The question is, why can't he? My guess is that the US doesn't want him interferring in our new occupation. Perhaps also the Haitian government, but according to media reports, this body is currently non-functional.
And what about the Lavalas Party? We're so focused on when the looting begins many substantive issues are being overlooked.

Think Zelaya.

Joe

An acquaintance of mine wrote this about Aristide:

As Peter Hallward ("Damming the Flood") noted when in Portland a year or so back, Aristide was ousted in 1991 because he had won the enmity of the CIA, Jesse Helms, and Roger Noreiga by criticizing US imperialism south of the order and presuming that a Haitian government should serve the interests of the Haitian people foremost and when he was because he had had the temerity to double the minimum wage from 17 to 35 cents, still less than half the next lowest Carribean-Central American wage; the 1991 coup occurred immediately thereafter. As Hallward observed, Haiti's place in Empire US's firmament was not only as an offshore sweatshop (Pocohantas pajamas sewed for 5 cents and sold for 9.95) but as the club over the head of workers throughout the Caribbean and Central America: demand higher pay and we will move our plant to Haiti. THAT explains our inordinate interest in keeping the disgusting Haitian oligarchy in power and our bedding with Apaid, a sweatshop operator, to again oust Aristide in 2004 when all of their low intensity warfare and money and denial of aid could not do it.

Yes, Aristide was another [Martin Luther] King aborning, a man of great vision, charisma, and courage, having barely missed several assassination attempts; Helms and the CIA saw another Castro and were determined to cut him off at the knees. A supine US media, Congress, and public went right along with it. The wonderfully principled Colin Powell administered the coup de grace by refusing to send support for Aristide's government until his government and Convergence reached a deal, that is, Convergence should appreciate that if they reached no deal, we would do nothing--except kidnap Aristide when we lost patience, and loosen another bloodbath of Haitian democrats in the hope of killing off the democratic movement.

It would be the most encouraging thing to the Haitian people now if Aristide could return and lead in the recovery effort. Instead, we have W. brought into the act, the foremost contributor, with his father and Reagan to Haiti's plight!

Isn't Obama's Democratic Party response to this earthquake in Haiti just another continuation of Dubya's coup against Aristide, like the Democrats have continued all of the Republican Party's wars, including that against the people of Iraq?

I wish Aristide the best on his quest.