MIAMI, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The Obama administration is working on a plan to rebuild quake-stricken Haiti with former President Bill Clinton possibly in a central role, Miami sources said.
The plan, designed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's staff and presented to top Haitian officials in recent days, calls for the creation of an Interim Haiti Recovery Commission to oversee the "urgent early recovery" over the next 18 months, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.
The commission's top priority would be to create a Haitian Development Authority to plan and coordinate billions of dollars in foreign assistance for at least 10 years, the newspaper said.
The plan, obtained by the Herald, state the commission could be co-led by Haiti's prime minister and "a distinguished senior international figure engaged in the recovery effort."
Haiti observers believe the job description describes Bill Clinton although he's not named in the document. The United Nations has already named him to coordinate its reconstruction efforts.
The 63-year-old former president was hospitalized Thursday in New York where he had two stents inserted in a coronary artery, a spokesman said. Despite his medical concerns, Clinton was said to be concentrating on Haiti relief and recovery issues, CNN reported.
Sources familiar with the plan told the Herald it was presented to Haitian President Rene Preval last weekend and was endorsed by Hillary Clinton's chief of staff, Cheryl Mills.
