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Today's
Stories
June 21,
2004
Gary Leupp
Putin's Helpful Remarks
Uri Avnery
Irreversible Mental Damage
June 19
/ 20, 2004
Patrick
Cockburn
Inside the Green Zone: US is Paranoid
and Isolated
Bruce
Anderson
Frozen Gringos
Diane
Christian
Morality and Death: a Meditation on
Bush and Blake
Walter
A. Davis
Passion of the Christ in Abu Ghraib
Josh
Frank
How Democrats Helped Bush Rape Mother Nature
Col. Dan
Smith
Respectable Genocide?: the Crisis in Sudan
Brian
Cloughley
A Profound Disruption of the Senses
Christopher
Brauchli
Bush and the Timken Plant, a Year Later
Prudence
Crowther
Mr. Ashcroft, Deport Me!
Poets'
Basement
Iqbal/Alam, Krieger and Albert
Kathy
Kelly
Dying to See Their Kids
June 18,
2004
Chris
Floyd
Blood Victory
Dave Zirin
Danielle Green, Basketball Player &
Disabled Vet, Speaks Out Against War
Justin
E.H. Smith
The Christian Question in American Politics
Gary
Leupp
The "Long-Established" Link?:
Iraq, al-Qaeda, and al-Zarqawi
June
17, 2004
Noel
Ignatiev
Zionism, Anti-Semitism and the People
of Palestine
Kurt
Nimmo
The Bush-Kerry Conundrum
Ed
Cardoni
The Persecution of Steve Kurtz
Ron Jacobs
Power Relations: Rounding Up Everyone Who Knows More Than They Do
Dave
Lindorff
Philly Daily News: "Four Wasted Years"
Greg
Moses
Geneva Ignored
Norm
Dixon
How Reagan Armed Saddam with Chemical
Weapons
June
16, 2004
Lenni
Brenner
A Question for Kerry Supporters
Davey
D
Hip Hop Reflections on Reagan
Daniel
Wolff
Why Did Michael Moore Withhold Video Evidence of US Prisoner
Abuse?
Bruce
Jackson
Harry Levin and the Penultimate Manuscript of Finnegans Wake
Patrick
Cockburn
Boom! Boom! Out Go the Lights: Bombings Target Oil and Power
Facilities
Gary
Handschumacher
Mourn Ben Linder, Not His Killer: Reagan's Death Squads
JG
Turning Haiti into One Big Sweatshop
Mario
Benedetti
Obituary with Cheers
Vicente
Navarro
Meet the New Head of the IMF: Who
is Rodrigo Rato?
Website
of the Day
Iraqi Oil Revenue Watch
June
15, 2004
Harry
Browne
Ireland Adds a Brick to Fortress Europe
Neve
Gordon
The Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited
David
Palmer
Richard Armitage, Abu Ghraib and CACI
John
Blair
Lovelock's Misguided Call: Nukes Are No Solution to Global Warming
Dave
Lindorff
God Wins in TKO
Bill
Quigley
Blood-Pouring Peace Activists: State Charges Dropped; Feds Step
In
Patrick
Cockburn
Carbombs and Street Dances: 13 More Killed in Baghdad Blast
John
Chuckman
John Kerry, Political Placebo
June
14, 2004
John
Stanton / Wayne Madsen
Torture, Inc: Oliver North Joins
the Party
Kathy
Kelly
Requiems: What Happens When Compassion Dies?
Bruce
Jackson
Bush Gets Testy About Torture
Lee
Sustar
Strikers Defy Visteon's Company Thugs
Kurt
Nimmo
The Desperate Censors: the Republican Plot to Kill Farhenheit
9/11
Jim
Davis
Hard Right Nativism
Eliot
Katz
Death and War
Uri
Avnery
The Nightmare Comes True
Website
of the Day
Instruments of Statecraft
June 12 / 13, 2004
Peter
Linebaugh
Remembering the Common Hood: Soweto
and Runnymede
Team
CounterPunch
CP's Favorite Albums
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Troy, Now and Then
Gary
Leupp
Not Really a Puppet Government in Iraq?
