Posted on 03/01/2004 1:07:17 PM PST by cody32127
WASHINGTON - The White House and Pentagon (news - web sites) on Monday dismissed allegations that Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was kidnapped by U.S. forces eager for him to resign and flee into exile.
With U.S. military forces already on the ground in the Caribbean nation and more on the way, chief presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said, "It's nonsense, and conspiracy theories do nothing to help the Haitian people move forward to a better more free, more prosperous future."
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also vehemently denied that Aristide had been forced out by the United States, and Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) forcefully denied it as well, saying that Aristide boarded the plane willingly.
McClellan told reporters that Aristide left on his own free will. "We took steps to protect Mr. Aristide and his family so they would not be harmed as they departed Haiti," he said.
Rumsfeld, at a Pentagon news conference, said he was involved in the diplomatic flurry preceding Aristide's departure, and "the idea that someone was abducted is inconsistent with everything I saw."
"I don't believe that's true, that he's claiming that," Rumsfeld said. "I would be absolutely amazed if that were the case."
An African-American activist says Aristide told him on the phone Monday that he was kidnapped at gunpoint by American soldiers and ousted in a U.S. coup d'etat. Aristide said he was being held prisoner at the Renaissance Palace in Bangui, Central African Republic, said the activist, Randall Robinson.
McClellan said Aristide's aides had contacted the U.S. ambassador to Haiti on Saturday and asked if Aristide would be given protection by the United States if he resigned. The ambassador consulted with Washington, then called Aristide's aides and told them that if Aristide decided to resign, the United States "would facilitate his departure," McClellan said. "And we did."
He said the United States arranged for a plane to fly to Haiti to pick up Aristide. The aircraft arrived about 4:30 a.m., McClellan said. Aristide went to the airport in the company of his own personal security guards, the spokesman said.
Asked directly if Aristide left of his own free will, McClellan said, "Yes."
Powell said flatly, "He was not kidnapped," and criticized U.S. congressmen for saying that Aristide had been kidnapped without checking with the Bush administration first to see what the story was.
"He was not kidnapped. We did not force him on the airplane. He went on the plane willingly," Powell said.
The secretary said Aristide wrote a letter of resignation and only then did the United States bring an airplane to help him leave the country.
Kerry was also asked about the situation in Haiti, where the Bush administration ended a crisis yesterday by forcing the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who illegitimately held on to power after his elected term ended. Here's the exchange between Kerry and Dan Rather:
Rather: Senator Kerry, President Bush has made it clear that the United States will be part of an international force going to Haiti. You've been critical of that action. Tell me what your beef is with what the president is doing.
Kerry: He's late, as usual. This president always makes decisions late after things have happened that could have been different had the president made a different decision earlier.
Bumiller: Senator Kerry, what would you have done in this situation?
Kerry: Well, first of all, I never would have allowed it to get out of control the way it did.
The New York Daily News reports that Kerry told the paper's editorial board, "I would intervene with the international community, and absent an international force, I'd do it unilaterally." This is in contrast to the Bush administration's multilateral approach; last night the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1529, authorizing an international force, including Americans and Frenchmen, to keep the peace in Haiti.
Now, this is the same John Kerry who has spent the past year carping about President Bush's "failed diplomacy" and "rush to war" in Iraq. Now suddenly in Haiti he's Mr. Unilateral Pre-emption.
Isn't that special - saying his own country, that undoubtably saved Aristide's ass from certain death engaged in a 'terrorist takeover'.
You have the first part right. Bill Clinton misused the U.S. Military to run off our natural ally, General Cedras, a West Point Graduate, who had liberated Haiti from Aristide, the first time. That was one of the grounds for impeachment, which should have been raised, rather than the one growing out of a sexual escapade.
I only wish you were right about the second part. While, I am sure that the Administration is glad to see Aristide gone, they keep talking the same silly business about foisting "Democracy," on Third World peoples, which the Democrats have been promoting since 1961--if not before.
Democracy in the Third World does not ordinarily work. (See Democracy In The Third World.)
William Flax
Yeah, it's starting to look like he should've gotten the Mussolini treatment.
I saw a network news report of this on ABC and they surmised that maybe he said he was kidnapped so the people would not think he was a coward for fleeing and he may be able to return one day.
I guess it was just toooooo inflamatory for ABC to just call Aristide & Maxine Waters what they are: Liars.
It is absolutely childish of any major news media to take such allegations seriously and report them.
This is akin to (elementary) school yard style reporting and regurgitating of the Dem's charge that the "Republicans wanted to starve children."
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