Haiti: Another Regime Change by the U.S.?

Re “Aristide Says U.S. Forced Him to Leave,” March 2:

The Bush administration has just sent a powerful and disturbing message to the struggling nations who have counted on the United States for support: Unless your country has something to offer us, don’t count on the U.S. for assistance.

Regardless of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s faults, he was a democratically elected head of state and should have been afforded protection. For all the chest-pounding the administration has done regarding the need to foster democracy, it turned its back on the people of Haiti. The bloodbaths witnessed on the streets of Port-au-Prince and other cities were unnecessary.

To let former death squad leaders and rebels rampage into the capital “to restore Haiti” is a coup, no matter how you look at it. But the administration waited until the last minute to send in the Marines, getting into the situation only when troops did not have to be committed to action. Once again, the administration has shown its complete and abject failure in foreign policy. The arrogance is overwhelming.

David Hittelman

Marina del Rey

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Would those people complaining so loudly about the U.S. removing Aristide be happier if he had clung to power till the bitter end, thus precipitating a bloodbath? If, as claimed, the U.S. removed Aristide against his will, good for us. He was going down one way or the other; the way I see it, we saved the lives of a lot of Haitians by removing Aristide when we did.

Kelly Saulie

Torrance

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Since Aristide is the democratically elected president of Haiti, why are we not supporting his return to rightful office instead of helping armed, murdering thugs take over his country? Even before reports came out that the president had been kidnapped, it looked very suspicious that our Marines landed after the government was overthrown by criminals. Why didn’t we go in first to protect the democratically elected government before the criminal elements took over -- if we were going to go in?

Paul Fretheim

Independence, Calif.

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So Aristide contends that U.S. forces all but kidnapped him. Let’s put him to the test and offer to send him back. In mere seconds he’ll change his story to the truth. By the way, ask him what he did with the billions in aid we have given him. It’s no wonder the people have had enough of him. It is now evident that the majority of the population was against him and not just a few bands of rebels.

Arno Virant

San Gabriel

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The Bush administration lied to us about Iraq. Why should we believe anything that same team tells us about Haiti?

Patrick Bonner

South Gate