Top General: Despite ‘Pockets of Violence,’ Haiti Remains Relatively Calm

The networks are relaying images of streetfights and chaos, and observers are arguing about the semantics of looting. So how serious, exactly, is the violence in Haiti?

According to Army Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, the commander of Joint Task Force Haiti, things aren’t so bad, as long as you factor in the country’s poor governance, weak rule of law and history of violence. In a conference call last night with bloggers, Keen said the security situation was “relatively calm.” But “relative” is the key word here: Keen added that there were “pockets of violence,” which the task force was tracking closely.

Keen, like other U.S. officials, emphasized that the primary mission was delivering humanitarian relief, not maintaining order. That job, in theory, is supposed to fall to MINUSTAH, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti. “Nevertheless, any incidents of violence impede our ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, and we have to address those, as [U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti] is doing in the best of their ability,” Keen said.

There’s a catch: The UN peacekeeping mission was hit hard by the disaster. Its headquarters in the Christopher Hotel collapsed in the earthquake; dozens of UN personnel were killed, including Hedi Annabi, the Tunisian who headed the international mission there. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he might seek temporary reinforcements for the mission.


In parallel, the U.S. force in Haiti and off the coast keeps growing. Keen said 1,400 U.S. troops were on the ground, with another 5,000 afloat. That number is expected to grow to between 4,000 and 5,000 ground troops, with another 5,000 or so at sea. The Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bataan arrived yesterday off the coast of Haiti, along with ships of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group. Elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Navy conducted reconnaissance yesterday to help determine how they will fit into the relief picture.

All told, this is shaping up as a major military operation. While it’s not a shooting war, it opens up another big commitment for the U.S. military, at a time when the conflict in Afghanistan is escalating and U.S. troops continue a massive, logistically tricky drawdown in Iraq.

[PHOTO: U.S. Department of Defense]

Source:wired.com/