CRISIS IN THE CARIBBEAN : HAITI ON THE EDGE

The United States and Jean-Bertrand Aristide have been working on the creation of a new civilian police force. Under the plan, roughly 4,000 soldiers of Haiti’s present 7,000-member military will be dismissed as irredeemable but will be offered civilian jobs. The rest will form the nucleus of an interim police force to be augmented by several hundred Haitian refugees being trained at Guantanamo Bay and by other Haitian exiles. This force will be supervised by 500 international monitors while the United States trains a new permanent force.

LIMITED NETWORK COVERAGE

U.S. television networks agreed to a compromise with the Pentagon under which they will refrain from broadcasting any sensitive pictures or narratives during the first hours of any U.S. invasion. They will not approach any troops or use camera lights during hours of darkness without the permission of military escorts. They refused, however, to stay in their hotels and off rooftops until the streets are secured. The networks were also told that the Haitian forces lack night-vision equipment and were urged to carefully prevent their night lenses from falling into Haitian hands.

QUOTED

‘We are ready . . . We will go in with a substantial military force.’

--Defense Secretary William J. Perry on Sunday morning