Powell questions Aristide tenure:US One Step Closer to Openly Backing Haitian Death Squads

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday openly questioned whether President Jean-Bertrand Aristide can continue to serve effectively as Haiti's leader.

It was the closest Powell has come to suggesting that Aristide bow out as president before his elected term ends in February 2006.

"Whether or not he is able to effectively continue as president is something he will have to examine carefully in the interests of the Haitian people," Powell told reporters.

It was not clear what prompted Powell's comments. Aristide has supported a U.S.-backed plan for a political settlement while opposition leaders turned down the proposal.

Powell said in testimony earlier Thursday to the Senate Budget Committee that the United States would be willing to join an international security force to enforce a political settlement in the Caribbean nation, if one is reached.

He also said force in Haiti could be "police or military." Until now, the Bush administration has spoken only of a police presence.

Powell said later that no decision has been made as to whether the assistance would consist of U.S. personnel, logistics or other forms of aid.

"All the options are there," he said.

Since the start of the Haitian crisis this month, Powell has repeatedly called for a political solution. The plan submitted to the government and opposition leaders last week would have installed an independent prime minister who would have led a broad-based government.

On the whole, Powell has been far more critical of Aristide than he has of the opposition, but he had declined until now to speculate about the possibility of Aristide's early departure.

Randall Robinson, a longtime analyst of U.S. policy in Africa and the Caribbean, expressed dismay at Powell's remarks but said the administration has never given support to Aristide.

"President Aristide is one of the finest people I have ever met," Robinson said. "What the administration has done to him is disgraceful."

As for the possibility of an outside security force, Powell said in his morning testimony that most countries share his view that no outside force should go into Haiti until there is a political resolution.

"Anybody who looks at this says, 'What is it we're getting into?'" Powell said. "We've got to get into something that looks like it's a political solution. And that has not yet emerged."

In Haiti, rebel fighters moved closer to the capital on Thursday and awaited an order to attack, their leader said.

Powell said an interagency meeting was being held Thursday in Washington to decide on a strategy for combatting any possible exodus of refugees from Haiti.

The Coast Guard said it has intercepted about a dozen small vessels within 50 miles of the Haitian coast during the past three to four days and hundreds of Haitians have been brought aboard Coast Guard cutters.

President Bush has pledged to turn back any refugee who attempts to reach U.S. shores.

So far, there is no evidence of a repeat of the 1991-94 refugee crisis, when some 50,000 refugees were picked up.

International discussions on the establishment of a post-conflict multinational force intensified, with the U.N. Security Council taking up the issue.

The permanent council of the 34-nation Organization of American States approved a resolution asking the Security Council to take "all the necessary and appropriate urgent measures" to resolve the situation.

Diplomats said the OAS resolution left open the possibility of creation of a military force to bring the crisis under control.

Powell told senators he detected little sentiment internationally for steps to end the bloodshed by "interposing" a multinational force between pro- and anti-government forces in Haiti.
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