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This Coup is for You, America

For months, President Bush had denied any American involvement in Haiti. A nation with no military saw police as the only barrier against the militia of Guy Philippe. When at long last it because clear that US armed forces would not protect him, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned with the barbarians at the gate. Within a day, he remained hunkered down in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic. Rep. Maxine Waters claimed that US Marines and CIA agents had forced him out. Aristide agreed, but even Colin Powell went so far as to repudiate Haiti's erstwhile first man. Aristide flew back to Florida from the C.A.R. and now has plans to spend ten weeks in Jamaica. That is strikingly similar to the exile he endured from the last time he was removed from power in 1991 before being restored three years later. But the sudden American presence after months and months of recalcitrant by the Bush Administration begs the question: why?

The answer could lie at the southern shore of the Caribbean. The British newspaper The Independent revealed on Sunday that US funding has propped up much of the resistance to Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez. Chavez has alleged this all along, and what it casts is perhaps a curious glimpse into the future of American foreign policy.

Case in point, the folks at Halliburton engineering subsidiary Kellogg, Brown, and Root have been desperate to reconnect the Iraqi oil infrastructure since the capitulation of the Baathist regime last year. While they haven't been as successful as hoped, the world oil market has seen it's struggles also with a weak dollar, which has spurred OPEC to order a cut in production after April 1. In addition, unrest in Venezuela creates the fear that supplies will be truncated. This fear largely comes from the idea that Chavez could be vindictive towards the export market. The major petroleum production center of the nation is near Lake Maracaibo, far from the political unrest in the capital, Caracas. In fact, much of the country remains as untouched by civilization and geopolitics as before.

So the question remains, will the seemingly inexhaustible American war machine abandon Port au Prince for Caracas? Is the action in Haiti a mere "dry run" for the real mission in Venezuela? In the short term, the answer seems to be not. A coup attempt on Chavez failed within days in 2002, and real muscle would not be politically astute in an election year. But unless we see a new administration or a real change of heart Chavez cannot count out the possibility. The worst part may be that just as in any foreign adventure the President and his advisors are likely to repeat the same mantra: this was done in the best interests of national security.
posted by Thomas at 10:04 PM 0 comments