State Dept. Officials Discuss U.S. Policy Toward Haiti

[Say_What]

The official LIES by Noriega--transcript of official statement at link.

<clips>

The United States continues to support democracy for Haiti and will remain the Caribbean nation's leading provider of economic aid, says Roger Noriega, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.

In March 3 testimony at a U.S. congressional hearing on Haiti, Noriega outlined the events leading to the resignation of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his departure from the country.

Noriega reiterated earlier denials by U.S. officials that the United States forced Aristide to leave office, as has been charged by some members of the U.S. Congress, and others. While the United States was convinced that Aristide was a "key obstacle" to resolving Haiti's political impasse, "we sought to work with him until the very end," said Noriega.

The State Department official, speaking to the House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Western Hempishere Affairs, said the first U.S. goal for Haiti is to stabilize the country's security situation and provide emergency humanitarian aid to needy Haitians. Noriega said that such aid was never suspended or cut off, "as some have claimed." Between 1995 and 2003, the United States provided over $850 million in assistance to Haiti, he observed.

[DuctapeFatwa]

1. A policy that has remained unchanged for centuries

http://cyberspacei.com/jesusi/authors/chomsky/year/y501_008.htm

[robertpaulsen]

2. Gotta love the spin!

"Noriega reiterated earlier denials by U.S. officials that the United States forced Aristide to leave office, as has been charged by some members of the U.S. Congress, and others".

I guess "others" refers to Aristide himself.