Since nobody is mentioning it part II

When does a garden-variety civil uprising officially become more than a garden-variety civil uprising? And once that occurs, where do we draw the line for US military intervention? Last week I posted this about the rebellion in Haiti. Today this report that the Haitian rebels have killed a police chief and 3 officers, bringing the death toll to at least 56. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has asked for international assistance to deal with the crisis. The Guardian notes:

"Blood has flowed in Hinche,'' Arstide told reporters at a news conference late Monday, saying he had asked for technical assistance from the Organization of American States. "It may be that the police cannot cope with this kind of attack.'' Aristide refused to talk about strategies for halting the unrest or whether he would ask for military assistance. He did, however, say the government would use peaceful means to quell the uprising that has prevented food, fuel and medical shipments.

Just a reminder, in 1994 the US sent 20,000 troops to reinstate Aristide after his first crisis... but demanded that he institute a constitutional term limit, however his successor as President, Rene Preval (here's an interesting read) was widely considered hand-picked by Aristide, then Aristide won re-election in 2000. I don't really know what to think about this whole situation. In part, it seems that the Bush administration may want to avoid recommitting US foreign policy mistakes. On the other hand, one might not view the US policy of military intervention in 1994 as a mistake. Which is right? Who knows? Last Friday, the State Department released this statement which outlines the United States' commitment to a peaceful resolution, but falls far short of mentioning a military role. Hartford Web Publishing has a great compilation of weblinks covering the history of Haiti.