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As a former Marine, I am quite familiar with our history of using our 'muscle' as you put it in the Carribean basin.

Haiti was one of the reasons for the coining of the phrase 'Banana Republic'. Now that phrase adorns clothing worn by people who have no idea what it means.

Whether or not Haitis present condition is 'our fault' or that we 'owe them 'something are legitimate subjects for debate I suppose. It seems to me we helpe Haiti run some reasonably legitimate elections around a decade or so ago and then pretty much left them the hell alone.

Noone has yet explained to me why Haiti is such a sewer yet the country right next door, The Dominican Republic, doesn't seem to suffer from the same type of problems.

Right next door isn't even accurate. Haiti and the DR occupy two halfs of the same island.

One of those countries is someplace I wouldn't send a convicted thief to and the other is a tropical tourist paradise complete with really fine cigars.

Oh well. I suppose this time we'll help the Haitians once again hold 'free and fair' elections and them leave them the hell alone until the consequences of 'one person, one vote, one time' rears its ugly head again....

There has been a reversal of fortune between Haiti and the DR in the past sixty years. Papa Doc, pretty much left alone by us because he wasn't a communist, chased virtually all the educated and productive people away at gunpoint. Because of the severe class distinctions in the culture the majority of the remaining were uneducated urban and rural poor. There were not enough capable people to maintain the infrastructure.

The peasantry suffered a severe fuel crisis in the 70s, There was nothing to burn but the trees. An ill conceived deforestation began that stripped the mountains bare, rendering the farm land nearly 100% infertile. This led to a migration of poor, barefoot, uneducated to the slums of the cities.

With the quality gone from the population (exceptions of course), the despotic Duvaliers in charge, US standing on the sidelines because there was no longer gain to be had things slid inexorably downhill. Eventually the country threw out baby Doc only to get Aristede, who was supported by us via Clinton. Aristede is deeply involved with the SA cocaine trade, Haiti is now the #1 trans shipment point. His greed knows no bounds and the billions we pumped down there have never reached anyplace where they could do some good.

As a nation, for better or worse, we have diddled Haiti for generations. I think we do owe them at least one more try.

As for the Marines, they have been used as a corporate tool many times. To say so is no reflection on the Corps which always performed the assigned chore with the professionalism for which it is justifiably respected. Although the letters behind my name were NYPD not USMC my family was a Marine family (Grand father WW1, two uncles,WW2, little brother, GW1)