HAITI . . . THE COST OF TAKING OVER

Defense Secretary William Perry said the Pentagon will spend about $250 million before year's end on the U.S. involvement in Haiti. One of the costliest items in that rescue package: U.S. troops, expected to number 11,000 by this evening. Those already on hand were busy today taking virtual control of the country's military, breaking up 80 percent of its heavy weaponry at an army base near Port-au-Prince and guarding pro-Aristide activists. The result: the atmosphere appears to be more relaxed, according to reports from Haiti. Other U.S. soldiers fanned out over the countryside, where Haitians still afraid of the junta's trigger-happy attaches have hidden.POLITICAL TROUBLE AHEAD? In the city, President Emile Jonnaissant announced that his government would vote on an amnesty decree to protect junta supporters -- part of last Sunday's agreement with former President Jimmy Carter. But nearly half the Haitian Parliament has expressed opposition.