Aristide is out, forced to flee when the U.S. pulled its support for the Haitian leader. He leaves behind a nation in chaos, a worst-case scenario made real. A modest but growing multi-national force of American, French and Canadian military is in the Caribbean island’s capital city, there to restore order and prevent further violent clashes between anti-government rebels and the exiled president’s most die-hard supporters.
No one is exhaling. Because even if Haiti’s immediate turmoil is quelled, and that remains to be seen, the nation’s future, and the future of democracy there are in doubt.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard is on guard for the anticipated exodus of Haitian refugees seeking safe harbor on American shores. Rebuilding Haiti from within, and without.
Guests:
John Shattuck, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor during the Clinton Administration, and current CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
Robert Fatton, Professor and Chair of the Woodrow Wilson Department of
Politics at the University of Virginia, and Haiti scholar
Charles Baker, a businessman in Haiti and member of the Opposition Group of 184
Kathie Klarreich, a long-time resident of Haiti and reporter and columnist for The Christian Science Monitor and Time magazine.