Some 600 U.S. military engineers, medical and civil affairs specialists will begin moving to Haiti this week for a six-month deployment, U.S. officials say.
And if the mostly unarmed troops come under attack amid the Caribbean nation's political turmoil, they are supposed to be withdrawn.The U.S. forces are going to Haiti as part of a U.N. plan approved last week. The goal is to help restore democracy to the island nation and help rebuild its infrastructure.
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is to return from exile next month. He was ousted in a bloody coup in September 1991.
The first U.S. Navy vessel with about 250 linguists, medical specialists and military trainers will leave Thursday from Norfolk, Va., said one senior Pentagon official who spoke anonymously.
Emphasizing the peaceful nature of the deployment, the official said it was a "nation-building" effort. Only one squadron of military police will be part of the U.S. deployment, the official said.
"It's supposed to be an innoculation, a shot in the arm" to help the Haitian people, one senior military officer said of the U.S. move. "We'll see if it takes."
The first Navy ship, loaded with construction equipment, will pick up dozens of "Seabees" from naval battalions in Puerto Rico and will reach Haiti Oct. 11, the official said. A second vessel will follow with supply, communications and organization specialists.
The forces are expected to operate in and around Port-au-Prince. during the 179-day deployment.
The role of the U.S. military in U.N.-sponsored missions has been hotly debated on Capitol Hill recently, in particular the effort in Somalia where three U.S. soldiers were killed on Saturday.
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously last week to create a U.N. Mission in Haiti and establish a 1,270-strong group of police monitors, army engineers and trainers.