Invasion Target: Haiti

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Only a third of the U.S. troops involved would actually carry out the invasion; the rest would arrive in the following days to begin the long process of rebuilding Haiti's government. That number could fall quickly, however, as peacekeeping forces from other nations in the hemisphere arrived. But some Pentagon officials are leery of such rosy forecasts. "There are too many things that can go wrong to call it a cakewalk," a Pentagon official says, plainly peeved at suggestions that this military undertaking would be a cinch.

Although Pentagon officials say they have received no invasion orders from the White House, they will be ready to carry them out as early as this week, following the arrival of a four-ship flotilla in the waters off Haiti. This amphibious ready group (ARG) carries 2,000 Marines and packs a tremendous wallop. The armada includes the Inchon, a helicopter carrier; the Portland and the Trenton, which can deliver troops to shore by boats and helicopters; and the Spartanburg County, designed to put tanks and other heavy equipment ashore. They join another helicopter carrier, the Wasp, with 650 Marines aboard, already stationed in the area. Along with combat-ready Marines, these vessels are crammed with an arsenal of armed helicopters, howitzers and armored vehicles. "Ships take days to get to Haiti, but airplanes take only hours," one war planner says. "With these ships in the neighborhood, we've got enough to invade. We're good to go."