U.S. Top Aim in Haiti Seen as Halting Refugees (B4 Pres Campaign)

[Khephra]

U.S. Top Aim in Haiti Seen as Halting Refugees
By REUTERS

Published: March 1, 2004


Filed at 2:14 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. intervention in Haiti, which helped lead to the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was aimed primarily at preventing widespread violence that could have sparked a massive outflow of refugees toward the coast of Florida during the presidential campaign, experts said on Monday.

``The Bush administration has focused its Haiti policy on the very short-term concern of avoiding a refugee influx into Florida during an election year,'' said David Abraham, a law professor a Haiti scholar at the University of Miami.

snip................

In the 2000 presidential election campaign, then-Republican candidate George W. Bush criticized his predecessor, President Bill Clinton, for dispatching U.S. troops all over the world, and especially to Haiti, to take part in ``nation-building.''

``I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building. I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win war,'' Bush said then.

more.................

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-haiti-usa-aims.html

[liberalnurse]

1. I understand the new regime is a bunch of thugs......

That will probably stimulate a mass exodus in a few weeks.

[mrdmk]

2. Two words in one

Bushshiit!

[Dirk39]

3. Burning schools is the ultimative means to that end

"This just in from Port-au-Prince: The SOPUDEP (Organization for the Socioeconomic Development of Petionville) school, which provides a free education and hot lunch program for over 400 of the poorest children in the community, is being threatened. Opposition thugs and former military have spread word through the neighborhood that they are planning to attack and burn the school very soon. The administration and staff take this threat very seriously and many of them have already gone into hiding until the situation changes."
http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/03/1671949.php

Sorry, I switched the channels too fast. Burning schools just means to make some cuts on social welfare programs, in order to re-strenghten the economy...

Hello from Germany,
Dirk