A mini-quagmire to add to Bush quagmire collection:

There are 1,940 American troops in Haiti, as well as 825 French troops, 435 Canadians and nearly 330 Chileans, according to the Pentagon. Administration officials have said they expect to cap the American presence at about 2,000 soldiers, and would welcome 2,000 or 3,000 troops from other countries.

The administration still hopes to pull out its troops within 60 days and see them replaced by peacekeepers as outlined by the United Nations. But that goal may be difficult. So far, only Brazil has committed itself to providing security forces for the second phase.

And why would that be?

At a summit meeting last week in St. Kitts, leaders of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, or Caricom, withstood American pressure to embrace the new Haitian government led by Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and deferred a decision until July on whether to formally accept its legitimacy.

At the same time, the Caribbean leaders, who act by consensus, called for a United Nations investigation into the circumstances that led to the American-assisted exile last month of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Mr. Aristide, who is currently in Jamaica as a guest of the government, insists that his departure was coerced by American forces.

Ah, I see -- Bush pissed off some more countries with his hamfistedness, then asked those same countries for help. Funny how doing that never seems to work out.