THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 20, 1994 TAG: 9409200345
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY GERMANOTTA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
There was a moment, after an excited Haitian general broke into the negotiations and very loudly announced that an invasion force had left North Carolina, when Sen. Sam Nunn realized he was in a very precarious position.
While the paratroopers were on their way, Nunn was stuck with former President Jimmy Carter and retired Gen. Colin Powell in the capital of a nation under assault.
``The thought crossed my mind,'' Nunn admitted, ``that it wasn't the safest place I had ever been. It was clear that time was running out on our departure, it might, frankly, have already run out, we'll never know.''
It had taken hours for the Haitians to remove a blockade of old machines and used cars from the airport to allow the diplomatic delegation to come in, Nunn recalled. Had no agreement been reached, the Haitians would likely have put those obstacles back onto the runways to prevent the American military from landing. That would have left the delegation trapped in Port-au-Prince, hostages in all but name, Nunn said.
But Nunn, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he never really dwelled on the danger until he was finally flying home. His mission was too important, he said, and he was too busy trying avoid an invasion and protect innocent lives.
Nunn, although weary, took time to attend a political fund-raiser in Virginia Beach on behalf of Sen. Charles S. Robb, a fellow Democrat and member of the Armed Services Committee who is waging a difficult re-election battle with Republican challenger Oliver L. North.
After the fund-raiser, Nunn paused for a few minutes at the Norfolk airport's general aviation terminal to talk about the Haiti mission before flying back to Washington.
Carter was trusted by Haiti's junta; Powell had the military reputation and bluntness that earned their respect. But Nunn said he occasionally wondered why President Clinton had asked him to go along.
It was Nunn, though, who convinced the Haitian leaders that they couldn't rely on the backbiting or bickering of Congress to stop the invasion.
Nunn said Powell's role was even more crucial. Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras' face dropped visibly as Powell vividly recounted the forces that were arrayed against Haiti and outlined just how they would come into the country, Nunn said.
Finally, Nunn said, Cedras made a hollow joke. His country, long known as being weak, would be very strong when all that hardware was in place, he said.
When the general stormed into the meeting with news of the invasion, Nunn said, the negotiations were bogged down on a definite date by which the military dictators would leave their posts. They wanted it open-ended. Clinton demanded a deadline. The invasion news nearly ended all discussions.
Cedras, the military leader of the country, was ready to abandon his uniform and head into hiding with his weapons, where he would direct a guerrilla campaign, Nunn said. The angry Haitian leaders accused the diplomats of being part of a trap to capture the military leaders, Nunn said.
But the negotiators managed to convince the generals that there was no plot and that there wouldn't be an invasion if the agreement was finalized.
When Cedras refused to sign any documents, the entire delegation went to visit Emile Jonassaint, the man the military had installed as president. That was the ``final end game,'' Nunn said.
There, they were able to finish the agreement once President Clinton agreed to dealing with a man who was not recognized by the American government.
What remains is a difficult mission for the military, Nunn said, one of keeping the peace and training Haitians to abandon their history of reprisal and brutality.
It will likely last well past Christmas, he said, but the military is up to the challenge, he said.
Robb praised the work of the three American leaders in avoiding the bloodshed of an invasion. There are plenty of risks ahead, Robb said, but because of their efforts, ``the one place where we could have had very substantial loss of life for Americans and particularly for Haitians has now been successfully negotiated.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/
Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, appears with Sen. Charles S. Robb in Norfolk before a
fund-raising dinner for Robb in Virginia Beach.
KEYWORDS: HAITI U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATE by CNB