My own ignorance of the political and social history of Haiti is profound. I have no one but myself to blame for it, I speak French and could take the time to review the literature if I chose to. I will offer the excuse that the last six years have kept me busy with reading about what is happening in my own country, and in our latest colonial acquisition of Iraq.

So instead of commenting on the “controversial” statements in this interview, I’m going to point out those passages that have a certain ring to them, and I expect to reverberate with many of you. We’ve followed events in Iraq, much of what we’ve seen suggests that little there has to do with the projects of democracy or the construction of an autonomous state. In this interview, former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide speaks about his journey from priest and teacher to elected president to exile, and of the role two American administrations played in the continuing drama of Haitian “independence.”  Read more