=?x-unknown?q?27994=3A__Hermantin=28News=29Bush_congratulates_Pr?==?x-unknown?q?=E9val=2C_stresses_support_for_Haiti_=28fwd=29?=

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

lhermantin@hotmail.com


Posted on Fri, Feb. 24, 2006


HAITI
Bush congratulates Préval, stresses support for Haiti
President Bush called Haitian President-elect René Préval to congratulate him 
and talk about aid and drug trafficking.
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com

WASHINGTON - President Bush phoned Haitian President-elect René Préval Thursday 
to congratulate him and discuss economic aid and drug trafficking issues, the 
White House said Thursday.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush told Préval the United States had 
a ``a continuing interest in the democratic and economic success of Haiti.''

''The two also briefly dis cussed cooperating in Haiti's economic development 
and the fight against the illegal drug trade,'' Perino added. Haiti is one of 
the major transit points for Colombian drugs heading to U.S. streets.

The call was a show of support for Préval, who was once close to former 
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide has accused the administration of 
forcing him out of office during a 2004 armed revolt -- a charge Washington 
denies.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a House panel last week that the Feb. 
7 election was a ``chance for a country that has had too few chances, and I 
think you will see that we will be looking at what resource needs we have for 
Haiti, as this new government gets up and running.''

The United States is Haiti's top foreign donor, having allotted nearly $400 
million since Aristide was overthrown.

Bush's 2007 budget request contains mixed news for Haiti.

It proposes a 22 percent cut in two U.S. Agency for International Development 
programs, to $39 million, leading some members of Congress to urge that aid be 
reinstated. The administration also wants to trim anti-drug trafficking aid 
from $15 million to $10 million. But it also proposes a 34 percent increase in 
assistance for HIV/AIDS initiatives, to $63 million.

The administration has also declined to support congressional initiatives to 
provide special concessions to Haiti's textile industry.