I always cast my mind back to the US military grunts perspective on their dubious role in Vietnam. Fighting for peace is like f——king for chastity.
- Thread starter windeguy
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Waiting for Kenyans to arrive?
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Don't confuse the fight on the ground with the decisions being made by the civilian military structure. The man at the top must be held responsible.
The men on the ground only care about the man on the left and right of themselves and coming back home alive. When you sign up for the military you know you might have to take orders from 🤬🤬 at the top who don't know 🤬. But you men you refer to swore that oath to protect the constitution.
In my opinion, you should not be able to command those who fight if you have never done it yourself. But that is NOT how the world works. I don't think every solder serving with the Kenyans thinks the risk is worth it. But they signed up and they will serve. I gotta respect that.
My country of origin was started because a bunch of rich guys didn't want to pay tax to a rich guy that was living overseas giving the orders. No one forced them too.
Juan Pablo Duarte, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, and Ramón Matías Mella. Duarte founded the secret society La Trinitaria in 1838, which aimed for complete independence without foreign intervention.
Are there good men in Haiti willing to follow history? The road map has been set out for them.
US ambassador visits Haiti to meet new leaders and Kenyan police helping to curb gang violence
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has traveled to Haiti to meet leaders of the new transitional government and the Kenyan police who are the vanguard of a U.N.-backed force meant to help curb widespread gang violence
abcnews.go.com
Hit and run has been the strategy of the gangs for decades in Haiti. I thought the Kenyans were well aware of how the gangs operate. Apparently not. The Kenyan police are experienced at responding to civil riots in their own country. The rioters there are, for the most part, unarmed and unorganized, judging by the high number of rioter deaths every time the police respond.
A totally different problem compared to the well armed, well organized, Haitian gangs operating on their home turf. If the Kenyans are actually leading the intervention and not using the Haitian police expertise, they’re in for a potential world of hurt. Makes me wonder about the value of their military expertise in the intervention. Small victories will make the gangs that much more powerful. Not something the interim government wants to deal with after their surrender or die ultimatum to the gangs.
Kenyan police in Haiti have seen little success two months after their deployment
The UN-sponsored mission aims to help the Haitian police (PNH) restore orderHaiti - Aug. 29, 2024 | 02:54 pm | 5 min read
The arrival in Haiti of 400 Kenyan police officers , the first members of an international security force , in June offered hope for stopping the powerful gangs in the Caribbean country. But two months after their deployment, their progress has been scant and the population is losing patience.
The mission, sponsored by the UN , aims to help the Haitian police (PNH) restore order in a wounded country, battered for decades by political crises , natural disasters and crime.
In February, gangs that control more than 80% of Port-au -Prince joined forces to push Haiti to the brink of collapse. Their coordinated attacks on prisons, police stations and the capital's airport led to the resignation of controversial Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
After assuming power, his replacement, Garry Conille, received the first Kenyan police officers - 200 in June and another 200 in July - and authorized operations to "retake all areas controlled by the gangs , house by house."
- So far, that promise has not been kept. Faced with a well-armed and numerous enemy, the 400 Kenyans and Haitian police have focused mainly on protecting key infrastructure in the capital and have not recaptured any enemy strongholds.
- "They still don't have enough personnel or equipment to carry out real offensive operations against the gangs," explains Diego Da Rin, Haiti expert for the International Crisis Group.
Frustration is palpable among residents of Port-au -Prince, tired of the violence of gangs accused of murder, looting, rape and kidnapping.
"I was in favour of deploying Kenyan police , I thought they would restore peace and help our police who were overwhelmed. But the gang abuses continue and the bandits don't even flinch," says Watson Laurent, 39.
"I am very worried. I can't sleep at night because of the explosions," adds the motorcycle taxi driver, who lives in the centre of the capital.
Despite the criticism, Kenyan police said Monday that their troops in Haiti had made " significant progress " and regained control of "key infrastructure."
But most of that progress took place before he arrived in the country and was the work of the national police , Da Rin says.
