Recent events have added the newest members to that peculiar order of political knighthood which celebrates the use of violence and the seduction of anarchy in the name of dubious ideological ends and whose glorious ranks include the likes of Castro, Lenin, Cromwell, and Hitler.
To make matters worse, these young apprentices in the smithy of chaos reside mere hundreds of miles southwest of Florida.
In case you haven’t heard, the Caribbean nation of Haiti, home of voodoo and inept, murderous governments, is experiencing major political unrest. In the north, militias are attacking police officers and destroying public buildings. Elsewhere, peaceful protesters who are still mindful of ethics march against the corrupt regime of Jéan-Bertrand Aristide, the popularly-elected president whom the U.S. was forced to re-install after a coup threatened his leadership.
Despite the lure of revolution many a wide-eyed youth feels in his formative years, dreams can quickly turn deadly, mass murder is a serious, nasty business, and more often than not revolution ends in unmitigated disaster for the country in question. Haiti is no exception, and a revolution so close to our shores should invoke concern from countries in the region. Indeed, this new crisis has broader implications which must be discussed.
To be sure, no one supports this clearly blood-thirsty and depraved leader who has evoked so much hatred from his country-men. The nature of Mr. Aristide’s terrible regime is no secret, especially when one of his own gangs of terrorists, the aptly entitled “Cannibal Army,” turned against him, increasing the revolution’s momentum. Indeed, Mr. Aristide has earned no pity during his tenure in office.
Despite these reservations, chaos in a nation so close to ours must be prevented. Recently, the violence has escalated. Gonaïves, a major port city which holds special significance to those with the revolutionary mindset (it was the city where the movement to oust French colonists and declare Haiti the first black republic began), was captured by the rebels early last week.
Although police have re-taken two major towns, Mr. Aristide has readily admitted that his forces are out-gunned and need assistance.
This poses an oft-asked question: should American forces be sent to stabilize the country?
The Bush administration’s fundamental premise in dealing with foreign crises is rather simple. The United States of America is the only world superpower, and this favorable position should be maintained.
Despite the economic and humanitarian problems this incursion present to us, including the possibility of a mass exodus of Haitian refugees who will dare to make the treacherous journey to Florida, this revolution also suggests the newest in a series of problems that the United States is confronting in South America.
An unfriendly political bloc south of the border could be ripe territory for terrorist activities in our own country. Venezuela, a dictatorship which holds over our heads its rich oil supplies, and the extreme poverty which promotes drug trafficking in countries like Columbia, not to mention Cuba, all present enormous sores in the side of the government.
Brazil, the one shining light in South America, has recently had strained relations with the current administration. In addition, support for the government of the Dominican Republic, which shares the island Haiti occupies, has wobbled recently, and will be further unbalanced if the violence in the neighboring country continues.
This suggests that action must be taken, and quickly, if we are to hold sway and economic dominance over South and Central America. Even France, Haiti’s former leadership, has entertained the possibility of sending peacekeepers. To be sure, Haiti is yet another in a litany of former colonies which were far better off under foreign rule, but the reassertion of French influence so close to our country is to be avoided if not altogether overruled.
Both prudence and morality suggests that Mr. Bush intervene in Haiti. Here’s hoping he will.