As U.S., Haiti avert war, profs point to troubled past

Former President Jimmy Carter, Senator Sam Nunn (D - Ga.) and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell seemed to do the impossible last night, securing a peaceful end to the illegal rule of the military government now controlling Haiti. As the negotiations about Haiti's political future stretched late into yesterday evening, University professors were hesitant to predict the United States' course of action with respect to the troubled Caribbean nation. They were, however, willing to comment on America's relationship with Haiti, and how previous American activities have affected both the probability of democracy's return to Haiti and the future of the Clinton administration. "There's nothing good that can be said about the current Haitian government -- if there ever were bad guys, they're bad guys," History professor Bruce Kuklick said, referring to the junta of Raoul Cedras, Philippe Biamby and Joseph Michel Francois. Under the terms of the agreement worked out last night, the three will remain in power until the Haitian parliament passes an amnesty act. "[President] Clinton has boxed himself into a corner where, for better or for worse in American foreign policy, he is perceived as weak, inconsistent, not very strong," Kuklick added. While Haiti represents only a minor foreign policy crisis for Clinton, if an agreement had not been reached, Clinton's credibility as a foreign policy leader would have been completely "shattered," Kuklick said. "This entanglement is disconcerting, disheartening and disappointing, if one is concerned about the stability of the American presidential system, the credibility of our national political leadership, and about the faith people have in the good will of American leaders," Kuklick said. Yet according to Assistant History Professor Ann Farnsworth-Alvear, Haitians probably do not harbor much good will toward American leaders. "The legacy of American intervention in Haiti, and the United States occupation from 1915 to 1934, left a legacy of anti-American feelings," she said. "The army was built up [by the United States] to repress the locals, and designed to support a dictatorial regime. "From a historian's perspective, none of the rhetoric of democracy rings true," she added, stating that Cedras was on the Central Intelligence Agency's payroll before he took control of Haiti in the September 1991 coup. "The only thing I think I can comfortably say is our history of occupation of Haiti is a very sad one," History Professor Nancy Farriss said. Farriss was certain that American troops would enter Haiti -- whether as an invading force, or as an escort for exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. But because of "deep structural problems" in the country, she is not sure what effect intervention will have. "I don't think there is anything an outside power can do to resolve [the structural problems]," she said. "There is virtually no middle class, a shattered economy, and no real tradition of democratic government. "Haiti has been plundered by a small elite for a long period of time," Farriss added. The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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