SANCTIONS DESTROY ECONOMIES...:

Clinton 'hated,' but defends, Haiti embargo (JONATHAN M. KATZ, 10/02/09, Associated Press)

Bill Clinton grimaced Friday as he recalled the severe embargo he oversaw as president against Haiti's then-brutal regime, a move that destroyed the very economy he is now fighting to revive.

Clinton said the action was necessary to end a junta's brutal and illegal rule. [...]

An assembly sector that had employed 100,000 workers fell to just 17,000 jobs, according to the U.S. State Department. It has barely recovered since.

The regime finally fell when Clinton ordered U.S. troops to prepare for an invasion of the country in September 1994 and the coup leaders stepped down. Aristide returned to power, only to be ousted again in a 2004 rebellion and depart for Africa aboard a U.S. plane.

...even the threat of our military changes regimes. It's almost impossible to justify the measures we use instead of war.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 3, 2009 6:35 AM