Pentagon Gives Marines Limited Job in Haiti

[TacticalPeek]

Pentagon Gives Marines Limited Job in Haiti
Tue Mar 2, 2004 07:05 PM ET

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Marines, dispatched by President
Bush to Haiti, do not plan to disarm the rebels who drove President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power or intervene to stop looting in the
Caribbean nation, defense officials said on Tuesday.

Pentagon officials described a limited mission for the Marines and said
they will not act as the new cop on the beat even as they seek to stabilize
Haiti. But some analysts said any U.S. failure to assert supremacy over
the armed rebels quickly would only complicate the job in the long-term.

The United States has announced plans to send 1,500-2,000 Marines to
Haiti to lead a multinational force, to be in place for 90 days, to restore
order and stability after Aristide resigned and fled to Africa in the face of
an armed rebellion. Miami-based U.S. Southern Command said the
number of U.S. Marines in Haiti will reach 500 by the end of the day.

Hundreds of rebels, many donning military fatigues and brandishing automatic weapons, have
entered the capital Port-au-Prince, and rebel leader Guy Philippe has declared himself chief of the
Haitian military and police. The State Department called on the rebels to lay down their arms.


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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4483028