HAITI . . . WAR OF WORDS AFTER U.N. VOTE

Haiti's military junta declared a state of siege just hours after the U.N. Security Council voted 12-0 to authorize the U.S. to invade Haiti--if and when the White House chooses to do so. Over state-run television and radio, Haitian puppet President Emile Jonassaint called the U.N. vote "arbitrary, iniquitous and in violation of international rights." He also, redundantly, suspended Haitian's civil liberties and transferred emergency power to the military. In Washington, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Madeline Albright said the military rulers could leave "voluntarily and soon or involuntarily and soon." BTW: The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that it intercepted 16,019 Haitian boat people in July, setting a new monthly record for the total picked up at sea.