The only major operation in which the Kenyans participated was also a failure . At the end of July, one of the main gangs , "400 Mawozo", took the town of Ganthier, some 28 km east of Port-au -Prince, after months of resistance by the population.
The PNH and the international force intervened hours later in this town, but, upon their arrival, the gang members hid, waited and returned hours later, when most of the troops had abandoned the place.
Lack of resources
The operation showed that some gangs are now extending their attacks outside the capital, beyond the reach of the police and international forces , and that the latter do not yet have the capacity to hold on to reconquered territories.
The mission is expected to have a total of 2,500 troops after the deployment of agents from Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, the Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica. However, the arrival of these units is delayed and funding for the force , estimated at $600 million a year, is slow to materialize.
The United States, its biggest supporter, has provided more than 300 million in funds and material, including 12 armored vehicles, to which it will add another 22 in the coming days. But the rest of the international community is not keeping pace.
" Funding could be higher. Of the 85 million promised (in a fund managed by the United Nations), 21.6 million have been received," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
According to Da Rin, the future progress of the mission "will depend on the level of training and the type of equipment that the contingents of the different countries have to operate on the ground."
The expert points out, for example, the need for helicopters to combat gangs .
While progress is awaited , Haiti is suffering a serious humanitarian crisis . In the past 12 months, violence has caused more than 578,000 people to be displaced and some five million people are not getting enough to eat, according to the UN .
For Yverose Amazan, a trader from Port-au -Prince, it is time for the international mission to change things. "This situation has lasted too long. They have to do something before the start of school (in mid-September)," she says. "I would like to be able to move around my country like before the gangs multiplied ."
computer translated from:
Pocos frutos de los policías kenianos en Haití a dos meses de su despliegue
La misión, patrocinada por la ONU, tiene como objetivo ayudar a la policía haitiana (PNH) a restablecer el orden
www.diariolibre.com
Interesting to note "a fund managed by the UN". My question is how much the US taxpayers have paid up til now, 300MM? How much specifically went to compensate Kenya for its resources? I hope Chad and Barbados, et al, provided their resources pro bono, as I can't imagine what they are possibly bringing to the table. So it's estimated to be a 600MM/year effort? That sounds like the biggest scam shite show going. Depending how things go in the US in November, this cirque du Soleil free cheese grab will most likely be coming to an abrupt end.
The Kenyans based in Haiti have had a rude awakening. Responding to civil unrest against unarmed civilians in their own country is vastly different from responding to heavily armed and well seasoned civilian gangs in Haiti and is inherently more dangerous. Their complaint about lack of aerial support is an excuse for their inability to effectively deal with the gangs. Their bluster and bravado placed a heavy burden on them to be the saviours and lead the intervention. Failure to do so is giving them a bad reputation in the media.
Now that the Israeli Middle East war is on the verge of spreading further, the UN focus on Haiti is diminishing even more, so no surprise the funds contributed by the US and Canada are being disbursed slowly by the UN. How much actually gets disbursed to the forces in Haiti after the UN takes its percentage remains to be seen.
Don’t expect to see the Kenyan forces increase quickly if money is an issue. That’s the draw for the Kenyans, that and the political favour they curried with the US by stepping up to the plate. Biden owes them, Trump and Harris don’t. As EHM noted, the funding could come to an abrupt halt after the US November election.
The continuing civil unrest in their own country could also affect the number of Kenyans sent to Haiti. Probably a lot less than what was promised initially. Once again, the fate of Haitians is hinging on matters beyond their control and by association, the fate of long term DR-Haitian relations.
Now that the Israeli Middle East war is on the verge of spreading further, the UN focus on Haiti is diminishing even more, so no surprise the funds contributed by the US and Canada are being disbursed slowly by the UN. How much actually gets disbursed to the forces in Haiti after the UN takes its percentage remains to be seen.
