When rumor is fact?

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is now on the telephone from the Central African Republic on CNN and is claiming he was forced to resign. He further says his resignation letter was dictated to him by U.S. Embassy officials and that then U.S. Marines "forcibly escorted" him onto a plane. CNN's Cooper Anderson (the guy from the Mole) seems to seriously doubt Aristide's claims, since those truth tellers, the Bush Administration, says so.

Aristide also told the same thing to the Congressional Black Caucus, who have been very vocal in their critique of the President over the weekend and the administration's handling of the situation. So has my man for Secretary of State (assuming Clark is VP) Richard Holbrooke: "By calling for Aristide to leave and then having him leave within a few days, the administration has really taken ownership of the problem. Whether one likes it or not, whether one thinks we're getting too involved or not. ... They cannot walk away from the consequences of their actions" ("This Week," ABC, 2/29).

Is this rumor true? If so, a HUGE blow to US credibility. Why are we such thugs to Haiti? Shouldn't we be helping them instead? After all, Clinton tried to do something with one hand tied behind his back by the GOP congress. Now Bush is holding up his hands while his goons apparently do the dirty work.