19362: (Chamberlain) US-Haiti (later story) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By GEORGE GEDDA

   WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (AP) -- The Bush administration, concerned that armed
groups in Haiti may seize power, believes the best hope for a democratic
outcome is for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to surrender power to his
constitutional successor, a senior official said Friday.
   Pentagon officials also are weighing the possibility of sending troops
to waters off Haiti to guard against a possible refugee crisis and to
protect the estimated 20,000 Americans there. Many are Haitian-American
dual citizens.
   The senior U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity Friday as
rebels closed in on Port-au-Prince, the capital. They are believed to
control about half the country.
   Secretary of State Colin Powell signaled a more assertive U.S. stand
against Aristide Thursday evening, when he voiced doubts about Aristide's
ability to run the country during his remaining two years in office.
   "Whether or not he is able to effectively continue as president is
something he will have to examine carefully, in the interests of the
Haitian people," Powell said.
   Powell's remarks, coupled with France's statement earlier in the week
that Aristide should step down, increased pressure on Aristide to
reconsider his vow not to bow out before a new elected president takes
office in February 2006.
   The official said arrangements could be made for the United States to
ensure Aristide's safe departure if he chooses to step down.
   According to the Haitian constitution, next-in-line to succeed Aristide
is Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre. Among Haitians,
Alexandre has a reputation for honesty.
   The administration official said a transfer of power would be followed
by early elections. In the interim, a broad-based government would run the
country, consistent with a transition plan outlined a month ago by the
15-nation Caribbean Community.
   Aristide has said he accepts the plan, but opposition leaders have
turned it down. The administration is continuing efforts to bring the two
sides together.
   "We're interested in achieving a political settlement," President Bush
said during an Oval Office photo opportunity with German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder.
   Bush decided to support the tougher line on Aristide after an extended
debate within the administration over how to proceed in the face of the
intensifying crisis in the Caribbean nation, the official said.
   Bush's spokesman, Scott McClellan, was cautious about the possibility of
a U.S. deployment off Haiti.
   "I wouldn't overinterpret the planning that's going on right now,"
McClellan said. "We make appropriate contingency plans for circumstances.
But right now we remain focused on finding a peaceful and democratic and
constitutional solution to the situation in Haiti."
   If Bush decides a troop deployment is necessary, a likely choice would
the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, whose 2,200 Marines are based at Camp
Lejeune, N.C.
   The unit's Web site quoted Lt. Gen. H.P. Osman, commander of the 2nd
Marine Expeditionary Force at Lejeune, as telling Marines of the 24th MEU a
week ago that they might be called on in Haiti.
   "Things are bubbling right now in a nation in our own hemisphere, and
... you're the Marines I'm going to be looking at to possibly answer that
contingency," Osman was quoted as saying.
   The Coast Guard was returning some migrants to Haiti on Friday.
   State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said 531 would-be migrants
picked up by Coast Guard cutters are being returned to Haiti in cooperation
with Haitian authorities.
   He said U.S. policy concerning boat migrants is to return them to their
country of origin, absent credible concerns that they may face persecution
once they are repatriated.