To address the immediate humanitarian crisis, the international community could mandate a more nimble, interim multinational force including troops from Muslim countries.

Let the record show that nobody is forcing the United States to rely on the existing army and police to serve in an interim force.

Establishing the militia as an interim Iraqi force is an acknowledgment that training and mobilizing an Iraqi national army will take years to accomplish.

In the Administration's long-range plan, many members of the interim force would become members of a permanent police force of about 5,000 Haitian citizens.

Other nations that belong to the Economic Community of West African States, known as Ecowas, are also expected to assign troops to the multinational interim force.

Administration officials insist that an interim force will be in place within days, even if at first it is only an inexperienced constabulary that directs traffic.

Always intended as an interim force, it was quickly succeeded by the United Nations mission UNMIL.

Even as the United States helps establish an interim force, it plans to begin training a permanent civilian force.

We need, once the multinational interim force has re-established order, to support CARICOM initiatives for a stabilisation force.

On Monday in Port-au-Prince, law enforcement experts from a Justice Department agency will begin training the first 375 candidates for the interim Haitian force.