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I was a 17-year-old in the Navy when we visited Haiti in 1951. I had a turn as mess cook and had the duty of unloading our “clean” garbage on to the local bumboats. (This was fresh food just scraped off the plates from the previous meal).

I was hauling up another load when one of the other guys says, “Jeez, look at this.” One of the guys in the boat was licking those old paper wraps that ice cream slices used to come in. Another one was chowing down on a scrap of bony chicken. That was my introduction to absolute, grinding poverty.

We used to trade our worn out dungarees and shirts for trinkets like mahogany jewelry boxes made out of unseasoned wood (did’t know it then but did a month later when the seams split and the boxes fell apart.) Our electricians had a dungaree allowance as they had to crawl over the batteries to check ‘em out. The battery acid ate massive holes until there was hardly anything left - think waistband and seams. Natives fought to trade for them.

Sixty year later, nothing has changed, as it hasn’t changed in the last 100.

History repeats itself - the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. The one concept Marx had right.

The elites of Haiti, some of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, will support Baby Doc as will vast numbers of the poor and middle class. They remember the stability and development he and his father sustained.

The oligarchy of these families has ruled and continues to rule Haiti to this day. The return of Baby Doc Duvalier will bring Haiti full circle to where it was 25 years ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Few know much about Haiti but they talk a good game. Baby Doc was a mere shadow of a despot compared to Papa Doc who was hardcore despot.

Samir Mourra is the puppet master if Baby is back.

Haiti is one of those sad examples where iron-fisted dictatorship seems to be the only governmental system that works. People we sent to Haiti were stunned by the lack of Haitians' ability to move in any discernible direction beyond hour-to-hour subsistence. Papa Doc and his son, Baby Doc, maintained authoritarian control through an iron fist, the Ton Ton Macoutes, a jack booted force of official militaristic thugs who patrolled the streets with billy clubs.

Under Papa Doc the markets thrived, hospitals were built and there were jobs. Most critically it was safe for tourists to travel throughout Haiti.

Under military rule after the Marxist Aristide was thrown out the economy began to flourish. Many American manufacturers sent raw materials to Haiti to be made into clothing, toys and much more.

Hillary, a fan of Aristide, convinced Bill to throw the military out and reestablish Aristide’s dictatorship.

Clinton’s embargo of all goods into and out of Haiti destroyed the Haitian economy literally overnight. When American support left in a matter of days a full 90% of the Haitian economy was devastated. They have never recovered.

It is worse than outrageous that the most hated American in Haiti, Bill Clinton, is overseeing Haitian relief and reconstruction efforts. It is not incidental that these efforts are failing miserably.

This is a deeply corrupt nation. Corruption is tolerated if it brings with it some real improvement in the lives of the people. Not trying to boost dictators...just making a comment about the unrest and out of control behavior down there...

Baby Doc will come to power by mobilizing the masses, overthrowing the government and establishing a dictatorship. This is Haiti’s long legacy. He will throw all foreigners out of the country. Then, we shall see. I do not expect O has the audacity to oppose him. Baby Doc won’t have the support of Obama, because the professional black left supports the little Marxist, Aristide, and considers Duvalier to be a right-wing CIA puppet.

Nearly all of the infrastructure was put in place during the US Marine occupation after WWII but predating Doc, even less so following Aristide’s return.

I look forward to the Generals' return, those who threw the little Marxist, Aristide, off the island the first time. They were a respite of peace, stability and economic recovery. Clinton’s special ambassador to Haiti, Carter, pushed them out of the country and quite literally brought down the house, another fine example of Carter watering the tree of despotism with the blood of innocents.

Haitians are unable to think in terms of "future," because they're in a vicious cycle of tending to their most basic, immediate needs at the expense of any semblance of forward societal and economic movement.

Hate to say it, but it seems a dictatorial regime headed by the likes of Gen. Raoul Cedras or Baby Doc Duvalier, with all their attendant warts, may be the best hope for Haiti... at least for now.

If nothing else, a sense of order, however harshly imposed, may create opportunities for an eventual return of tourism and a regeneration of manufacturing in that unfortunate country. If "made in Haiti" vs. "made in China" will bring some needed revenue down there, I'm for it.

Perhaps at least the ox carts will run on time.