Helping in Haiti Could Help Smooth U.S. Relations in Latin America
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A hospital ship with 1,000 beds. Roughly 6,500 troops aiding in food distribution, recovery efforts, security and cleanup, among other forms of assistance. A fundraising bonanza led by former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. These contributions to the relief effort in Haiti are about helping a devastated nation rebuild, of course, but they may have the residual effect of improving the image of the United States within Latin America, reports The Washington Post.
It's a region that has long been wary of, and even hostile towards, the United States over issues ranging from Guantanamo Bay to the war in Iraq to general interference in Latin American politics. In fact, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez recently referred to the U.S. assistance as an occupation of Haiti.
But political experts see opportunity, assuming U.S. presence in Haiti assumes the role of a partnership.
People across the region also have an ingrained suspicion about the U.S. military, which has intervened in Haiti and several other countries in the past decade. Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy at the Council of the Americas, a business group in New York, said the Obama administration must consider how Haitians and others might view a long-term deployment.
"This has to be a multilateral effort, and it has to be one that scales back the U.S. military presence and places the operations under a multilateral umbrella," he said.
(Photo by Stephen Lehmann)
