] Jean-Bertrand Aristide, ousted as Haitian president on
] Sunday, told U.S. lawmakers and other contacts by
] telephone on Monday that he was abducted by U.S. soldiers
] and left his homeland against his will.
]
] Washington immediately denied this, saying Aristide had
] agreed to step down and leave his country. "It's complete
] nonsense," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told
] reporters.
]
] "We took steps to protect Mr. Aristide, we took steps to
] protect his family and they departed Haiti. It was Mr
] Aristide's decision to resign," he said.
]
] U.S. officials said that after intensive consultation
] between U.S. officials and Aristide on Saturday, he had
] signed a letter of resignation.

[ Hm. One wonders how much of that "consultation" involved the U.S. saying "So, um, sign this fucking letter, now." I can't say i know enough about Aristide or Haiti to know if it was good or bad for him to leave, but i certainly don't want to be lied to about it, either way. -k]