World IN BRIEF : HAITI : Canada Reportedly Replacing U.S. Force

A secret deal engineered by President Clinton will send Canadian soldiers to maintain stability in Haiti after U.S. troops withdraw from the nation next month, according to published reports. The arrangement, worked out in the past week by aides to the president and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, would commit the U.S. to provide logistic support troops for the Canadians and to dispatch U.S. reinforcements in an emergency, Newsday reported. The move has political implications for Clinton, who is expected to make peace in Haiti and other countries a hallmark of his reelection campaign. The Canadian troops will provide some insurance against a resumption of chaos that could trigger another exodus of Haitians to Florida, a state rich in electoral votes that Clinton lost narrowly in 1992. If approved by Chretien’s Cabinet on Feb. 7, the Canadian deployment--reportedly involving 1,500 troops and 100 police officers--will enable Clinton to fulfill his promise that all U.S. troops will leave after a new Haitian president takes office next month.