Haitian revolt gaining momentum

Marcao · Post by **Marcao** » 2004-02-24 12:47am

My two cents on the matter.

The US already has a lot of de facto control over the Dominican Republic. The most appealing aspect of the Dominican Republic which are its beaches, are mostly dominated by US resorts. The gold and nickel mining operations like the "Falcon Bridge" are US affairs. Our presidents tend to be god damned thieves and our government style is nothing to brag about. Case in point, less than three years ago the Dominican Republic's vice-president was apparently using his private jet to smuggle drugs into Miami and only stopped when the US caught wind of it. Ten years ago, the exchange rate of a dollar to dominican pesos was roughly 12 pesos per dollar. Right now, It is roughly 50 pesos per dollar. *shrugs* Yeah, the DR is not the best place in the world but does the US really want to invade? what the hell would you gain out of it? Rogue 9 has a point in that invading without justification seems unlikely. What threat does the DR provide? Fear the Dominican air power? please. Our scientists are working on development of a "banana bomb" and "plantain wine" but come on.

The average dominican is pretty anti-haiti so we they won't give a rat's ass if the US invades Haiti. Aristide already had his fair share of US assistance in 94 and from what I heard, he was anti-US the second he was in power. Politically, the DR is more stable than Haiti. Economically, you don't have to worry too much. The nature of DR politics will make it reliant on US loans for a looong time.

Oddysseus · Post by **Oddysseus** » 2004-02-24 12:49am

Stormbringer wrote:
Rogue 9 wrote:I don't think we'd overrun the Dominican Republic just because they happened to be nearby.
Why not? We'll probably have to bail their ass out some time soon anyway.

Yeah. Just contineu the policy of preeemptive action. Have they yet offered evidnece that they in fact are no threat. No. Just silence. You can't trust them.

WE MUST ACT!!!

Guardsman Bass · Post by **Guardsman Bass** » 2004-02-24 01:04am

Didn't sometime in the past(like turn-of-the-century) the Dominican Republic offer to sell itself to the United States?

As for the Haitian thing, I would let the rebels kill or banish Aristide before they get smacked down- 'bout time that priest-turned-corruptpolitician got what's coming to him.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-02-24 01:06am

Guardsman Bass wrote:Didn't sometime in the past(like turn-of-the-century) the Dominican Republic offer to sell itself to the United States?

Who would get the money, then?

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2004-02-24 11:39am

Guardsman Bass wrote:Didn't sometime in the past(like turn-of-the-century) the Dominican Republic offer to sell itself to the United States?

As for the Haitian thing, I would let the rebels kill or banish Aristide before they get smacked down- 'bout time that priest-turned-corruptpolitician got what's coming to him.

No, they applied for statehood and were denied because the South refused to let a state with so many blacks in. Retards.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-02-24 02:43pm

The reason was shit, but would we really want to be saddled with those shitholes as states?

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-02-24 03:14pm

Stormbringer wrote:The reason was shit, but would we really want to be saddled with those shitholes as states?

would they really be shitholes if they were granted statehood 100 years ago? Hawaii ins't a shithole. Alaska isn't a shithole.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-02-24 03:41pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:
Stormbringer wrote:The reason was shit, but would we really want to be saddled with those shitholes as states?
would they really be shitholes if they were granted statehood 100 years ago? Hawaii ins't a shithole. Alaska isn't a shithole.

No, but Alaska was largely colonized from the lower 48. And Hawai was also never the absolute mess that Hati and the Dominican Republic were. They on the other hand were festering messes of civil unrest and old grudges. That's not the best start to statehood.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2004-02-24 05:30pm

Stormbringer wrote:The reason was shit, but would we really want to be saddled with those shitholes as states?

They applied for statehood before the Civil War, 150 years of progress can do a lot to a country, just look at Japan.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-02-24 06:06pm

Stormbringer wrote:
Why not? We'll probably have to bail their ass out some time soon anyway.

Well the Marines also paid them a visit from 1916 through 1924, its a real shame we didn't annex both half's of that island when we had the perfect opportunity. They might have been shitholes, but the whole place is small enough that it could have been done without a very large drain on US resources.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2004-02-28 12:26pm

Well, shit is hitting the fan in the capital and 2,200 Marines are being put on alert.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Some 2,200 U.S. Marines were put on alert as anarchy spread across Haiti's capital Saturday.

