Black Democrats launched a very public campaign

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The last time democracy fell apart in Haiti, black Democrats launched a very public campaign to get the Clinton administration to return Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power

As Aristide's rule again nears collapse, the same players are stepping up pressure again - only now it's on the Bush administration. And they are using different tactics. Rather than sending protesters into the streets, they're buttonholing top officials and showing up at President Bush's doorstep on short notice to urge that democratic rule be preserved in Haiti.

"This is an urgent moment calling for urgent action," Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said Wednesday after he notified Bush's top aides that members of the Congressional Black Caucus would pay an impromptu visit to the White House.

It is unclear whether the Democrats will succeed this time.


Bush said Wednesday that the United States was seeking a political solution to the crisis in Haiti, and his administration has made clear it has no desire to send in troops beyond the 50 Marines who arrived there Monday to protect the U.S. Embassy.



WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Wednesday the United States supports the creation of an international security presence in Haiti to maintain order if a political settlement is reached.

France's foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, went a step further, saying such a force should be established immediately so it can get to work quickly once a government of national unity is formed.

Bush said the United States remains hopeful a political settlement can be worked out between the Haitian government and opposition parties.



American blacks contend that policy smacks of racism. They say the United States is unwilling to risk sending soldiers into the chaotic Caribbean nation, the Western Hemisphere's poorest, because its people are of African descent.

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