PORT-AU-PRINCE : Clinton Marks Success

President Clinton flies Friday to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for the ceremonial transfer of power from American to U.N. peacekeeping troops in the strife-torn Caribbean nation. The Clinton Administration’s reinstatement of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as Haitian head of state has become a bright spot in the President’s foreign policy, and the visit offers an opportunity to polish the success.

Clinton is to begin his daylong visit with 1,000 U.S. troops at Warrior Base, then speak at noon to the Haitian people from the Presidential Palace with Aristide. A ceremony with U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali is to mark the transfer of power. American soldiers will number about 2,500 of the 6,000-strong U.N. contingent, down from the 20,000 U.S. troops that have been stationed in Haiti since Clinton dispatched them there in September.