OxBlog

Monday, March 01, 2004

# Posted 1:38 PM by Patrick Belton  

UPDATER ON HAITI: The Secretary of State appeared on several morning talk shows to respond to questions about Haiti. Transcripts are here, here, and here (and a very brief presidential statement is here). Reuters is reporting that a deployment of roughly 1,000 U.S. Marines will reach Haiti within the next few days, with 200 soldiers on the ground now and another 200 to arrive later today. French, Canadian, and Latin American personnel are expected to join the US detachment shortly. The Pentagon has announced that the aims of the American deployment are to secure key sites in Port-au-Prince; protect U.S. citizens; contribute to security and stability in the capital; pave the way for the arrive of the international force; assist in delivering humanitarian aid; and repatriate Haitian migrants interdicted at sea. The Quai d'Orsay's statement is here, and the UN Security Council invoked chapter VII unanimously last night to authorize a multinational peacekeeping force (release, text of UNSCR 1529). The OAS's Secretary General has announced support for the UN resolution and Haiti's new interim president, but the body has taken no other actions. And meanwhile, a member of House of Representatives is claiming that Aristide now says he was kidnapped.
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