Biden shows little appetite for demand for troops from Haiti



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This deployment was considered a success even if it failed to resolve Haiti’s deep problems. But that ran “the risk of mission drift,” according to a 2013 study by the RAND Corporation, which said Haiti would have welcomed the mission “to continue indefinitely” and that it “could have easily evolved” into a longer engagement. .

Mr. Biden would face other issues with the deployment of US troops. It is one thing to send troops in the aftermath of an epic natural disaster. It is quite another to enter an environment of political chaos, intrigue and power-grabbing duels – not to mention marauding armed gangs. Many Haitians, well aware of their country’s history of colonialism and slavery, already complain that their policies are shaped by predominantly white foreign powers.

In 1915, the assassination of a Haitian president led President Woodrow Wilson to order the US Marines to invade the country, beginning a US occupation of two decades and years of unrest.

Some prominent Haitians quickly denounced their government’s request.

“Absolutely not. We don’t want American troops, American boots, American uniforms, none of that,” Monique Clesca, a Haitian writer and civil society activist, told CNN on Saturday. Haiti, Haitians have been traumatized by the occupation of the country for 34 years by the United States, we don’t want any intervention from the United States or troops or anything.

“The international community is complicit in what is happening in Haiti,” added Ms. Clesca.

Another deterrent for Biden is the seemingly vague nature of Haiti’s request, including what US troops are said to be doing.

“The best approach in Haiti is for the United States to look to the United Nations, the Organization of American States or a coalition of Latin American nations for a force for stability,” said James G. Stavridis, an admiral four retired stars and a former head of the Pentagon’s Southern Command.

“But entering the island is very unlikely from a military point of view, especially as we are ending our operations in Afghanistan,” he added.

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