Heed crisis in Haiti.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Once again Haiti stands on the brink of civil war and anarchy, but this time neither the United States nor the international community appear ready to come to its rescue.

The Bush administration is consumed by its struggle in Iraq. Yet U.S. officials would do well to look to Haiti as Exhibit A of what can happen when U.S. troops withdraw prematurely, as they did from Port-au-Prince a decade ago, before a country's democratic government is sufficiently developed and stabilized.

Other than a recent vague statement of support from Secretary of State Colin Powell for the government of elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide, U.S. officials have been ominously silent on the rapidly deteriorating situation in Haiti.

This indifference is both troubling and irresponsible. It was the 1994 U.S. invasion that restored Aristide to power. The former populist priest had been elected in 1990 and then was toppled by the military one year later.

The current situation in Haiti is fluid and desperate. In recent days, demonstrations against the government have morphed into armed rebellion. The thugs who have seized control over Gonaives, Haiti's fourth largest city, are reportedly in contact with exiles from the county's last military dictatorship. They include Louis Jodel Chamblain, who headed a notorious right-wing squad that terrorized Haitians during a 1991-94 dictatorship.

Meanwhile, scores of Haitians have been killed and the United Nations is warning that nearly a million people could face imminent food shortages in a country that already is one of the poorest in the world.

Aristide has been an immense disappointment to Haitians who had hoped he would nurture their country's fledging democracy and develop its moribund economy. Although his own election was legal, he has undermined parliamentary elections and intimidated political opponents, journalists and human rights activists.

Yet it would be a mistake for U.S. officials to allow the legitimately elected Aristide to be forced out of office before the end of his term. Haiti's history has seen too many unscheduled, destabilizing changes of government. If Aristide's government falls in a coup, Haiti could once again collapse into a lengthy, bloody civil war.

Haiti's Caribbean neighbors have discussed sending in peacekeepers, but so far there has been no agreement. The 15-nation Caribbean Community, CARICOM, has offered to mediate. But clearly, the situation calls for the strong authority and influence of the United States and the United Nations, which could negotiate a cease-fire and call for negotiations between Aristide and his adversaries.

The Bush administration should ponder Haiti's unsettling lessons for the situation in Iraq. The United States has occupied Haiti twice in the past, most recently under President Bill Clinton in 1994. Under pressure from Republicans in Congress, U.S. troops withdrew in a matter of months, turning their duties over to U.N. troops who lacked the strength and mandate to keep the peace.

Haiti provides an excellent example of what can go wrong when nation building becomes a politically motivated exercise in justifying an early exit. It takes time, energy, money and manpower to build a democracy out of chaos. There are no shortcuts.

The United States should not ignore Haiti in its time of trouble, just as it should not abandon Iraq before it is able to stand on its own.