Brian
Cloughley
US Military in Crisis
Antonio
Ponvert, III
Iraqi Prisoner Abuse: the Connecticut Connection
Ben
Tripp
The Polls Get Stupider
Joe
Bageant
Mash Note to the "Girl with the Leash"
Ron
Jacobs
The Return of the Hip Hop Insurgency
Forrest
Hylton
Object Lessons from the Case of Francisco Cortés
Christopher
Brauchli
Federal Bureau of Errors
Kurt
Nimmo
Going After Qaddafi, Again
Wayne
Madsen
Israel's Slap at Reagan
Anthony
Loewenstein
Al Jazeera Awakens the Arab World
Michael
Donnelly
A Lightship in the Forest: Greenpeace Docks in the Siskiyous
Greg
Moses
Who Will Tell Us More About the Workers of Nasiriyah?
Susan
Davis
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
Joseph
Ramsey
Weather Report: a Review of The Weather Underground
Niranjan
Ramakrishnan
The 18th Brumaire in the 21st
Century
Wayne
Saunders
The Gipper, D-Day and the Stanley Cup
Poets'
Basement
Richey, Ford, La Morticella, Albert
Website
of the Weekend
Insurgent Music
| June
21, 2004
Haiti After
the Press Went Home
Chaos Upon
Chaos
By
LUCSON PIERRE-CHARLES
The
recent disastrous floods that killed more than 2,000 people, left some
1,800 missing and 10,000 more homeless have been a tragedy of enormous
proportion and unless some drastic measures are taken, this disaster
could be seen as a preview of the things to strike Haiti. Such a tragedy
is the consequence of years of bad policies and mismanagement inherited
by the current administration. The Prime Minister’s reaction to
the disaster demonstrated undoubtedly that his administration is reluctant
to deal with one of the most important crisis facing this impoverished
nation today. He blamed deforestation for what happened and promised,
among other things, to create a forest protection unit made of former
soldiers of the demobilized Haitian army. Blaming deforestation as the
only cause is easy but the environmental degradation is much greater
than that. It is a chain-linked dilemma and until Haitians pull up their
forces together, the prospect will remain grim.
The
situation on the ground is dreadful. The country is in desperate need
but meaningful assistance fails to materialize. Following Aristide’s
ouster, the United Nations called for $35 million in emergency funds
from foreign donors but so far has only managed to raise about $9 million.
The country is descending into chaos and to have a better understanding
of what lies ahead, one needs to look no further than to the latest
travel warning for Haiti issued by the Bureau of consular affairs at
the State Department.
According
to that statement, the “situation in Haiti remains unpredictable
and potentially dangerous despite the presence of foreign security forces.”
This warning followed a report issued in early May by the United Nations
reaching a similar conclusion.
On
June 1, the U.N. troops headed by Brazil, deployed to the island in
order to replace the current contingent of American, French and Canadian
soldiers. According to Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, the Brazilian
general who will head the U.N. contingent, this mission will be Haiti’s
last chance to end decades of violence. The Prime Minister, Mr. Gérard
Latortue, will certainly count on these troops to disarm all rebels
and gangs. Knowing that the survival of his administration depends largely
upon the presence of the foreign troops, he is appealing to the Americans
– even 100 troops – to extend their mission but mindful
that the last American soldier will leave at the end of June, he is
shifting reliance upon the new U.N. troops by inviting them to stay
until February 7, 2006 when the new President will take office. The
job of this latest U.N. mission is manifold but disarmament of all factions
will not be part of it. This latest transfer of command is nothing more
than a window dressed opportunity designed to give this puppet administration
some imaginary stability in order to run a farcical election where the
winner will be drawn from the same party affiliation.
The
whole mission’s contingent will be around 8,000 troops but so
far only Brazil has provided 1,400 troops, with Chile to send 600 and
Argentina, 500. Following the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
in 1994, a contingent of 20,000 Marines failed to disarm the newly disbanded
army. Hence, one must wonder where this small U.N. contingent will find
the necessary means to carry out such a colossal task? In order to get
a glimpse of how disarmament will take place, one needs to look at a
recent incident where 8 ex-soldiers decided to parade in the capital
with their heavy-loaded weapons. These so-called rebels were arrested
by the American-led troops. But following protest by other ex-soldiers,
they were released but refused to leave the facility without their weapons.
