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Who's in Charge in Haiti?
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| smokeape |
I know the short answer is that we're in charge, but I saw on TV one day some guerilla leader declaring himself chief of staff of the new Army or some such thing and the next day the declaration of some idiot as Interim President by the deposed government after Aristide beat feet. Marines are fixin' to lay down some firepower to quell violence, but which side are they supposed to be shooting at? Both sides? Furthermore, what's the endstate in this one?
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| Heinz |
the marines fired on a crowd of demonstrating aristide supporters i think, because two gunmen(i think two) began shooting their weapons. the marines had no choice but to fire back, because the shooting was coming from the crowd.
what do u expect to happen now?? the process of a new government hasnt even started and your already reaching to conclusions. both sides of the conflict (aristide/rebel) both are dangerous because they break the peace trying to be restored by the marines. so both sides will be fired at, if they dont follow directives to lay down arms. |
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| smokeape |
That's about what I fathom coming from the commanders on the ground; start shooting at anyone else who's shooting. Sort it out later with the diplomats... We can't jump in this thing without an endstate, like we want a democratic government in charge or something, else we'd be mired in every conflict across the globe. After all, we put Aristide in power just a few years back on our last visit and that didn't seem to work. So what will work this time?
:p
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| igottaknow |
| quote: | Originally posted by smokeape
So what will work this time? |
Aristide isn't the root cause of the problem, it's the country's sheer poverty. With no real institutions to speak of, no economic hope for the ppl, and a police force comprised of local gangs, you have a recipe for disaster. The situation in Hati is similar to the one we face in Iraq (except this country has no natural resources). Trying to reconstruct a country from scratch, with power hungery thugs waiting around every corner to shoot you in the back, its no easy task. We'll try to restore order, send in the UN to construct some institutions, and send some money their way. The only problem is the corrupt ppl always seem to get the money and use it for themselves while the country languishes. Even if the money gets into the right hands its still a temporary solution. Its like giving money to a bum, while it might ease his suffering in the short run, he'll be no better off in the future, because he lacks the skills to earn a living. Ever heard of the saying "history repeats itself"? ;) |
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| halexander837 |
| quote: | Originally posted by igottaknow
Aristide isn't the root cause of the problem, it's the country's sheer poverty. With no real institutions to speak of, no economic hope for the ppl, and a police force comprised of local gangs, you have a recipe for disaster. The situation in Hati is similar to the one we face in Iraq (except this country has no natural resources). Trying to reconstruct a country from scratch, with power hungery thugs waiting around every corner to shoot you in the back, its no easy task. We'll try to restore order, send in the UN to construct some institutions, and send some money their way. The only problem is the corrupt ppl always seem to get the money and use it for themselves while the country languishes. Even if the money gets into the right hands its still a temporary solution. Its like giving money to a bum, while it might ease his suffering in the short run, he'll be no better off in the future, because he lacks the skills to earn a living. Ever heard of the saying "history repeats itself"? ;) |
You made a great point there.
What I think the US needs to do is to do the hunting first and the planning later. Planning first will bring chaos. |
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