Pentagon officials weighed the possibility of sending troops to waters off the Caribbean country to guard against any outpouring of refugees and to protect the estimated 20,000 Americans there.

Residents looted warehouses, government loyalists attacked passers-by and rebels advanced closer to the seat of power, Port-au-Prince (search ). President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (search ) ignored international appeals to resign.

Aristide loyalists robbed drivers for the U.S. and French embassies early Saturday, witnesses said. They said the French Embassy driver also was beaten.

Attacks against members or employees of the international community have increased in recent days since U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (search) and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin (search) called for Aristide to cede power amid rising violence.

Rebels were seen by an Associated Press reporter on Friday in Mirebalais, 25 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince.

In the capital, at least five people died Friday when pro-government militants unleashed a wave of attacks on bystanders, burning barricades, hijacking cars, and looting the city's sole operating hospital.

The body of a man shot in the head was still on the street Saturday, just blocks from the National Palace. Four other bodies had been hauled away.

Looting continued, with people taking large bags of lentils donated by the U.S. Agency for International Development and held at a warehouse by the port. Looters were seen Saturday wearing stolen hospital gowns and carrying machetes.

Radio Vision 2000 suspended broadcasts after assailants shot at the building early Saturday morning. Some journalists have been targeted by pro-government thugs who perceive reports as biased against Aristide. At least two journalists have been killed in the last three years; nearly a dozen have gone into exile, fearing for their lives.

Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected president, said he would not step down before his term ends in February 2006.

He has pleaded for a small contingent of foreign peacekeepers to quell the uprising that has killed more than 80 people since it began in the country's north earlier this month.

"I have the responsibility as an elected president to stay where I am," Aristide said. "My life is linked to 8 million people."

The international community — led by the United States, France and Canada — has insisted that Haiti's government and opposition reach a political settlement before foreign forces intervene.

A senior U.S. official said the Bush administration has concluded that the best way to prevent insurgents from seizing control is for Aristide to transfer power to Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre, his constitutional successor.

"We urgently call upon President Aristide to issue the necessary instructions so his supporters stop this violence," the U.S. Embassy said, adding that "his honor, legacy and reputation are now at stake."

The U.S. government urged all Americans still in Haiti to seek safe haven.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed increasing concern late Friday at "the alarming deterioration" in the country and called on Haitians to settle their differences peacefully.

His statement came as Aristide militants attacked the Canape Vert hospital, the only hospital still operating in Port-au-Prince. Radio stations said the militants were searching for Aristide opponents. Among the patients was a journalist accused of sympathizing with the rebels and shot in the northern city of Cap-Haitien, which was seized by the insurgents on Sunday.

The report could not be confirmed, but submachine gunfire could be heard and three green military helicopters hovered over Petionville, the hillside suburb where the hospital is located.

"The U.S. government is discouraged to report that pro-government groups have begun to burn, pillage and kill," said the U.S. Embassy statement.

The city was chaotic. Armed thugs hijacked cars and robbed people at barricades.

Hundreds of looters began to pillage Port-au-Prince's seaport on Friday, scurrying with boxes of chicken parts, pork loins, televisions and other goods.

Shops put up hurricane shutters and people stayed home behind locked doors, leaving the streets to pro-Aristide thugs. A few police patrolled in cars, but were vastly outnumbered by the militants.

The rebels, who have overrun half of Haiti, closed in on the capital, taken several villages as police fled.

Guy Philippe, the rebel commander, said rebels have encountered little resistance and he intended to besiege the capital and "close the circle" around Aristide.

"We want to block Port-au-Prince totally," he said in Cap-Haitien. "Port-au-Prince now ... would be very hard to take it. It would be a lot of fight, a lot of death," Philippe said. "So what we want is desperation first."

The Associated Press contributed to this report .

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2004-02-29 03:35am

BlkbrryTheGreat wrote:Good for them, lets hope the next Hatian Government actually does something to improve the standard of living of the average Hatian.

Unfortunately, Haiti has a history of being governed by the strongman of the moment...

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-02-29 09:19am

I think you`ve all heard it now "Aristide has left the country"

for more info check your local news.