Hugo Chavez is accusing the United States of militarily occupying Haiti under the cover of providing humanitarian aid. Of course, my first reaction to seeing the condition of Port-au-Prince was to say that Haiti would need to become a protectorate of sorts, if not in letter then in reality. I didn’t say that as an ideological matter, although I certainly expect the Washington Establishment and American business community to take advantage of this situation to establish a permanent anti-Cuban, anti-Chavez presence in Haiti.
Given the confluence of American ideological and business interests and Haitian need, there should be little doubt of what will happen now. And that upsets Mr. Chavez, as I can well understand. But, the question is, how can Haiti meet its challenges without the kind of help and investment that only America seems able and willing to provide? They need to provide food for a couple million people, police the streets, rebuild their port, upgrade their roads, move millions of pounds of rubble, rebuild their government buildings, reestablish businesses, build new hotels and tourist attractions, and so on. And they have no money to pay for this and a virtually invisible government. Many nations will provide humanitarian aid, and investment can come from any place, but it is America that has the proximity, equipment, resources, and will to rebuild an actual government infrastructure. And this will not be done without strings attached that are both warranted (accountability) and self-serving.
The challenge for Obama is to make this arrangement as mutually beneficial as possible. Haiti needs a ton of help. But they should not be left indebted and lacking sovereignty, nor in a situation where they are not in control of their resources. On the other hand, human nature being what it is, Port-au-Prince isn’t getting rebuilt entirely through charity.
Um, the first rescue team on the ground was China, and they were fully equipped and trained to at least the same level as the Americans (as are other SAR teams from around the world). And it is the UN who has been, and is now, working with the Haitians to reestablish order and internal governance. We’re there at their request, and with their approval.
Perspective being everything, I’m seeing/reading entirely too much writing and reporting with an ‘America best, all others less’ bias. I suppose it should be expected that political beasts need to be fed, but there is no value to anyone there.
China might be willing and able to establish a de facto protectorate in the Caribbean, but we would never allow it if we could do it ourselves. I’m not suggesting that China or any other country isn’t helping right now. That totally misses the point of what comes later, when it comes time to rebuild the government and the port, airport, roads, etc.
See my comment below. We’ve been there, done that, and failed miserably the last time we tried it.
and now for the encore.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60G2J520100117
None of this is to suggest we shouldn’t help or turn our backs. We just need to be very VERY careful what we offer, how we offer it, which strings are or aren’t attached, etc. And if Obama wants to survive this with the right wing, he needs to frame his actions better.
I was truly shocked this weekend when otherwise LOVELY people I hike with made comments re our tax dollars supporting Haiti, parroting Limbaugh. I gently but firmly reprimanded the notion, not the people, and told them some of our history. They quickly saw the light.
Facts matter. But rhetoric is winning, so far.
Read the comment, and the article, of course.
That comment is frightening. Must have come from a Limbaugh/Bech adherent!
I meant Beck. But I was thinking Blech. Came out Bech.
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This item was reported days ago in my diary and comment. Do the numbers, to feed 3 million Haitians the tonnage needed cannot be provided by
60100 some aircraft movements into Port-au-Prince airport. You need the port facilities or the people will starve (or packages dropped by parachute). See WWII: Swedes drop loaves of bread from aircraft above a starving Holland in hunger winter 1944-45.NORFOLK (NNS) — More than 1,700 Sailors and Marines aboard ships from the Bataan Amphibious Relief Force departed Hampton Roads area Naval bases Jan. 14 en route to Haiti to assist with relief efforts following the tragic earthquake that struck the island nation Jan. 12.
Within 48 hours of receiving tasking from U.S. 2nd Fleet, the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), amphibious dock landing ships USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) and USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) were underway. The ships began loading Marines, aircraft and equipment from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in less than 24 hours of their departure.
“We’re moving with a sense of urgency to provide a swift and coordinated response to assist Haiti,” said Capt. Thomas Negus, commander of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group. “The unique capabilities of our amphibious ships can bring much-needed assistance in the multinational efforts to relieve suffering in Haiti.”
The three ships typically use air cushion landing craft, conventional landing craft and helicopters for their primary mission to move Marines ashore, but their inherent capabilities and complement of assets make it ideal for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.
“Disaster relief and humanitarian assistance is something we train for,” said Capt. Sam Howard, Bataan’s commanding officer. “We are absolutely equipped and prepared to perform the mission we’ve been called upon to do.”
Bataan’s medical capabilities are second only to U.S. Navy hospital ships and include nearly 50 medical professionals as well as X-ray facilities, a 600-bed hospital, operating rooms, an intensive care unit, pharmacy and laboratory.
BTW The U.N. will more than likely provide the organization in rebuilding Haiti. See Summit for Haiti
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Lisa, I wonder why no one has yet mentioned here (as far as I can tell) that the coup that unseated twice-democratically-elected President Aristide and replaced him with the current regime was very much an American-engineered operation, and that as a matter of fact Aristide was kidnapped from the palace and spirited out of the country by the American military.
“I’m not suggesting that China or any other country isn’t helping right now. That totally misses the point of what comes later, when it comes time [for the United States to muscle its way in] to rebuild the government and the port, airport, roads, etc.“
All to the benifit of the Empire and the profit of its corporations, of course, and if what is good for the USA doesn’t fit with what the Haitians want or really need, screw the ungrateful bastards.
I mean, look at what the Americans did for the Iraqis! Of course, nature did not cooperate there, so they had to create their own man-made disaster, but they’re going to get the job done come hell or high water, and over whatever objections the Iraqis might have.
