19834: (Chamberlain) US-Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By GEORGE GEDDA

   WASHINGTON, March 4 (AP) -- The U.S. role in helping President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide leave Haiti was partly a rescue operation because it
spared him "almost certain violence" from armed gangs opposed to him, the
State Department said Thursday.
   Aristide and his supporters have contended that the United States
coerced his departure, consequently subverting Haiti's democratic
processes.
   "We did not advocate his stepping down," State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher said.
   Boucher also brushed aside criticisms from the 15-nation Caribbean
Community, which called for an investigation into Aristide's charges.
   "It's time to look forward. It's time to focus on what we can all do for
the people of Haiti," Boucher said.
   Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson said Wednesday he was "extremely
disappointed" that the U.N. Security Council elected not to send
peacekeepers to Haiti to restore order and thereby ensure the survival of
the elected government.
   Boucher said the United States had no interest in sending troops to
prolong Aristide's rule.
   The United States is under no obligation to risk "American blood and
treasure" on behalf of any elected hemispheric leader "who might have
misgoverned, who might have created more violence, who might have
mismanaged his entire mandate," Boucher said.
   In his remarks Wednesday, Patterson recommended a U.N. investigation in
Haiti.
   Boucher said the U.S. record is clear. "There is nothing to
investigate," he said. The administration has repeatedly said that Aristide
departed voluntarily to spare his country further violence.
   In response to the U.S. actions, the Caribbean Community said it does
not intend to provide peacekeepers under the circumstances.
   Patterson said Aristide's claim that he was forced to step down
constituted a "very dangerous precedent not only for Haiti, but also for
democratically elected leaders and governments throughout the region."
   Meanwhile at the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. David Rodriguez, deputy director
of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there has been a
significant decline in looting and other crimes in Haiti that occurred
after Aristide's departure.
   He told reporters that the Haitian police are responsible for stopping
criminal activities.
   U.S. Marines sent to Haiti will support the police, but "we're not there
for law enforcement," he said. Instead, the Marines are there to protect
key sites with the aim of enabling aid and, eventually, U.N. peacekeepers,
to enter the country.