Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: National Security
of the illegal Haitian military regime agreed to negotiations to
restore democracy to the country. However, the ten-point Governors
Island Accord ofJuly 3, 1993, failed when an advance
team of the UN-sponsored police trainers and military personnel
was prevented from coming ashore (see The Post-Duvalier
Period, this ch.)
More resolute pressures by the United States and the UN,
plus preparations by the United States for an actual invasion,
finally persuaded the de facto Haitian leaders to agree to the
landing of troops on the basis of "permissive intervention."
The United States-led Multinational Force (MNF) quickly grew
to 21,000 troops, of which 2,500 were from other countries.
The MNF was welcomed as a liberating force by ordinary
Haitians, who celebrated their restored freedom and the hope
of a resumption of democratic government. Relations with the
Haitian military were less cordial. The MNF was obliged to
send patrols into the countryside to replace Haitian troops carrying
out rural police functions. In the cities, the FAd'H was
confined to barracks and divested of its arms. The coup leaders
soon departed the country, leaving the army demoralized and
leaderless.
In March 1995, the MNF was formally replaced by the UN
Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) under the terms of a UN resolution
providing for a force of 6,000 military peacekeepers. The 3,300
United States military personnel then remaining in Haiti
formed the core, with most of the other troops coming from
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Canada. The UNMIH was
organized into five infantry battalions, including a United
States quick-reaction force, a military police battalion, and
engineering, aviation, logistics, military intelligence, and civil
affairs units. The group had its headquarters in Port-au-Prince,
with six subheadquarters. United States Special Forces were
detailed to twenty-five rural areas to supervise ad hoc arrangements
with local army units.
In 1996 Canada assumed a principal role in the operation,
agreeing to supply the UNMIH force commander. The mission
was gradually drawn down until its last contingents of 650
Canadian and 550 Pakistani troops began their departures in
November 1997. A separate United States contingent of 480
active-duty soldiers and reservists remained in Haiti from the
original force of 20,000 in 1994. Mainly civil engineers and
medical personnel, they helped with construction of schools,
roads, and bridges and provided medical assistance. The troops
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