THE LEDGER-STAR 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, September 13, 1994            TAG: 9409130545
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY GEORGE GEDDA, ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                         LENGTH: Short :   42 lines

HAITI STRIKE COULD BE ``VERY SOON'' THE PUBLIC WILL ``RALLY TO THEIR PRESIDENT,'' HIS STAFF CHIEF SAYS.

As the Pentagon readies two Norfolk-based aircraft carriers for duty off Haiti, the White House said today military action could come ``very soon.'' Republican indignation over the invasion preparations is escalating, with one senator demanding an end to ``gunboat liberalism.''

The strident GOP attacks were voiced despite warnings by Secretary of State Warren Christopher that domestic divisions will only encourage Army chief Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras and his allies to hang on to power.

And White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta predicted today that despite widespread opposition to a U.S. invasion, ``ultimately, the American people .

Panetta, interviewed on ABC, said the time for Haiti's military leaders to leave ``is now. And if they don't, then action is going to be taken against them very soon.''

The Pentagon ordered that the carriers Eisenhower and America be readied to haul troops into Haiti, should an invasion be ordered. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Soldiers of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum,

N.Y., above, head toward buses en route to a possible invasion of

Haiti. At left, members of Carrier Air Wing 3 leave Pier 11 at

Norfolk Naval Base as the aircraft carrier Eisenhower is offloaded

to accommodate the 1,800 troops from Fort Drum. Meanwhile, the

Pentagon has added a second Norfolk-based carrier, the America, to

the extraordinary Haiti convoy. It is scheduled to carry more than

2,000 soldiers.

KEYWORDS: HAITI by CNB