PS I wonder when Blackwater – erm, Xe (pronounced Zee – like the toilet paper brand) – is going to move in. Perhaps they already have?
Yeah, but you put an ‘all for’ in there that doesn’t belong at all.
“you put an ‘all for’ in there that doesn’t belong at all.“
No I didn’t. I said “all to the benefit”. As a writer you know that suggests something quite different than “all for the benefit”, and I stand by what I actually said.
Actually, China has been criticized for not providing a proportionate amount of help.
And you’re obviously not listing to CNN International. Not really a pro-anything slant there. Although those Belgian docs who deserted their patients came in for a bit of flack.
If Cuba can give permission for the U.S. to fly over its air space without spreading out a bunch of leaflets or bombing and strafing the island, then I don’t see this as some kind of military occupation.
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In a catastrophe report published by the Cubadebate website, Cuban radio correspondent Isidro Fardales reports that this group of specialists brings the total number of Cuban doctors working in Haiti to 300, many of whom were sent to Puerto Principe in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Cuban and Haitian Doctor Trained in Cuba Aid VictimsUpon arriving in Haiti, Fardales reports the following, “We arrived at a field hospital located in the central courtyard of a place Haitians call the El Anexo, a facility within the Military Hospital facilities.
“There, under a big tent, Cuban surgeons tirelessly treat every patient that comes in, injured or mutilated; although the line of people waiting for assistance seems to stretch on forever.
“As I write this, our medical staff has already treated more than a thousand patients in little more than 24 hours, and dozens of them have undergone emergency life-saving surgery.
“Another field hospital has been set up in the Renacimiento Ophthalmology Center, the hospital that used to house the Milagros mission [Cuban-Venezuelan Free Eye-Surgery Program] in Haiti.”
Cuban Colada
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."The problem is, we tried it before and left the country just as bad off as when we started.
Most people don’t know the US occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1932. When we left, 95% of the Haitians were still illiterate, and they were still in a ton of debt. They didn’t want to do the jobs we trained them for (forced them to train for) and the little infrastructure we built was already in disrepair by the 1950s.
And that’s just for starters. We’ve done so much more harm than good there I’m really tempted to say we should stay out altogether and let someone else have a whack at it.
I’m still working on that article re Haiti and our really horrible treatment of them over the years. It’s very complicated.
Look it up; it’s a free pdf.
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Noam Chomsky | The Tragedy of Haiti
See my diary – Twitter Richard Morse – RAMhaiti @Port-au-Prince
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."I keep seeing this “US business interests”.
Now, exactly what interests are you referring to that are so interested in Haiti. All they have is lots of available labor and a strong work ethic. And even with that, whenever a Cedras of a Preval (Harvard educated, BTW) is in office and tarts up for economic development, there is little US interest. And Rene Preval is that anti-Castro, anti-Chavez (but not anti-Cuba) presence.
A reconstruction boom? Really? With US loans? To be repaid how?
And if there is enough to interest US businesses, it will also interest French businesses, Mexican businesses, Brazilian businesses, China, Russia. And money from Bahamas and the Caymans.
And most like Obama would try to orchestrate such a multinational reconstruction effort.
I’m not so sure that the “the kind of help and investment that only America seems able and willing to provide” meets the “able” condition like it did twenty years ago. And the proximity of equipment is a very limited advantage; other nearby nations have the equipment too; Mexico has Cemex, which can provide the concrete almost as easy and possibly cheaper than the US.
A lot of the rote things we are used to saying about American aid and investment aren’t as true as they used to be. We lost a lot during the Bush decade. The rest of the world, not so much.
No one is going to have a protectorate in Haiti. Except maybe the UN collectively.
Chavez is just missing the cameras and the spotlights.
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to the contrary, he’s in deep trouble at home …
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."And missing the cameras means he’s not in trouble?
Wait until you see the non-competitive bidding for reconstruction projects, my friend. Just wait. And there will be ownership stakes for most of it.
Obama has committed $100 million so far. The reconstruction contract bids depend on who pays. The US is not in the position it was 10 years ago in which it could just open up the checkbook. And by budget time in the fall, Congress might be taking a different attitude toward any foreign aid. I think that with the UN operating as prime, there will be more countries with larger checkbooks than the US. And some with geo-political reasons for gaining friendship with Haiti. And the no-bid contracts will go to their businesses.
I don’t see the ROI for major business investment beyond repairing the infrastructure. Unless business starts taking a longer view than they have for the last generation.
And what do you see being owned with those ownership stakes? Hotels that weren’t overwhelmingly tourist spots before are not going to be delivering revenue until the recession eases and tourists in Europe, Asia, and Latin America are able to visit. And the US tourist market will lag that. Most of the tourists for the past two decades have be US churches on mission trips. And various NGO personnel.
First and foremost, the port, which will probably be rebuilt by the Corp of Engineers and then somehow privatized down the line.
The government buildings themselves will of course be the immediate property of the government, but the accouterments of state (financial/banking/business real estate) will be foreign-built and owned. A new airport will probably grant foreign concessions.
The three highways offer other opportunities.
Attracting low-wage industry will be another give-away both in favorable tax terms and in those industries actually owning the infrastructure they build.
They need no-and-low income housing for hundreds of thousands. Someone will own a majority share of that.
Precisely because these investments aren’t necessarily going to be profitable in the short-term, or make good sense to shareholders, the U.S government will take charge of a lot of it, and use the Commerce Dept. to privatize it later on.
In the meantime, look carefully at the clean-up contracts.
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"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Ah, I see that American exceptionalism is still alive and well in the American “progressive” blogosphere!