(Forgive my ignorance ) What is Bushco's interest in Haiti?

[m-jean03]

Why oppose Aristide's govnt? eom

[Taeger]

1. Aristide opposes WTO and IMF

Basically, Aristide and Hugo Chavez are in the same boat. They don't want their country ruled by international corporations via IMF and WTO.

Castro does deserve credit for kicking OUT the corporations and KEEPING them out for over 40 years.

[m-jean03]

4. Thanks

I don't know how I missed that

[JaySherman]

6. Also, Haiti could be used as a staging ground

for similar actions against Venezuela and Cuba. It's possible too, that they could be looking to create a 'domino effect' in those countries.

[Crachet2004]

9. They are nonwhite and militarily weak.

Therefore they are a target. Bush probably thinks he will get a 'bump' in the polls for being a 'wartime' PresUHHdent.

And he probably will-in a negative direction.

He's on a downhill slope...everything he touches is turning to sh*t!
Anyone got a banana peel?

[leesa]

11. But Chavez has lots of oil that he maintains is for the people of his

country. We usually don't invade and/or overthrow countries unless they have resources we want to steal or are strategic for positioning ourselves to overthrow another country whose resources we want to steal. What does Haiti have?

[Cat Atomic]

17. Labor is a resource.

As to motivations, the US interest in toppling Casto's government in Cuba isn't based on resources at all. Cuba is an example to other central and south american countries that they *can* run their own affairs in defiance of the United States.

[Oilwellian]

24. Banks to launder through

and drugs to move.

[gate of the sun]

16. I guess in some ways those are the good guys then

the IMF destroys any country it touches. The WTO owns any country it touches. Damn it they are not fighting for democracy, they had that, they are overtaking the world in the name of corporations.

[Ysabel]

2. slavery...

n/t...

[shanti]

3. they want "their" boy in there

as a puppet. same old story.

[Robbien]

5. So far three things

Corporate elite in Haiti did not agree with Aristide's policies of acting for the common people.
There is a big pool of slave labor available for US Corporates
And third, Haiti is positioned in a crucial spot for the Columbian Drug trade.

So, bottom line more money for the rich.

[monobrau]

7. In a word - Sweatshops

Aristide has been strangled by economic sanctions for not going along with Uncle Sam and the EU's vision of Haiti as another source of well behaved cheap labor. That's certainly an over-simplification, but I think it addresses the central issue.

[never cry wolf]

8. I am not THAT familiar with recent past history but...

on edit: I read the Chomsky piece below and I was off on very much. bush the elder's coup was in '91.

[Lone_Wolf]

10. Cheap labor

Our interest in Haiti is cheap labor that U.S. corporations based in Haiti love to exploit.

Here's some excellent articles:

Noam Chomsky Essay

Husayn Al-Kurdi Essay

[never cry wolf]

12. Thanks for the links

Very enlightening!

[Darranar]

21. Exactly!

[Mari333]

13. and it keeps peoples minds off of the slaughter in Iraq

and all the other lies of the bu$h admin. Its smoke and mirrors.

[T Roosevelt]

14. This came up on "This Week" today

as noted in Pundit Pap

Rangel said that we should have acted earlier: when Aristide was brought back with the help of Clinton and Colin Powell, there was a failure to follow through by building law enforcement (read: crush corruption and bribery) and infrastructure, including schools. And Rangel -- to our surprise -- praised DeWine for trying to help Haiti before saying that we had in fact helped the rebels instead of Aristide (who was, after all, a popularly elected leader). DeWine suggested that creating some 100,000 "assembly jobs" could well help stabilize the situation.

DeWine is a rep senator apparently pushing the WH line. Things that make you go "hmmmmm"

[Toucano]

22. Mr. DeWine's legislation.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c108:./temp/~c108ytWEom

It appears he wants to give them John Edwards' dad's old job.

`(a) IN GENERAL- In addition to any other preferential treatment under this Act, in each 12-month period beginning on October 1, 2003, apparel articles described in subsection (b) that are imported directly into the customs territory of the United States from Haiti shall enter the United States free of duty, subject to the limitations described in subsections (b) and (c), if Haiti has satisfied the requirements set forth in subsection (d).

[niceypoo]

15. C-L-I-N-T-O-N is his interest

Clinton helped install Aristides democracy so Booosh, being the reactionary he is, has to undo it.

[Jane Eyre]

18. Baseballs

Nearly all baseballs are made in Haiti. That is why Bush is interested.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/065.html

U.S. companies imported over 2.5 million pounds of baseballs from Haiti between October 1993 and February 1994, long after a military coup overthrew President Aristide. Many of these baseballs are purchased directly by the U.S. government.

A leading producer of baseballs and softballs, Home of Champions, has repeatedly met attempts to organize a union at their plants with illegal firings, according to the labor committee. Workers at Home of Champions are paid $1.07 for a 10.5 hour day. In a letter to President Clinton signed by 24 union presidents, the National Committee called for a total commercial embargo of Haiti, ending the loophole for the assembly industry, closing the border with the Dominican Republic and blocking all air traffic. . .

Despite official support in Washington for sanctions, two new companies - Eddie Haggar of Dallas, Texas and Fisman and Tobin, headquartered in Florida - began exporting from Haiti within the last four months.

Very little of the profit of these export companies actually stays in Haiti. According to AID, 85 percent of every dollar profit from assembly operations goes to the United States.

[Jane Eyre]

19. Baseballs

Nearly all baseballs are made in Haiti. That is why Bush is interested.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/065.html

U.S. companies imported over 2.5 million pounds of baseballs from Haiti between October 1993 and February 1994, long after a military coup overthrew President Aristide. Many of these baseballs are purchased directly by the U.S. government.

A leading producer of baseballs and softballs, Home of Champions, has repeatedly met attempts to organize a union at their plants with illegal firings, according to the labor committee. Workers at Home of Champions are paid $1.07 for a 10.5 hour day. In a letter to President Clinton signed by 24 union presidents, the National Committee called for a total commercial embargo of Haiti, ending the loophole for the assembly industry, closing the border with the Dominican Republic and blocking all air traffic. . .

Despite official support in Washington for sanctions, two new companies - Eddie Haggar of Dallas, Texas and Fisman and Tobin, headquartered in Florida - began exporting from Haiti within the last four months.

Very little of the profit of these export companies actually stays in Haiti. According to AID, 85 percent of every dollar profit from assembly operations goes to the United States.

[smirkymonkey]

20. Military Base??

It's conveniently located between Cuba and Venezuela. Hmmm....

[MSchreader]

23. "Regime change" in Cuba

Haiti is a perfect launching point for an invasion and occupation.

Martin

[Taeger]

25. Overt the top ...

We ALREADY have a military base on Cuba. It's called Guantanamo Bay.

There is hardly any need to take over Haiti for the sake of taking over Cuba. Rather, I think this is ENTIRELY about keeping wages down and potentially making it easier for the CIA to move drugs through that area.