Who will help?

please also go to the link below, and watch the video.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/6061

Chill, perhaps you can provide more history on this matter. Quite frankly it doesn't seem to have had the impact that other historical events have had, and if it did it seems to have been mitigated by factors like the large immigrant community here in the States that send $ home as well as the U.S. now being the country's largest trading partner. I also have a documentary (from DR) which affirms that the intervention was asked for by general Wessin (who was Dominican), not a random act of American intervention.

Chill I think you're worrying or dwelling too much on the past. Perhaps you should direct more energies towards the future, for it is the future that you can have a greater and more meaningful impact.

Perhaps, but obviously some of us need to dwell on the past a little more. General Wessin y Wessin (originally it was Hussein. His family was of Lebanese extraction) was a traitor to the Dominican people. The events of '65 involved an attempt by junior officers to return the Republic to the constitution of '63 and to restore Juan Bosch as the legitemately elected president. Bosch had been ousted from power in a military coup that had the support of the oligarchs and Catholic church in '63. Wessin and his cohorts represented the reactionary forces that were opposed to all this. Just when the junior officers and their allies, the people of the capital, were on the verge of toppling the generals the Americans intervened and thwarted the will of the people under the pretext that they were preventing a communist coup, which was false. After bogus elections a little later the Americans left, secure in the fact that their puppet Joaquin Balaguer would maintain the status quo. Several years later during Balaguer's first twelve years the wily Balaguer would put the conniving Wessin on national TV and present to him evidence of a coup plot instigated by Wessin himself after which Balaguer turned over the fate of Wessin to his fellow officers who chose to send the disgraced general into exile. Obviously Wessin was nothing but an opportunist and the worst type of citizen a nation can produce. He's a national disgrace.

I am aware of that part of history but I'm not sure how it translates to a reversal of the vile political and social culture of today. If Obama Administration does provide an apology how will that contribute to expunging the pervasive corrupt political and social culture of Dominican Republic. What was done is done.

No apology can unravel the twelve years of Balaguer doings. The missed opportunities after the downfall of Trujillo. Dominicans are not going to dawn a new day feeling cathartic, more enlightened and compelled to do the right thing. His apology will only be politicized by those who can grab the ball first.

I'm aware that you're aware.The purpose of my post was to shed some light for the young lady who was unaware of Wessin's role in our history. Keep in mind that not everyone is as well versed in our history as someone such as yourself and it's up to precisely someone such as youself to illuminate them.

My apologies, after your response, I failed to revisit the previous comments.

It's late, think its Nappy time.

Even if I thought it was merited (I don't) what value does an apology have? It is just political showmanship.

I have to disagree. A public apology for wrongdoing by any particular regime or state makes it harder for later generations of apogists of heinous actions to arise.

Cib I would say maybe so for social ills that have been outgrown or for past atrocitiescarried out against vanquished foes, but apologies have no meaning in the ongoing realm of power politics and empire. If Pres. Obama apologized tomorrow and five years later the Dominican state fell apart in favor of Cuban style communism...do you think the apology will at all enter into deliberations on when to invade and how? No, in fact the apology would prob become a political tool to point at as proof of US goodwill.

"Look we know we kinda screwed up last time we went there, but we apologized, and this time we are bringing genuine democracy".