Haiti: 'How-Not-To' Lesson in Peacekeeping.

• Author: Baker, Athanasia
• Position: Review

When the United States invaded Haiti in 1994, Bob Shacochis covered the invasion and the occupation that followed. His stories appeared in publications such as Harper's Magazine and The Washington Post.

Now, Shacochis' experiences in Haiti have culminated in a book entitled "The Immaculate Invasion" (Penguin Books, $14.95, paperback). Within its pages, Shacochis has dropped the reporter's objectivity for the author's crusade. He tells a poignant--sometimes even poetic--tale of an oppressed people trusting in the mighty Americans to save them and the Special Forces soldiers who want nothing more than to do just that.

Through Shacochis' eyes, however, the reader watches the fighters' enthusiasm turn to frustration and finally disgust as their mission is turned into tragedy by Washington politics. Haiti was one of the first lessons in peacekeeping for the United States, and as depicted in "The Immaculate Invasion," it was an example of a kind of "how-not-to" guide.

Shacochis sets the mood and the background for the book by developing the situation in Haiti that led the United States to intervene. He uses the story of a song.

In 1993, a very popular Haitian band, RAM, led by Richard Morse, a Haitian-American, put out a song called "Fey." It became an anthem for supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, president-in-exile, and his Lavalas party, the hope of Haitian democracy. Despite threats to his own life and that of his family, Morse continued to lead RAM in performing the song.

The story of RAM and the band's musical defense is a perfect vehicle for Sacochis to use to show the injustice and tyranny that had taken over Haiti yet again. He recounts concerts where all the power was shut off and RAM kept playing, not knowing what was going to come at them from the darkness, and harrowing nights at Morse's hotel, The Oloffson, when dancing and music turned into gun fights.

Enter the Troops

In August of 1994, the United Stares finally sent troops to Haiti. Among them were the Green Berets of Operational Detachment A-Team 311, led by Capt. Edmond Barton. They liked to call themselves "The Quiet Professionals." Shacochis describes them as "The Peace Corps with guns."

The Green Berets were stationed eventually in a town called Limbe. They were there to help free Haiti. They wanted to help these people. They were trained to fight for these people. That is not what happens in Shacochis' tale.

One of the first frustrations for the soldiers was the lack of...