Don’t expect to see the Kenyan forces increase quickly if money is an issue. That’s the draw for the Kenyans, that and the political favour they curried with the US by stepping up to the plate. Biden owes them, Trump and Harris don’t. As EHM noted, the funding could come to an abrupt halt after the US November election.
The continuing civil unrest in their own country could also affect the number of Kenyans sent to Haiti. Probably a lot less than what was promised initially. Once again, the fate of Haitians is hinging on matters beyond their control and by association, the fate of long term DR-Haitian relations.
I'm not sure what you were expecting from 400 Kenyan troops. That is just enough personnel to secure their base and the airport. There are not 400 troops available to send out into the streets. Many more will be necessary to get things back under control.
The base and the airport were secured by US military forces to enable US contractors to construct the base camp for the Kenyans. The Kenyans walked off their flights and entered a secure airport and base camp.
I was expecting much more from the Haitian and Kenyan forces once they combined under the command of the Haitian police force. What I was expecting doesn’t matter but it matters greatly to the Haitian citizens who expected a quick and effective response from the combined forces, regardless of the numbers. So was the interim government who issued an ultimatum to the gangs to surrender or die when Kenyan boots arrived on Haitian soil. Obviously too much too early because of the now proven Kenyan forces inability to rout the gangs and secure one small area outside the base camp perimeter. The reason/excuses why they failed don’t matter. What matters is the gangs gained a big psychological edge with their hit and run tactics at a time when the intervention forces are still in the organizing stage.
I’m hoping the combined forces achieve better results once all promised foreign forces arrive and they do it under the command of the Haitian police force who knows the enemy better than anyone. The arrival of more Kenyan forces is not guaranteed because of reasons I previously posted. Up to this point there is a vast difference between what was promised by the intervention forces, specifically the Kenyans, and what had been achieved. The article posted by the OP pretty much says it all.
Very good content! I like the previous assessment as well. I did have one question, and that is when did Canada kick into this "UN-managed fund". That's certainly news to me
Here’s a breakdown of Canada’s contribution to the Haitian Intervention from the Global Affairs Canada news release dated February 22,2024. A total of $123 million dollars.
$80.5 million for direct support of the multinational security operations.
Another $42.5 million for the following:
$15 million for UN OPS for procurement of military equipment and armoured vehicles for the Haitian police.
$12.1 for UN OPS for logistics and communication equipment for Haitian National Police.
$5.9 million for the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights to address gang related sexual and gender related violence.
$5 million to the UN development program for justice and the fight against corruption in Haiti.
$4.5 million for the International Organization for Migration to strengthen Haiti’s border and security.
A lot of this was due to Biden’s arm twisting. He wanted Canadian military boots on Haitian soil but that was never going to happen. The Canadian military did commit to training the foreign forces going to Haiti for the intervention. They trained them in Jamaica. Abinader killed the Canadian proposal to train Haitian police forces in the DR.
The bulk of the funds will go towards supporting the intervention. The rest of the funds are supporting pie in the sky initiatives. The funds are significant but cheap compared to supporting a Canadian military contingent for God knows how long on Haitian soil and it keeps the flood gates closed so Canada doesn’t have to deal with a massive Haitian refugee exodus. The disbursement of the Canadian funds is not contingent on who is in power unlike the US funds which, as you noted, could stop abruptly in November.
Cheap, he says. lol They talk about millions like us mere mortals talk about pesos.
Well, the UN sees this as a free cheese grab, something that they feel Uncle Sam will fund like a paycheck. How else did Chad and Barbados get in the mix? Lambones
Kenya and the Chads won't be able to "fix" this failed state. This requires heavy hitters and many more boots than 400 to 1000 from neighboring banana republics. More than that wtf is DR putting on the table. Two piper cub patrols and border guards who are on the take?
Kenya and the Chads won't be able to "fix" this failed state. This requires heavy hitters and many more boots than 400 to 1000 from neighboring banana republics. More than that wtf is DR putting on the table. Two piper cub patrols and border guards who are on the take?
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