[Peace-discuss] Should the US Military Be Deployed to Haiti?

[Karen Medina]

The US has not really ever been out of Haiti.
You are correct about the last time we took over completely.

The US military is full of stupidity -- when they go into a country,
they create their own little United States and don't even know what it
is like off base.

On NPR this week, I heard a military spokesperson and the AID
spokesperson both saying that they were surprised that there were no
roads or electricity or "infrastructure".

The CIA puts out a Factbook (libraries have a subscription). The
Factbook would have given the military more information than the
military have.


On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 8:03 AM, E.Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag> wrote:
> "The main reason the U.S. military has no business going to Haiti is simply
> that the purpose of the military should be to defend the United States
> against attack or invasion. Nothing more (like invading other countries),
> and nothing less (like failing to defend its own headquarters on 9/11).
> Using the military to establish democracy, spread goodwill, change regimes,
> train foreign armies, open foreign markets, enforce no-fly zones, protect
> U.S. commercial interests, serve as peacekeepers, furnish security in other
> countries, contain communism, and provide disaster relief and humanitarian
> aid perverts the purpose of the military."
>
>
> Should the U.S. Military Go to Haiti?
> by Laurence M. Vance
>
> There is no doubt that the death toll from the earthquake in Haiti will be
> horrendous. There is no disagreement about the destruction from the
> earthquake being catastrophic. There is also no disputing that the situation
> in Haiti is very grave. One thing that must, however, be challenged is the
> notion that the U.S. military should go to Haiti.
>
> A military assessment team has already landed in Haiti from the U.S.
> Southern Command. The Secretary of Defense has made it clear that "he will
> help provide ‘anything and everything’ the military command needs to aid the
> mission." But should the U.S. military go to Haiti?
>
> The short answer is simply: of course not. The long answer is what follows.
>
> If the U.S. military goes to Haiti it would not be the first time. The
> American military occupied the country from 1915–1934 and intervened in
> Haitian affairs other times before and since this occupation. The most
> recent intervention was in 2004 after a coup ousted the president of Haiti,
> Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
>
> But, it is argued, U.S. military intervention in Haiti this time would be
> for purely humanitarian reasons. I agree. However, I still believe the U.S.
> military has no business going to Haiti.
>
> The main reason the U.S. military has no business going to Haiti is simply
> that the purpose of the military should be to defend the United States
> against attack or invasion. Nothing more (like invading other countries),
> and nothing less (like failing to defend its own headquarters on 9/11).
> Using the military to establish democracy, spread goodwill, change regimes,
> train foreign armies, open foreign markets, enforce no-fly zones, protect
> U.S. commercial interests, serve as peacekeepers, furnish security in other
> countries, contain communism, and provide disaster relief and humanitarian
> aid perverts the purpose of the military.
>
> There are some other reasons as well for the U.S. military not going to
> Haiti.
>
> First, private U.S. and international relief agencies exist for things like
> this. It is a myth that nothing will be done soon enough and good enough
> without the help of the U.S. military. An even greater myth is that without
> the help of governments there would not be enough money, supplies, and
> personnel to help the people in areas hit by natural disasters. The American
> people especially are a generous people. They donate millions of dollars for
> relief efforts whenever and wherever a disaster strikes and would probably
> give even more if they knew their government was not getting involved.
>
> Second, disaster relief and humanitarian aid, whether provided by the state
> department or the defense department, is still a form of foreign aid. This
> is funded by taking money out of the pockets of American taxpayers and
> giving it to countries that most Americans can’t locate on map. How many
> Americans have an idea that the country of Haiti shares the island of
> Hispaniola with the country of the Dominican Republic? No American should be
> forced to "contribute" to the aid of another country. If foreign aid is
> wrong in principle then foreign aid is still wrong when a country is hit by
> a famine, a flood, a cyclone, a tsunami, or an earthquake. So, just like the
> United States shouldn’t have given foreign aid to Myanmar under the guise of
> disaster relief, so the United States shouldn’t give foreign aid to Haiti.
>
> And third, U.S. military relief efforts in Haiti are a PR bonanza for the
> military. It is certain to counter, at least for a few weeks, the fact that
> we are engaged in two unpopular wars. And it certainly will help to quash
> the news that our Predator drone attacks have killed more civilians than
> militants. Humanitarian intervention by the U.S. military fosters the
> illusion that the military is somehow benevolent and praiseworthy instead of
> aggressive and contemptible.
>
> There is one good thing I can say about U.S. military intervention in Haiti.
> At least for a change the military would be saving life instead of taking
> it, rebuilding property instead of destroying it, restoring basic services
> instead of wrecking them, spreading goodwill instead of terror, and making
> friends instead of terrorists.
>
> As much as I deplore U.S. military interventions for any reason, I would
> love to see all U.S. forces leave Iraq and Afghanistan and deploy to Haiti
> instead.
>
> January 15, 2010
> --
> This message has been scanned for viruses and
> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
> believed to be clean.
> _______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss
>
>



-- 
karen medina
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
"In this universe, we are given two gifts: the ability to love, and
the ability to ask questions." (Mary Oliver, American poet)
A third gift is the ability to laugh. (Jenifer, a friend)

-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.