U.S. military enters Haiti as work continues elsewhere

House Editorial

President George W. Bush ordered U.S. Marines to be the first unit of interim forces to help bring order and stability to Haiti yesterday following the resignation of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The troops' mission would be to provide support for and keep Haitians from coming to the United States by sea, U.S. administration officials told CNN yesterday.

Aristide left Haiti early Sunday morning, despite refusing to step down last week. Instead of remaining in office, he had wanted international help squashing the insurrection. Haiti Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre was installed as the nation's president following Aristide's departure.

The United States makes it a point to involve itself in foreign affairs, especially those with U.S. interests. Yet, the United States has a history of becoming too heavily involved and for too long.

Bush's decision to send troops to Haiti to provide support and stability is warranted. However, it should remain temporary, as planned. Once the Haitian government is stabilized, the United States should move out of the way and back out of Haiti.

The United States needs to respect the authority of the nation to rebuild its government. Haiti is different from the reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan in that it already has the framework for a democratic government in place. The United States needs to allow the nation to move forward without bogging it down with outside influence.

In recent years, the United States set a precedent of going into countries that needed help. U.S. troops should give help to Haiti, but the U.S. government can't afford to keep them there as long-term solutions.

The United States has committed to long-term government rebuilding projects in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those projects have yet to be completed after months and years of working to implement a democratic government. Both countries are still in the transitional period with no end of U.S. assistance in sight.

With loose ends in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States cannot afford to take on yet another rebuilding project in Haiti. While every rebuilding situation takes time, the U.S. government must finish what it starts before moving onto other issues.

The Bush administration has taken many hits from critics for the rebuilding campaign in Iraq. It would not be wise to enter Haiti with the same intentions, especially after announcing a temporary involvement.

The United States should remain as a temporary guard until the United Nations can address the situation and take control, or until Haiti corrects its own problems — that is the purpose of the United Nations. The United States has acted as the United Nations in the past, although it shouldn't.

Another solution initially could be to stabilize Haiti, but then remove the troops and leave the situation to the United Nations, keeping Bush's promise of temporary assistance. Close proximity to Haiti doesn't necessarily mean the United States has business there.