THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 10, 1994 TAG: 9409100244
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
In a further sign of U.S. intentions in Haiti, the Pentagon on Friday decided to dispatch 2,000 Army infantry soldiers, aboard the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Eisenhower, to within eyesight of the island coastline.
The move would double the number of U.S. combat forces in the region.
The soldiers, part of the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y., are to leave Norfolk on Wednesday aboard the Eisenhower and reach waters near Haiti within five days. The Eisenhower, a nuclear-powered vessel that stretches 1,040 feet, will be the most visible symbol of the military power the Pentagon is marshaling in anticipation of such an operation.
However, sources stressed here Friday night that the troops would not be part of the landing force, should an invasion take place. Rather, they would act as part of the multinational occupying force that would help restore order once the Haitian military chief, Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, is ousted and deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is returned to power.
The 10th Mountain soldiers will boost to nearly 4,000 the number of U.S. troops stationed near Haiti. On Aug. 17, 1,800 U.S. Marines landed in Puerto Rico, where they have been conducting exercises to prepare for either an invasion of Haiti or for assignments as part of the occupying force there.
``These Marines can evacuate Americans or invade or help in mop-up activities,'' one U.S. military official said Friday. ``They can do anything.''
According to Pentagon officials, two Navy ships - the Eisenhower and the Mount Whitney - were ordered Friday to return to Norfolk after leaving Wednesday for long-planned joint exercises in the Atlantic Ocean.
They are to arrive today and Monday, sources said, and will be prepared for the Caribbean mission. The Eisenhower will be reconfigured to carry the soldiers, while the Mount Whitney will be used as a command and control ship.
The ships will depart Wednesday for Haiti, where they are to be in place by Sept. 19. by CNB