U.S. Troops to Repatriate Haitian Migrants
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration welcomed the departure Sunday of one-time ally Jean-Bertrand Aristide from Haiti while Marines assembled to help repatriate Haitian migrants aboard Coast Guard ships. Rather than send the Marines by ship, as was considered before Aristide's departure, they were expected to go by air in order to arrive more quickly, said defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The plan was to fly in as many as several hundred Marines to assist the Coast Guard at one or more Haitian ports, the officials said. Such a force, known as a special Marine Air-Ground Task Force, was standing by at Camp Lejeune, N.C., a major Marine Corps base. The centerpiece of such a task force would be elements of a Marine infantry battalion that is always on short-notice alert at Camp Lejeune, supplemented by Marine aircraft, logistics and other transportation elements. The administration's intention was to await an official request by the Haitian government and for American military assistance before giving the Marines the go-ahead to deploy, officials said. As a next step, the administration planned to use those Marines or a larger group of troops as part of an international security force assembled under the auspices of a regional institution called the Caribbean Community, officials said. "President Aristide's decision is in the best interest of the Haitian people," a senior administration official said after Aristide left Haiti. Another U.S. official said an international security force with American participation would get ready should authorization come from Haitian authorities and the U.N. Security Council. At a debate in New York, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said the United States should be part of a U.N. force to secure Haiti. The North Carolina senator and other Democrats accused President Bush of neglecting the Caribbean nation as it spiraled into chaos. "He's late, as usual," said John Kerry, the undisputed front-runner for the Democratic nomination. With Aristide's departure, the head of Haiti's supreme court said he was taking charge. One U.S. concern, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was that the rebels who forced Aristide to flee might demand a role in the new government. The United States considers many members of these groups to be committed to violence and undeserving of any political role. Another U.S. official said it appeared unlikely that U.S. military aircraft or personnel would be needed to evacuate Americans in Haiti. Secretary of State Colin Powell had spoken on the telephone with the foreign ministers of Argentina, France, Jamaica and Panama. Powell conferred on Saturday with Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, which is the country most often mentioned as Aristide's destination, according to a U.S. official. Aristide's ouster angered some members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Rep. Charles Rangel, who was deeply involved in restoring Aristide's elected government to power in 1994, said the United States must shoulder much of the blame for Aristide's fall and the chaos that brought it on. "I don't know what's going on, but we are just as much as part of this coup d'etat as the rebels, looters or anyone else," Rangel, D-N.Y., said on ABC's "This Week." Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said that in a country "where a true democracy has recently emerged after decades of autocratic rule," the elected president "has been pushed out by an administration anxious to get rid of him." An administration official said Aristide left Haiti at approximately 6:45 a.m. EST, accompanied by members of his security detail. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he could not provide other details because Aristide had not yet arrived at his destination. There was no immediate reaction from President Bush, who was spending the weekend at Camp David, his retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. He was due back at the White House on Sunday afternoon. Late Saturday, the White House had ratcheted up pressure on Aristide, whose rule has been marked by violence, corruption and poverty. "This long-simmering crisis is largely of Mr. Aristide's making," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in Saturday's statement. McClellan said Aristide's actions "have called into question his fitness to continue to govern." Some 2,200 U.S. Marines have been on alert while Pentagon officials weighed the possibility of sending troops to waters off Haiti to guard against any flood of refugees and to protect the estimated 20,000 Americans in the Caribbean country. Associated Press Military Writer Robert Burns and AP writer George Gedda contributed to this report. Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
