On Jan 17, 2010, at 1:48 PM, Michael Smith wrote:
> Apologists for Bill Clinton and for liberal interventionism
> generally are fond of citing the 1994 restoration of Aristide,
> at the point of US guns, as a shining example.
>
> I was kinda distracted by various personal matters back in
> '93 and '94 and I didn't follow events very closely. Somehow
> I find it hard to believe that idealism and principle played
> much of a role in Bill Clinton's decision to do that. But
> a bit of rummaging around the Web hasn't turned up anything
> like a satisfactory explanation of these events.
>
> Does anybody on this list have his or her own theory? Has anybody
> written anything illuminating on the subject?
Sorry to toot my own horn, but I highly recommend my interviews with Robert Fatton from 2004, especially the April 1 show (the second one listed below), where Fatton addresses U.S. interests at length. In brief, Clinton wanted to restore the U.S. image after the debacle in Somalia, please the Congressional Black Caucus a bit, and, mainly, to prevent another wave of boat people from heading towards Florida. Both interviews provide great historical and social background on the disaster that is Haiti.
http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio_1.html#040311 http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio_1.html#040401
Doug