Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411080033
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Clinton's national-security advisers debated and approved the plans Saturday at a White House meeting and the president, who campaigned on the West Coast this weekend, approved them Sunday, officials said.
The withdrawal decision, particularly removing some troops from their controversial deployment in Haiti, was described by officials as being unconnected with the political campaign, now in its final day.
The news could prove popular across the country, however.
A senior official said about 14,900 U.S. ground troops in Haiti remain from the 21,000 sent there in September to ensure the restoration of the presidency of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had been ousted in a military coup in 1991.
After Dec. 1, the remaining 9,000 troops will be withdrawn in small contingents as ``various missions are complete,'' a senior official said. Officials said that if all goes well, those incremental withdrawals could begin after parliamentary elections scheduled for January.
Officials said that the withdrawal is possible because Haitians are being trained to take over policing functions; members of the multinational force from countries other than the United States gradually are taking over some security functions; and private contractors are being hired to assume some duties involving construction, transportation and logistics.
Nearly 1,000 Bangladeshi military personnel, for example, are providing security in the port areas of Haiti, an official said. By Dec.31, about 3,000 Haitians are to be in place as the nucleus of the new Haitian police operation trained by U.S. and international instructors.
Under the series of milestones established for the U.S. involvement in Haiti, 3,000 U.S. ground troops are to remain in Haiti as the U.S. contribution to the United Nations mission there. That U.N. operation - in which the United States is to provide half the force - eventually is to take over peacekeeping duties in Haiti.
Clinton hinted during his trip to Kuwait last month that he would get the troops home by Christmas. The plan he approved Sunday does that. In effect, it replaces the departing U.S. ground forces with increased air power, more prepositioned equipment and a schedule of more frequent military training exercises in which U.S. forces use the prepositioned equipment, officials said Sunday.
Under the plans approved by Clinton, all 7,800 ground forces will leave Kuwait by Dec. 22. At their peak, when Iraq's Saddam Hussein was massing forces along the Kuwait border this fall, U.S. forces in the region exceeded 29,000.
by CNB