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Marines move in after aristide flees Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Aristide flees Haiti; Marines move in
By Frank Davies
The Miami Herald
For Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, all the international pressure to step down had an impact, but what really forced his quick exit yesterday morning was the lethal reality of Haiti's zero-sum politics:
He would probably be killed if he stayed.
Aristide, whose opponents said he ruled by violence, fixed elections and did nothing to lift his nation out of poverty, fled Port-au-Prince in a jet provided by the United States. Late last night, the U.N. Security Council approved a U.S.-led peacekeeping force and fewer than 100 U.S. Marines immediately came ashore, to be followed today by more Marines and French troops.
Supreme Court Justice Boniface Alexandre declared he was taking control of the government, as called for by the constitution. One of the leaders of the 3½-week rebellion, Guy Philippe, told CNN: "I think the worst is over, and we're waiting for the international forces. They will have our full cooperation. The time is not for fighting anymore."
With armed rebels converging on Port-au-Prince, Aristide was going to lose power, and he couldn't trust his own security forces. A bloodbath in the capital became more likely the longer he stayed.
TOM BURTON / ORLANDO SENTINEL
Fires rage near the Presidential Palace, the white building at left, after Aristide fled. Widespread looting and killing took place much of the day. Any international support Aristide once had disappeared with similar images Saturday of rioting and looting by pro-Aristide gangs.
That's the conclusion of one of his closest advisers and U.S. and international diplomats who participated in and monitored the past two days of talks. "For Aristide, it was coming down to leaving on a Lear jet or in a body bag," said one participant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
When Aristide decided to leave, U.S. officials provided security and may have employed some trickery. Aristide thought he was going to South Africa, where he has close ties, but instead is likely to be sent to the Central African Republic, said one U.S. official.
Indeed, Aristide — accompanied by his wife and three others — arrived in Bangui, the capital, early today. The state radio station reported, without quoting any sources, that Aristide would stay in the country for only "a few days." State radio reported Aristide would possibly head to South Africa, but the report could not be immediately confirmed.
In the 24 hours before he resigned his office and left Port-au-Prince at 6:15 a.m. yesterday, Aristide realized that his shaky hold on power — and his own safety — was threatened by two developments:
• U.S., French and Canadian officials were all urging him to leave. Any international support he once had disappeared with the images Saturday of rioting and looting by pro-Aristide gangs.
"When he called out his thugs into the streets last week to kill and loot, that was it. The French said enough. We said enough," said a former U.S. official involved in the consultations.
• Aristide's life was in danger. A heavily armed SWAT-like National Police unit of some 60 men had basically stopped taking orders, said Ira Kurzban, a Miami lawyer who represented the Aristide government.
The president also feared that a California-based private security-guard company he had hired to protect the palace would leave him at the mercy of the rebels, who would probably kill him, senior U.S. officials say.
Kurzban, who last talked with Aristide by phone Saturday afternoon, said the president seemed fine at the time and that he was surprised by the swift departure. But he added that Aristide knew his security was becoming more tenuous.
Aristide on Saturday got a warning from U.S. officials that "we're not going to do anything to stop these guys (insurgents), and they are going to kill you," Kurzban said.
One senior U.S. official said several guards from the Steele Foundation, the private San Francisco firm Aristide hired for protection, had called the U.S. Embassy asking if the palace were taken over by the rebels, whether Marines would come to their rescue.
The answer: Don't count on a rescue mission.
By Saturday afternoon, Aristide realized "a cataclysm would happen and all the dominoes were cascading around him," one U.S. official said.
Senior Bush administration officials say they got the first signal of Aristide's willingness to resign Saturday night, shortly after 8 p.m., in a telephone conversation between U.S. Ambassador James Foley and Aristide.
Aristide asked that if he departed, "whether his personal security and the security of some of his Cabinet members would be respected," a senior administration official said.
"Ambassador Foley, after consulting with Secretary of State Colin Powell, responded that we thought that the Haitian people were being hurt by this political impasse and violence, and essentially offered President Aristide a secure way to leave the country," the official said.
Powell worked the phones, making three dozen calls and conferring with, among others, the foreign ministers of France, Argentina, Jamaica and Panama. Along with the French and Canadian foreign ministers, Powell also made plans for a peacekeeping force that the United Nations could approve.
Aristide hastily drafted a statement that was read by his prime minister, Yvon Neptune: "If tonight my resignation is the decision that can avoid a bloodbath, I consent to leave with hope there will be life, not death."
Under a deal arranged by France, Aristide was told he would fly to South Africa, when he was really bound for the Central African Republic, U.S. officials familiar with the operation said. Powell talked with Francois Bozize, the Central African Republic's president, about taking Aristide, one official said.
Early today, it was unclear where Aristide would end up. In Johannesburg, presidential spokesman Bheki Khumalo insisted Aristide was not coming to South Africa and U.S. diplomats in Johannesburg also said they had no indication he was heading there.
Two realities were not in dispute yesterday. Powell's Haitian involvement had come full circle. Ten years ago, he helped Aristide return to power by persuading Haitian military leaders who had ousted Aristide to step down. And in a country with a long history of coups, Aristide yesterday achieved a dubious distinction: He is the first president to be deposed twice.
Once again, that was probably better than the alternatives. One predecessor was poisoned, one was blown up in his palace and another was dismembered by a mob.
Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.
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