Thread: Heritage Foundation: US Opportunities in Haiti

Amidst the Suffering, Crisis in Haiti Offers Opportunities to the U.S.



In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region…



While on the ground in Haiti, the U.S. military can also interrupt the nightly flights of cocaine to Haiti and the Dominican Republic from the Venezuelan coast and counter the ongoing efforts of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to destabilize the island of Hispaniola. This U.S. military presence, which should also include a large contingent of U.S. Coast Guard assets, can also prevent any large-scale movement by Haitians to take to the sea in rickety watercraft to try to enter the U.S. illegally.



Meanwhile, the U.S. must be prepared to insist that the Haiti government work closely with the U.S. to insure that corruption does not infect the humanitarian assistance flowing to Haiti. Long-term reforms for Haitian democracy and its economy are also badly overdue.

Heritage Foundation



Allow me to state, the above, while full of good intentions, is exactly what the US SHOULD NOT do. The message sent by that would be as apocalyptic as it would be historic. But, there seems to be a lot of trail balloons being floated in this vein. I'd like to go on record saying this is a terrible idea.

[quote name='Ronin Tetsuro' date='18 January 2010 - 10:37 AM' timestamp='1263832630' post='101021']

Heritage Foundation



Allow me to state, the above, while full of good intentions, is exactly what the US SHOULD NOT do. The message sent by that would be as apocalyptic as it would be historic. But, there seems to be a lot of trail balloons being floated in this vein. I'd like to go on record saying this is a terrible idea.

[/quote]



Shouldn't but that doesn't mean the US won't. We love to tell people how to live, how to govern, how to and who to worship.



I just hope we help them build stable structures that can withstand earthquakes and hurricanes.



And yeah, hurricane resistant buildings and storm walls would benefit the USA given the path of hurricanes that end up in our back yards.

Paratroopers from the US army's 82nd Airborne deployed Monday out of the main Haitian airport in waves of navy Seahawk helicopters to set up bases from which to begin humanitarian operations.



Lieutenant Colonel Pat Hynes took the first battalion to a walled compound north of Port-au-Prince, the abandoned site of a planned power plant, about one kilometer (0.6 mile) from the US military's hub in the capital's airport.



"Our mission is to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," Hynes told AFP as another Seahawk touched down behind him in a thick cloud of dust.



Around the walls of the compound an advance party of Hynes' men stretched out tarps to provide temporary shelter from the hot Caribbean sun until the supplies to construct a more permanent base arrive.



Outside the compound, thousands of young Haitian men crowded about with a cheerful but determined air, drawn by the sound of the choppers and keen to seek jobs on any base.

AFP via RawStory





All the better to pressure Venezuela with. I doubt these bases will be bigger than the Vatican like their Iraq counterparts. But the will make for formidable Forward Bases in the coming South American offensive. And the War of Global Manifest Destiny continues onward.

[quote name='Ronin Tetsuro' date='18 January 2010 - 03:51 PM' timestamp='1263851464' post='101156']

AFP via RawStory





All the better to pressure Venezuela with. I doubt these bases will be bigger than the Vatican like their Iraq counterparts. But the will make for formidable Forward Bases in the coming South American offensive. And the War of Global Manifest Destiny continues onward.

[/quote]



Oh, so we should not try to help Haiti?



You confuse me.