Rebuilding Haiti

Jim Arkedis and Mike Derham at the Progressive Policy Institute offer up some ambitious ideas for rebuilding Haiti.  Some of the ideas are to get U.S. troops out (and shift emphasis to the State Department), get a UN police force in shape, get France to kick in more money, facilitate remittances, ensure access to U.S. markets for Haitian goods, and even consider moving the capital to Cap Haïtien since it emerged in much better shape than Port-au-Prince.

Reconstruction will have to mean thinking big while remaining constantly aware of the distrust that exists on so many levels--both between Haiti and the other countries (most prominently the U.S.) and within the country.  Alone those lines, the NYT also has an interesting article about the problems expatriates have had in contributing to development back home in Haiti because of lack of trust.  It is hard even to wrap your mind around how immense this task is.