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by throwayyy479087 1262 days ago
We do a poor job because it’s not possible to square the circle with our stated rules of engagement.

Russia did a GREAT job with Syria, they’ve managed to nearly end the war. They brutally murdered anyone that was opposed to their puppets and didn’t follow rules about protecting civilians, but they did win. I don’t think purging corruption from Haiti is possible without something similar.
2 comments
AdamJacobMuller 1262 days ago
We could save Haiti by carpet bombing it, killing everyone there and hanging a "free land" sign on the door and telling the Dominican Republic to have at it.

I know you're not actually advocating that :)

My point is (and I think we largely agree) is that peacekeeping or nationbuilding missions like what we would need to do in Haiti are incredibly difficult, if not impossible. Too permissive and the opposing forces have free reign and take over. Too harsh and you turn the average population against you and they start supporting the opposing forces and now you're just fighting a whole country. It's a lose/lose.

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cafard 1262 days ago
The USMC imposed order in Haiti in the 1920s. The rules of engagement were pretty damned loose.
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AdamJacobMuller 1262 days ago
Somehow I didn't know about this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_occupation_of_Ha...

The parallels to the current situation are uncanny. I hope we don't make the same mistakes again.

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