Das Boot And Applying Too Big To Fail To Haiti

Over in Commentary's web site, Max Boot takes the argument for getting rid of Too Big To Fail banks (that there needs to be a mechanism to unwind them and place them into receivership) and...applies it to Haiti (emphasis mine)

The New York Times wonders what the American role in Haiti is going to be after the current disaster is dealt with. The sad reality is that it’s hard to imagine a better future for Haiti absent a great deal of American involvement, but it’s equally hard to see what strategic calculation could justify such a stepped-up American presence.

Now...I actually agree with Boot here.  Like it or not, Haiti is now a major problem that requires us to fix it, and we are...but we do have to admit to ourselves that unless we're committed to nation-building here, Haiti will always be a basket case.  The good news this time is that we do have the support of the UN and the world.   But then Boot goes back to being Max Boot again:

Unfashionable though it may be to say so, some of Haiti’s best years — the years when it was most free of violence and turmoil — were between 1915 and 1934, when the country was occupied by U.S. Marines. They did not run Haiti directly, but they provided support for local elites who with American backing were able to impose more stability and freedom than Haiti has enjoyed before or since. But the reason for the American takeover was not altruism; it was fear that if the U.S. did not intervene, Germany or some other hostile power would, thereby creating a base that could threaten the Panama Canal and other vital American interests. After the onset of the Great Depression, the Roosevelt administration lost interest and pulled out. This lack of American involvement allowed the rise of a string of tinhorn dictators, most famously the father and son duo of Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier.

(More after the jump...)

It's another "rubbing the bridge of your nose in consternation" moment here.  Boot's basically arguing Haiti would have been better off if we had basically occupied it for the last 105 years or so.  That would have helped it become independent, surely.  He goes on to blame Clinton for Aristede and bemoans the Duvalier regime for not being deposed earlier, through US force.  But here's Boot's big finish:

Given American commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is scant chance we will take over the peacekeeping mission ourselves. But it would make sense to provide more support to Minustah and work in general to strengthen such international mechanisms. We desperately need a way to place dysfunctional countries like Haiti into international receivership. Until such a mechanism is invented, it appears, alas, that Haiti will continue to experience more of the lawlessness and tragedy that have characterized its history ever since the establishment of a French slave regime in the 18th century.

We have one.  It's called the United Nations.  You mention it in the article.  They have operations in Haiti.  Perhaps expanding it is in order?  Besides, I thought the right wing hated the UN.  They're sure handy when you don't want to risk your own troops, eh?

Look, Max, it's not the military that's going to solve Haiti, it's giving it an infrastructure and an economy.  Why is it that the answer with these Winger guys is always "regime change" and "invasion"?

Having said that, he's right about the "years of involvement" part.  President Obama's article in Newsweek makes that clear:

And, lastly, in the days, months, and years ahead, we'll need to work closely with the government and people of Haiti to reclaim the momentum that they achieved before the earthquake. It is particularly devastating that this crisis has come at a time when—at long last, after decades of conflict and instability—Haiti was showing hopeful signs of political and economic progress. In the months and years to come, as the tremors fade and Haiti no longer tops the headlines or leads the evening news, our mission will be to help the people of Haiti to continue on their path to a brighter future. The United States will be there with the Haitian government and the United Nations every step of the way.

And those steps will take a long, long time.

[UPDATE 12:47 PM]  This CNN article from Anne Kiremidjian, a Stanford engineering professor and earthquake expert, is a must read on the logistics of rebuilding Haiti.