HAITI BILL CLINTON FAUX PAS

HAITI THE FALL INVASION

SEPTEMBER 1994

I

’ve been working as a country doctor when  the US government landed troops  in Port-au-Prince on the morning of   the  19 September 1994.  Back to 1915, it was the beginning of the 2^nd US invasion in Haiti.

Even though the Haitian image aboard had been tarnished by a nasty propaganda campaign, not all the Americans had agreed on the ground that Haiti would have been invaded. But, according to the American president Bill Clinton, should  democracy be restored , there had been no  another solution left. Against the U.S. intelligence service’s warning,  M .Clinton sent  the boys  of the 82 airborne division. On the Sunday 18 September, we have been brushing the war by an hair. The day after, Clinton who was looking for a CNN diplomatic success,  had the marines landed in Haiti. The US president had  crossed  the Rubicon.

A few time later, the mistake was obvious.  Like in Washington DC, at the American embassy in Port-au-Prince, there had been a splitting among the personal on this foreign policy issue. The chief of the Mission, a quiet and polite man,  Mr. Lesly Swing, had  reunited the Haitian employees a few days before to let them know that “as an ambassador”, he has not identified any cause to send the marines in this impoverished country.  At the contrary, the  cultural attaché, an unexpected man, called Shraeger sided up  with the Lavalas mob, which in the morning of September 19, rushed into the streets, welcoming the planes and helicopters that were crisscrossing  in the Haitian sky.  When the American armada showed up , it was 8.05 A. M.  We could listen to  the  Creole message  broadcasted  from helicopters flying at low altitude and retransmitted as well by the local radio stations calling the native for cooperation with the marines.  But, locked up home, a lot of  proud Haitians felt humiliated and deeply wounded.

More than a decade later, few Haitians Americans and international observers as well .understood what were really  at  stake at this time.    The more smarter claimed that the Clinton administration needed an outstanding diplomatic success  to strengthen  its position in the US after some bad experience in Somalia, Mogadiscio.  In the long term, however, the aftermath of this invasion turned out to be very problematic. Kidnappings, killings, drug trafficking and arsons flourished more than before. Even among the restored government, officials were not innocuous in many wrongdoings. Worst, prominent public figures would have been  shot to death like this  famous lawyer, Mireille Durocher Bertin and later on Jean Dominique, a well known journalist praised overseas. The new people in charge maneuvered well  to keep the power, but  the price  to pay was so high that in the winter 2004, almost ten years after the landing of marines, street protests and students uprising brought down the Clinton-backed president that was to flee  again to exile.

But, early in September 94, among Haitians as well as Americans, there was a lot of concern and doubt with respects to the way American authorities were handling the Haitian crisis. The Haitian army in the North already  had come to rough times  when almost a dozen of soldiers have been gunned down  and buried amidst   sadness and anger in the military hospital at Port-au Prince.  When we denounced those killings in the government newspaper, Shragger sent the marines in front of the office,  wearing heavy weapons aimed at  building and  personal.  In the meantime, the Cap Haitian –based US colonel. Tom Jones,  acknowledged to  have fired first against  these  unfortunate soldiers that were playing outdoors. In the Southern part of the country, aux Cayes, a marine was deeply wounded.  There were no more clash, despite some casualties among Haitian troops.  We were told that all the countrymen were shocked by the return of the US in Haitian internal affairs. High-  ranking American military  were asking themselves why they were sent to Haiti.  Haiti has not been a high risk at the Caribbean sea , like  Iraq later  .

But, very soon, we noted a change of mood among the American troops. Better than that, in many families, American troops felt to have been  welcomed. They tried to understand genuinely the Haitian crisis. Without fear, anywhere, they felt at home.   Many of them tasted our cuisine. Haitian American in the army wanted griot, rice and beans, yellow soup as at   Claude Raymond’s, a former Haitian chief of Staff.   It was  moving to see the conqueror looking at the submitted country with new feeling as if war has never destroyed the human being inside us.  In  the long term, politics would be the only thing to be blamed. US Officers and troops never understood why they went to Haiti.  In other words, Bill Clinton seemed the only one to know the answer .

 Finally, this president expressed some regrets after leaving office.

AUGUST 2007