Greetings From The Red Zone: The Black Hawk Affair

If you Google "Red Zone" you may think I'm referring to American football or you may think I'm hanging out in the Caribbean with a prostitute on each arm. In reality, the "Red Zone" I'm referring to is a military term used in Iraq and Haiti to designate an area as unsafe. For example, that marketplace where presidential candidate John McCain walked through with the Black Hawk helicopter escort, was probably a Red Zone. My hotel, here in Port-au-Prince, is also often designated as being in a Red Zone area but you certainly don't need a Black Hawk escort to walk around. You really don't even need a Swiss Army knife to walk around here. Oh well....

Speaking of Black Hawk helicopters, some Black Hawks that are kept at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba were recently used in Haiti as part of an operation to arrest a former military "rebel" turned Haitian presidential candidate, who is wanted in Miami for allegedly trafficking cocaine. According to some report somewhere, the suspect heard the helicopters coming, escaped, and then watched the operation from a distance. Since the operation, I've noticed more police roadblocks than usual. UN employees I'm told have a midnight curfew. My band, which plays every Thursday here in the Red Zone, is going to try and get on stage before midnight from now on.

The Haitian president, who lobbied one of his ministries for permission to have U.S. forces from Guantanamo attempt this arrest, is upset that there wasn't more cooperation between U.S. and Haitian forces in the operation. I suspect some one tipped off the suspect. Even if they do catch the alleged drug dealer, it's not going to do much for the War On Drugs effort, seriously. He's probably already been replaced. One friend of mine from Canada and another friend who is an Episcopal priest tell me that if I keep talking about drugs I'll probably be killed so I am going to stop for a while.