Leading Article: Now Clinton faces a long haul in Haiti

SO FAR, so good - and certainly better than might have been feared. President Clinton and former President Carter should be complimented for their handling of the Haitian crisis. Only two days ago it seemed almost inevitable that United States forces would be compelled to fight their way on to the island, with a divided Congress and a deeply sceptical American people looking on. Instead, the first of 15,000 US troops are ashore peacefully, prepared to oversee the agreed departure of the junta in 30 days' time.

Blood could yet be spilt. Mr Carter has said that the Haitian cabinet and military were divided over whether to accept or to resist US intervention, and the resignation of the Defence Minister appears to confirm this. So do the face-saving concessions to the dictators that Mr Carter felt compelled to make. They include the month's grace before power is formally surrendered, an amnesty for the senior figures who were involved in the coup and the subsequent period of murderous military rule, and a promise that the ruling elite would not be forced into exile.

These concessions may yet haunt the White House, although they need not do so yet, so long as the Clinton administration accepts the reality - that it is in charge, having established, almost by default, a US protectorate under the aegis of the United Nations.

Haiti is a degraded society, ignorant and impoverished, riddled with fear and superstition. It has in the course of decades, been plundered and looted by a cruel oligarchy, backed by an army which bears a great resemblance to the mafia, and by paramilitary groups akin to medieval brigands. As for its civil service, its judicial system, its police force, its schools and colleges, they are either in chaos or largely corrupt.

There is then no question of a quick in-and-out to restore civil society and the rule of law in Haiti. Such luxuries have never existed on the island. It will be necessary to create them from scratch.

The first priority must be for the United States to recognise publicly that, if it is to have any value, the protectorate will have to last for some considerable time. The most sensible formula would be a pledge to the returning President Jean-Bertrand Aristide that American intervention will last as long as he and the UN deem it necessary. Fostering a civil society under the aegis of a foreign army is unlikely to be a straightforward business. It is to be hoped that Americans understand that this is the complex task before them. Unlike Somalia, Haiti is on Uncle Sam's doorstep; a mere day trip for the crews from CNN.