02/09/2004: 
Breaking News
Crowds loot port as uprising spreads in Haiti
from Daily Herald (Provo, Utah) [garmies required]
referred by Thomas Pain(e)
"This one is for Rodney King Jean-Bertrand Aristide!"
ST. MARC, Haiti -- Hundreds of Haitians looted TV sets, mattresses and sacks of flour from shipping containers Sunday in this port town, one of several communities seized by rebels in a bloody uprising against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Using felled trees, flaming tires and car chassis, residents blocked streets throughout St. Marc a day after militants drove out police in gunbattles that killed two people. Many residents have formed neighborhood groups to back insurgents in their push to expel the president.
"After Aristide leaves, the country will return to normal," said Axel Philippe, 34, among dozens massed on the highway leading to St. Marc, a city of about 100,000 located some 45 miles northwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
At least 18 people have been killed since armed opponents of Aristide began their assault Thursday, setting police stations on fire and driving officers from the northwestern city of Gonaives -- Haiti's fourth-largest city -- and several smaller nearby towns.
Anger has been brewing in Haiti since Aristide's party won flawed legislative elections in 2000. The opposition refuses to join in any new vote unless the president resigns; he insists on serving out his term, which ends in 2006.
Clashes between government opponents, police and Aristide supporters have killed at least 69 people since mid-September.
6 Annotations Submitted
Tuesday the 10th of February, clintonlover noted:
didn't the great president bill clinton already fix this problem by invading invading haiti without a formal declaration of war by the congress but with UN approval in 1994? didn't we already rebuild their stupid country? why do they fall apart every 10 years or so?
"The message of the United States to the Haitian dictators is clear: 'Your time is up. Leave now or we will force you from power.'" -President Bill Clinton, Washington, D.C., September 15, 1994
Tuesday the 10th of February, prof noted:
ahh, yes of course it is logical to blame this on clinton. why didnt i think of that.
Tuesday the 10th of February, clintonlover noted:
while i indeed hold clinton's feet to the fire and try to hold him accountable for his foreign policy decisions that play a part in world politics, i was more pointing out the fact that haiti's government seems to fall apart every 10- 20 years like clockwork, and that the United States' last attempt at "nation- building" did not work out too well, as recent events in Haiti attest to.
Tuesday the 10th of February, prof noted:
wouldnt it be more logical to point out that the united states stepped in to restore a democratically elected president, and that that man [aristide] subsequently resorted to ruling by decree? i dont think a concerted attempt at "nation building" occured here. i think what happened is that the president usurped power that wasnt his, and the populace isnt standing for it.
Tuesday the 10th of February, Abe Froman noted:
My God, Its so fashionable to bash Clinton!!! You would think that he were responsible for everything that has gone wrong over the last 100 years. World War Two/Clinton. Cuban Missle crisis/Clinton. Black Tuesday/Clinton.
How does a guy, so tolorant, so involved, so concerned with the betterment of this country become the target of such ignorant hate. From humble begining to getting his knob polished in the oval office, the man is the american dream and still his lifes work has been to help others.
And as left as I may stand, at least I respect the efforts and work of my right counterparts. I rank Clinton right up there with some of the best presidents of the Century: Clinton, Reagan, Eisenhower, and FDR.
For every lame bash on Clinton you can come up with, I could name double for the fruad of a president we have now, but I hold my tongue in an effort to say lets be productive in our dialogues, not destructive.
Tuesday the 10th of February, clinton lover noted:
"From humble begining to getting his knob polished in the oval office, [Bill Clinton] is the american dream and still his lifes work has been to help others." -Abe Froman
I hereby nominate this quote for consideration in the Athenaeum quote of the whenever contest.
