22338: (Chamberlain) Haiti-US-Troops (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By JIM ABRAMS

   WASHINGTON, June 10 (AP) -- Haiti's interim prime minister said Thursday
he hoped a small number of U.S. troops would remain in his country after
the United Nations takes over full responsibility for peacekeeping.
   "The armed gangs, they will not go out if they know there are American
Marines in Haiti," said Gerard Latortue, who took over after the Feb. 29
ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "This is the only force in the
world ... they will respect."
   Latortue was meeting with Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who agreed that the
United States should retain a small force in Haiti, both to protect U.S.
personnel and to show America's commitment to a stable Haiti.
   "When it comes to credibility, training, equipment, and the most
important part of that is backup, the United States is the force that
everyone knows you don't want to deal with," Foley said.
   The United Nations, at the beginning of this month, took command from
the U.S.-led multinational force in Haiti. U.S. troops have stayed past
their June 1 deadline to help Haiti deal with devastating floods, but the
1,900 Americans are scheduled to leave at the end of this month.
   The U.N. force eventually will reach 8,000. Latortue has said he hopes
the U.N. peacekeepers will remain until an elected president takes over in
February 2006.
   He said the American presence could be small, but that "even if we had
one of them, it is better than nothing." A sudden departure might be
interpreted by Haitians "as the end of support of the American government.
That could have some negative impact in the transition," Latortue said.
   Latortue stressed that the Americans could be under their own command
rather than be a part of the U.N. mission.
   Foley said he was sending a letter to the Pentagon urging that some
American military be kept on in Haiti to reinforce embassy security and
protect the U.S. Corps of Engineers and others involved in rebuilding
efforts in Haiti.