By PAUL KNOX
Wednesday, March 17, 2004 -
....By sending troops to Haiti, the foreign powers would have been taking sides, all right -- in favour of peaceful dialogue under international constraints instead of violent overthrow, and in favour of their own power-sharing proposal. Instead, they effectively gave a veto to a band of armed thugs and scofflaws, and signalled to the non-violent opposition that its stand-pat tactics would succeed.
When the French and the Americans gave up on Mr. Aristide, should Canada have acted by itself? Militarily, the rebels weren't much -- a couple of hundred gangsters and former soldiers, most armed with vintage rifles and shotguns. (I asked one of them what kind of weapon he was carrying; he had to consult one of his comrades before answering.) A few hundred ostentatiously armed troops would have been enough to stall the rebel advance on Port-au-Prince.
But consider the difficulties. First of all, it's taken nearly two weeks for the Canadian Forces to start getting that contingent into Haiti. Second, the commitment would have had to be for two years -- enough for Mr. Aristide to serve out his term and hold elections. Third, the initial effect would have been to freeze the status quo of late February, dividing Haiti into a rebel-controlled north and a government-controlled south. (A much larger force would have been needed to force rebels to lay down their arms throughout the country.) It would be a brave Canadian government indeed that would mount such an expedition alone.
What Canada could have done, in that tumultuous week before Mr. Aristide was flown out of Haiti, is speak out. A strong, independent statement of support for constitutional rule might have galvanized support at the United Nations for intervention. At the very least, Mr. Graham might have said frankly that he had argued the case with Mr. de Villepin and Mr. Powell and had not prevailed, and that Canada would not or could not undertake intervention by itself.
That would have had the virtue of consistency and logic. I suspect it might even be close to the truth.
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