26881: Wharram (news) U.S. copters requested to support Haiti election (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

> From Bruce Wharram <bruce.wharram@sev.org>

 Posted on Tue, Dec. 13, 2005
Miami Herald
U.S. copters requested to support Haiti election
U.S. helicopters and cash -- but no troops -- might be used for election
duty in Haiti.
BY JOE MOZINGO AND PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@herald.com

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is considering an urgent United Nations request
for 10 U.S. helicopters to provide crucial logistical support during Haiti's
upcoming presidential and congressional elections, U.S. and U.N. officials
say.

The top U.N. envoy in Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdés, also has asked Washington
to contribute an additional $16 million to help finance the vote, seen as
critical to Haiti's chances of breaking its cycle of political violence,
poverty and chaos.

Valdés made both requests during a Dec. 1-2 visit to Washington.
International donors so far have provided $75 million for the elections, of
which $31 million was supplied by Washington, according to a State
Department official.

U.S. TROOPS REMOVED

Nearly 2,000 U.S. troops were deployed to Haiti after an armed rebellion
forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign and leave the country in
February of 2004. They left a few months later and were replaced by a U.N.
peacekeeping force that now totals nearly 8,000.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier this year quashed talk of sending
back some U.S. troops as the U.N. blue helmet force, known as MINUSTAH, ran
into severe problems trying to pacify gang-controlled slums.

But Valdés' request for helicopters is different because the aircraft would
be used only for logistical support, said a State Department official. He
said the final decision on the choppers would be made by the Pentagon.

The Miami-based U.S. Southern Command operates helicopter units out of Joint
Task Force Bravo, a semi-permanent base in Honduras. They would have to be
disassembled and then flown to Haiti aboard transport planes, and any such
deployment would likely require U.S. combat troops to provide security for
aircraft and crews.

REMOTE AREAS

Valdés wants the helicopters to help transport ballots and other materials
to remote areas during the election, according to several high level U.N.
and U.S. offficials in Port-au-Prince.

If Washington turns them down, U.N. representatives in Port-au-Prince
planned to make the same request to the neighboring Dominican Republic this
week, the officials added.

The vote for a democratically elected government following last year's armed
rebellion has hit countless logistical snags. Originally scheduled for
November, the first round of balloting is now tentatively set for Jan. 8
although officials fear there will be further delays because the
Organization of American States has been slow to distribute voting cards.

The $16 million election deficit was largely caused by three months of
unanticipated staffing brought on by delays. Valdés was asked to take a
harder look at the budget to see if he could bring down that number,
according to the State Department.



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