University of Arizona - The Desert Yearbook

“News - Production by Lupe Eamon U.S. invades Haiti British royalty graces the campus. ASUA president T.J. Trujillo presents a Wildcat baseball cap to visiting English royal Prince Michael of Kent. The prince ' s visit was celebrated with pomp and circumstance on the west side of Old Main, Thursday the 22nd. Photo by Cliff Jette. Every " A " has its day. Hords of spirited freshmen attack " A " Mountain and each other with buckets of whitewash during the traditional " A " Day celebration the Saturday of the first home football game. The Wildcats went on to beat New Mexico State that night, 44 to zero. Photo by Chris Richards. ' h By LUPE EAMON UoTA Desert Yeartxiok Port-au-Prince, Haiti- Tension began rising through the early half of September. The United States poised itself for the heavily debated strike against Haiti ' s de facto Jonassaint government. Since the ousting of ex- president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the pressure for and against the invasion be- came more and more strenuous. A decision was close at had. By mid-month fifteen American warships and air- craft carriers patrolled the coast of the island nation as a constant reminder of the possible invasion. Low- flying planes spread pro- Aristide propag anda fliers and helicopters took regu- lar flight over the capitol. Local Haitian military ef- forts also escalated, threat- ening Aristide supporters. In a speech the next day, September 15th, Clinton at long last offered an ultima- tum to the military leaders of Haiti: " Leave now or we will force you from power. " The response was a vow form the de facto rulers such as Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras - - to fight any invasion no matter how strong . The public reaction to Clinton ' s ultimatum was mixed but tended to lean towards the negative. " I don ' t know why we are going to jeop- ardize American lives here, " said University of Arizona political science professor Thomas Volgy. There were also questions raised about the motives for the invasion and why Haiti should be invaded but not others. " There are a num- ber of countries where we have a disagreement with the legitimacy of the gov- ernment, " said Volgy. The final decision be- came reality Monday, the 19th, when American troops landed in the Hai- tian capital Port-au-Prince. Charlie Company of the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Regiment of the Army ' s 10th Moun- tain Division, the spearhead troops of the invasion, seized control of the air- port. Days later troops took control of the city hall and Parliament building. Once established, U.S. troops as- sumed the role of police and keepers of the peace. In the attempt to decrease the number of arms in the hands of Haitians U.S. of- ficials offered up to $300 for weapons. The month ended with the steady peace keeping efforts of U.S. forces in the still shaky situation. With most Jonassaint supporters still at large, the mission was still up in the air. Had peace finally come to Haiti? ± ”