections are considered to have been flawed, Aristide now is four years into his second six-year term, according to CNN.com. The rebel groups, however, are demanding that he step down from the presidency, although only months ago they were part of factions loyal to him.

After the death of one of their leaders — which they blame on Aristide — the rebels turned on him. Sentiment against the President that had been building since the 2000 elections has erupted into open rebellion.

Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, speaking in the city of St. Marc, told the Associated Press that "the national police force alone cannot reestablish order," and Haiti — without an army since Aristide was restored to power in 1994 — faces what rapidly is becoming a serious national crisis.

Although the Caribbean community has said it would be willing to provide peacekeepers to a mission in Haiti, the United States has declared that it will not be intervening in the Haitian crisis, and has urged Aristide to negotiate with the rebels to reach a peaceful solution.

The stance of the United States in this crisis is unacceptable; not only does it have a history of intervention, but it holds a moral obligation to a neighbor struggling to maintain its newfound democratic government. Should diplomacy fail, the United States must fulfill its obligations by providing military intervention in Haiti.

United States' intervention certainly would not be without precedent. The previous administration, under President Bill Clinton, deployed troops in Somalia (1993), Haiti (1994), Bosnia (1995) and Kosovo (1999). Under President George W. Bush, the United States has engaged troops in major actions in Afghanistan (2002) and Iraq (2003). Previous administrations also have deployed troops in Latin America and overseas.

It may seem far-fetched that an internal crisis in Haiti may constitute a threat to United States national security; not only does it unbalance the region itself, but U.S. inaction indirectly supports rebel groups within other nations in a historically volatile area of the world.

If these groups know that the United States will not take action unless directly threatened, they can assume that their actions are permissible within their own nations — actions that would be considered terrorist actions by the United States elsewhere. The United States simply cannot sit back and assume that its inaction occurs in a vacuum, especially when threats exist so close to its boarders.

The growing crisis in Haiti also will likely give rise to an increased number of refugees, many of whom will elect to attempt the treacherous boat journey to the Florida coast; under U.S. immigration laws. Any refugees who make it to shore may stay in the United States, while any who are caught on the seas must be returned home.

These refugees, fleeing from war and starvation — food shipments to Haiti have been stopped due to the fighting — embody one of the most important reasons the United States should intervene; human rights are always a casualty of war.

The United States historically has been a nation to promote peace and democracy and currently clings to this mission as the true reason it entered war in Iraq. A mission to Haiti would follow in this tradition; it would preserve a young, struggling democracy. Not only would outside intervention be extremely beneficial to Haiti, but, if done in cooperation with the United Nations and the Organization of American States, it would show the world that the United States has a vested interest in preserving freedom, even in nations where it stands to gain little or nothing.

Any mission undertaken by the United States should be done with the full support of the United Nations; unilateral action is foolhardy and unacceptable in this global age. The United States must work with the United Nations to reach a plan of action that is acceptable to the world community. The plan of action not only must determine in what manner intervention is to occur, but also how democracy will be maintained in Haiti.

Despite Aristide's unpopularity and the dubious nature of his elections, the answer to the crisis is for the United States and United Nations to help him finish his term, and then ensure fair election that gives the Haitian people the opportunity to voice their displeasure through their vote.

It may be that this crisis can and will, be resolved diplomatically; that hope should not be abandoned, and should be pursued with all due course.

Unfortunately, the crisis, as it stands now, looks only to deepen as loyalists and police battle rebels across the nation, resulting in more deaths and an increasingly displaced population.

This threat to a population and the democratic process of a nation cannot be allowed to continue, and the United States, together with the United Nations, should intervene to ensure that it does not.

Alex Sireny is a freshman Anthropology/ Pre-SMAD major.