Word: haitian
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...special forces troops removed their helmets and flak jackets to show they were not in combat mode but were officially cooperating with the Haitian army. Even so, Haitian officers watched sullenly in the compound of Camp d'Application last week as the Americans dismantled Haiti's only arsenal of heavy weapons. Church bells joyfully tolled noon as U.S. vehicles towed the few Haitian armored cars and artillery pieces through the camp's wide iron gates, past a mural proclaiming HONNEUR, DISCIPLINE, COMPETENCE. Along the road leading to Port-au-Prince, a crowd of civilians applauded and cheered...
Camp d'Application is the Haitian army's training center, but its far greater importance is as the base for the heavy weapons. The guns and armored vehicles stored there have for years been the military's coupmaking tools, equipment that can surround administrative buildings and oust governments. Three years ago, Port-au-Prince police chief Michel Francois, then an unknown police major, seized control of the heavy weapons and rolled into the capital to overthrow Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the country's first democratically elected President. The hardware is now under guard inside the U.S. base at the airport...
...Clinton had intended to deliver an ultimatum: the military dictators had to step down or an invasion would follow at once. But two months before, Carter on his own had been trying to establish contact with Cedras, consulting with Congressman Bill Richardson, who had just been to see the Haitian leaders. Meanwhile, Cedras had been trying to find an American intermediary to step in and negotiate a settlement with Washington. As an invasion date loomed, Carter went so far as to recruit Powell and Nunn, who agreed to give it a try if Clinton approved. Carter...
Then the big U.S. military machine shifted gears again. As its troop levels reached 12,000 on the way up to 15,000, its power began to spread across Haiti and through the capital. The U.S. commander, Lieut. General Henry Hugh Shelton, a big, jut-jawed Ranger, told the Haitian leaders there would be no more police violence -- or else. Haiti's military chief, Lieut. General Raoul Cedras, quickly agreed. American military police took to the streets, patrolling and even directing traffic, while U.S. troops neutralized Haitian army and police posts. There were perils: Marines engaged Haitians in a firefight...
...Pentagon. An hour later, planes loaded with American paratroopers were in the air, heading south. Warships closed in on Haiti, and Navy SEALs stole toward shore. Then, almost two hours later, the invasion was abruptly canceled. U.S. troops were told they would go ashore Monday to "cooperate" with the Haitian soldiers they had been ready to kill the day before...