THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 14, 1994 TAG: 9407140013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Before President Woodrow Wilson endeavored to ``make the world safe for democracy'' by entering World War I, he attempted to implant it by force in the Western Hemisphere. He sent U.S. Marines into Haiti in 1915 after chaos took hold in the wake of a bloody coup d'etat against one of Haiti's many murderous dictators. What happened then could serve as an object lesson for today.
The United States attempted a stem-to-stern reformation of Haiti. It took complete control of the country's financial and administrative affairs and imposed an American-style constitution in 1918. ``No matter what we did, nothing could be worse than their old regime,'' was the satisfied comment of a Marine officer. Any resemblance to present-day thinking in the Clinton White House is purely non-coincidental.
The occupation lasted nearly 20 years, ending only with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proclamation of the ``Good Neighbor'' policy in 1934. While the United States probably provided Haiti with the best administration it had ever known, the humiliation of foreign rule led to several insurrections. The ultimate goal, the implantation of a democratic political culture, failed miserably, as can be seen by events in Haiti today.
Is President Clinton preparing a replay of 1915? It's hard to say whether he is really planning an invasion or merely credibly threatening one in order to force the incumbent junta to give up power and restore exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The ever-changing Haitian policy, however, shows that the president is not acting with a clear American interest in mind. He is instead being buffeted by the winds of congressional opinion, notably the pro-invasion Congressional Black Caucus.
Haiti represents no national security threat to the United States. Unlike Grenada and Panama, where the incumbent regimes began threatening American citizens, Haiti has been careful to avoid such provocations. If the president orders an invasion, it will be to shore up his domestic political position rather than advance American interests.
Before he was replaced by William Gray, State Department envoy Lawrence Pezzullo was seeking to convince Aristide to make a deal with other Haitian political factions. This Aristide has refused to do, and Mr. Gray backs him up.
That is pushing the United States into a corner where it has no choice but to invade and prop up the Aristide government. The president should instead put American interests first and negotiate with Haitian parliamentarians - whose election was every bit as valid as Aristide's - and find a compromise, before it is too late.
KEYWORDS: HAITI
by CNB