After two days of intense negotiations, the administration and the police
remarkably bowed to their request and granted them three of the weapons.
This
interim administration boasts itself about being technocratic and bringing
tangible change to the population. But, as it is becoming clear, these
technocrats have not only embarked on a regressive trend, they have
set the stage for a complete turnaround toward chaos. The security apparatus
is in the verge of collapsing due to the proliferation of small arms,
the mere presence of the heavily armed rebels and Aristide loyalists,
the increasing gang activities, the rampant rise in kidnappings and
the release of 3,000 prisoners by Guy Philippe and his squads following
the ouster of Mr. Aristide. Some of the rebels will be integrated into
the police force despite the fact that they killed a great number of
policemen and burned down police headquarters in the lead up to the
coup.
In
most parts of the country, they appointed themselves as mayors, police
chiefs and judges. Under Mr. Aristide’s leadership, the police
force was often criticized for being too heavily politicized. Under
this technocratic administration, the police force will consist of convicted
human rights abusers, murderers, rapists, thugs and death squads who
have committed some of the worst atrocities during the first coup in
1991.
Military
strategists and commanders often argue that victory – or success
for that matter – is measured not only by the defeat of the enemy
but most importantly by what is left behind. In 1994, 20,000 Marines
were sent to return a democratically elected President to his office.
They left behind a disbanded army but not disarmed, which will later
be used to undermine the same democracy that the Marines went to uphold
in the first place. Ten years later, the U.S.-led troops will leave
behind these same ex-soldiers heavily armed once again but this time
in control and set to prolong the reign of abuse and impunity. They
even have plans to run the country and make laws – they recently
established their own political party.
In
such a context, providing security and stability – put forward
as a pretext for military intervention – was never a priority
for the American-led coalition. It was to get rid of a democratically
elected President, establish a puppet administration – disregard
the constitution for instance – and lay the groundwork for the
upcoming capture of the presidency by the oligarchy. Such an intervention
was to ultimately show the rest of the world that this endangered island
is incapable of self-governance and to highlight such dismal legacy,
disarmament must take a back seat. But if history is to repeat itself,
the people will somehow find ways to overcome this challenge and portray
a different story.
Lucson
Pierre-Charles, a native of Haiti, now lives in Maryland. He
can be reached at: lpierrecharles@yahoo.com
Weekend Edition June 12 / 13, 2004
Peter
Linebaugh
Remembering the Common Hood: Soweto and Runnymede
Team CounterPunch
CP's Favorite Albums
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Troy, Now and Then
Gary Leupp
Not Really a Puppet Government in Iraq?
Brian
Cloughley
US Military in Crisis
Antonio
Ponvert, III
Iraqi Prisoner Abuse: the Connecticut Connection
Ben
Tripp
The Polls Get Stupider
Joe Bageant
Mash Note to the "Girl with the Leash"
Ron
Jacobs
The Return of the Hip Hop Insurgency
Forrest
Hylton
Object Lessons from the Case of Francisco Cortés
Christopher
Brauchli
Federal Bureau of Errors
Kurt Nimmo
Going After Qaddafi, Again
Wayne
Madsen
Israel's Slap at Reagan
Anthony
Loewenstein
Al Jazeera Awakens the Arab World
Michael
Donnelly
A Lightship in the Forest: Greenpeace Docks in the Siskiyous
Greg Moses
Who Will Tell Us More About the Workers of Nasiriyah?
Susan
Davis
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
Joseph
Ramsey
Weather Report: a Review of The Weather Underground
Niranjan
Ramakrishnan
The 18th Brumaire in the 21st Century
Wayne
Saunders
The Gipper, D-Day and the Stanley Cup
Poets'
Basement
Richey, Ford, La Morticella, Albert
Website
of the Weekend
Insurgent Music
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