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American Morning
U.S. Government Responding to Violence in Haiti
Aired February 20, 2004 - 07:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go back to Haiti now. The U.S. government now responding to the violence there. Dozens have been killed as rebels fight to oust President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Yesterday, the State Department urged Americans to leave the country. Meanwhile, the Defense Department is sending a four person military team to assess security there. And the U.S. will lead a multinational delegation there to draw up a peace plan.
Senior White House correspondent John King is at the White House for us this morning with much more -- John, first, a question. Is this a shift in what we've heard previously from the administration on Haiti?
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not a shift at all, Soledad, but certainly an acceleration of an attempt, although many are pessimistic, but an attempt at diplomacy. As early as today, the United States and its colleagues at the Organization of American States will present to President Aristide and to opposition leaders in Haiti a mediation plan to try to stop the political violence that has led to so many deaths in recent days. But, frankly, I have to tell you, there is not a lot of optimism among senior White House and other U.S. officials that this plan will be accepted, at least in the short- term.
And you spoke of that Pentagon delegation going in. It is a very modest four or five man delegation going in to assess security at the U.S. Embassy, to see if perhaps anything needs to be done to improve security for the U.S. diplomats and their families still in Haiti.
The bottom line, though, at the State Department is, as you noted, they are urging all other Americans to get out as they try, again, with a great deal of pessimism, to try to bring a political resolution to this -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: At issue, of course, John, is whether the president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, will keep his position. The rebels clearly want to oust him.
What's the U.S. position here? Do they want him out, Aristide, that is?
KING: Well, the United States is in a bit of a box here. At the Organization of American States, the resolution calling for this political solution backs President Aristide because he is considered to be a democratically elected leader. That is the policy of the Organization of American States. So the resolution the United States has backed says President Aristide should stay. But U.S. officials at the OAS during that debate said they blame him for the corruption, they blame him for cracking down on political opposition and Secretary of State Powell himself said in a radio interview yesterday that he would not mind and the administration would not mind at all if President Aristide would agree to step down.
But nobody, Soledad, expects that to happen.
O'BRIEN: John King at the White House for us.
John, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 20, 2004 - 07:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go back to Haiti now. The U.S. government now responding to the violence there. Dozens have been killed as rebels fight to oust President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Yesterday, the State Department urged Americans to leave the country. Meanwhile, the Defense Department is sending a four person military team to assess security there. And the U.S. will lead a multinational delegation there to draw up a peace plan.
Senior White House correspondent John King is at the White House for us this morning with much more -- John, first, a question. Is this a shift in what we've heard previously from the administration on Haiti?
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not a shift at all, Soledad, but certainly an acceleration of an attempt, although many are pessimistic, but an attempt at diplomacy. As early as today, the United States and its colleagues at the Organization of American States will present to President Aristide and to opposition leaders in Haiti a mediation plan to try to stop the political violence that has led to so many deaths in recent days. But, frankly, I have to tell you, there is not a lot of optimism among senior White House and other U.S. officials that this plan will be accepted, at least in the short- term.
And you spoke of that Pentagon delegation going in. It is a very modest four or five man delegation going in to assess security at the U.S. Embassy, to see if perhaps anything needs to be done to improve security for the U.S. diplomats and their families still in Haiti.
The bottom line, though, at the State Department is, as you noted, they are urging all other Americans to get out as they try, again, with a great deal of pessimism, to try to bring a political resolution to this -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: At issue, of course, John, is whether the president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, will keep his position. The rebels clearly want to oust him.
What's the U.S. position here? Do they want him out, Aristide, that is?
KING: Well, the United States is in a bit of a box here. At the Organization of American States, the resolution calling for this political solution backs President Aristide because he is considered to be a democratically elected leader. That is the policy of the Organization of American States. So the resolution the United States has backed says President Aristide should stay. But U.S. officials at the OAS during that debate said they blame him for the corruption, they blame him for cracking down on political opposition and Secretary of State Powell himself said in a radio interview yesterday that he would not mind and the administration would not mind at all if President Aristide would agree to step down.
But nobody, Soledad, expects that to happen.
O'BRIEN: John King at the White House for us.
John, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
