Bush Threatens To Pacify Liberia

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 6-27-2003 | Tim Butcher

[blam]

Bush threatens to pacify Liberia

By Tim Butcher, Africa Correspondent
(Filed: 27/06/2003)

An American military operation to restore order in Liberia looked likely last night as President George W Bush called for peace in the war-torn West African republic.

He drew cheers and applause from an audience of businessmen, academics and African leaders when he called on Liberia's President Charles Taylor, an indicted war criminal, to stand down.

"President Taylor needs to step down so that his country can be spared further bloodshed," he said.

Earlier, British diplomats raised the possibility of an American military operation with Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Britain's UN ambassador, saying that America would be the "natural candidate" for any Western-run operation in Liberia.

Mr Bush called for all sides in Liberia's bloody civil war to return to the negotiating table and to end a series of clashes that have cost thousands of civilian lives, including 300 in the capital, Monrovia, this week.

He spoke as the Liberian government claimed it had driven the rebels from the port area, a few miles from the heart of the capital, that they had occupied on Wednesday.

With a US Navy amphibious assault ship, the USS Kearsarge, just off the Liberian coast carrying 1,200 marines, Mr Bush has the option of ordering a significant deployment to one of Africa's most chaotic countries.

Liberia has close historic and traditional links with America. It was founded in the early 19th century as Africa's first republic by freed slaves from the United States.

For an intervention force, Sir Jeremy said, the United States is "the nation that everyone would think would be the natural candidate".

"I think that outside help of that kind at the present juncture, or ready to move when there is an agreement to stop fighting, an agreement that would need to be policed and observed, would look very constructive," he said.

"If there were a lead nation that was prepared to take action in Liberia, then I think that would be very broadly welcomed internationally. But we are not there yet."

It is unlikely that Sir Jeremy would have floated the idea of a US-led force without first having at least tacit approval from the Bush administration.

If America does send troops to Liberia, it will create a diplomatic symmetry in West Africa, matching Britain's deployment to Sierra Leone dating from 2000 and France's Ivory Coast operation since last year.

For the civilian population of Liberia, living in wretched conditions as one of Africa's poorest countries is again riven by heavy fighting, any peacekeeping deployment could not come fast enough.

Last week almost every civilian spoken to in a straw poll in Monrovia begged for military assistance from America to help break the cycle of violence. "We need the Americans to help us. They must come, it is our only hope," said Fatima Harrison, an elderly lady in an overcrowded slum in the centre of Monrovia.

Hopes were raised when the Kearsarge appeared on the horizon off Monrovia but its helicopters flew nothing but food and supplies into the US embassy on the city's Mamba Point promontory.

It echoed the 1990 deployment of US shipborne troops to Monrovia in a rescue operation for US passport holders that fell some way short of a full peacekeeping mission.

Civilians have routinely born the brunt of more than a decade of fighting in Liberia with rival militias killing civilians, raping women and looting property whenever fierce clashes occur.

[blam]

I think Charles Taylor is in fact is a felon who escaped from a prison in Connecuit. Anyone know for sure?

[DoughtyOne]

Try this LINK

I do not vouch for this information

[Tailgunner Joe]

heating up.

[blam]

"I do not vouch for this information."

That's close to something I read years ago. Thanks.

[Ann Archy]

Where are the BLACK leaders in this country???????? I have not heard ONE of them talk about the killings of blacks BY blacks!!! Funny how that is.

[headsonpikes]

I hope it's the start of a trend.

A world-wide demand for liberty. ;^)

[RightWhale]

Where are the BLACK leaders in this country????????

There is no way to extract funds for their causes from foreign operations.

[muawiyah]

It's not funny at all. In fact, it all makes good sense. Look at it from the black perspective. There's no need for blacks to worry about black on black crime because the white folks already are worrying about it. On the other hand, when it comes to white on black crime, blacks had better worry lest the whites kind of ignore it.

Unfortunately it's this attitude (and some others in different aspects of life, but analogous to this one) that help to keep blacks from being fully integrated into American life.

[Diverdogz]

I think he has been a friend and business associate of Pat Robertson.

[Old Sarge]

America would be the "natural candidate" for any Western-run operation in Liberia Oh, well that's just PEACHY! More demands on the National guard for UN peacekeeping missions, when we're needed elsewhere. Send the French, they haven't used their rifles since Verdun!

[blam]

"This affair has Dr. Rice's fingerprints all over it. Hamas et al. are in for it. I am watching with interest."

More fingerprints.

[StormEye]

Another non-white basket-case nation that needs the
white man to come and fix their country. Does
anyone think the US media or Jessie JackASS will
notice this fact and report it as such?

[GaConfed]

Where are the BLACK leaders in this country???????? I have not heard ONE of them talk about the killings of blacks BY blacks!!! Funny how that is

It's all the white man's fault. :P

[ellery]

I thought the french were deploying to handle this.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Very interesting. If Bush threatens Liberia while Powell chastizes Mugabe, maybe the administration truly means to do something about Africa.

[ellery]

How do you figure it's the "white man" coming to rescue these poor people? There are black, white, latino, asian, american indian US soldiers whose lives will be on the line.

[Malsua]

Liberia has long been a flag of convenience. Not as good as other African nations but still, a choice one for western countries since it is tiny and frankly has no options except to be a western flag of convenience.

There will certainly be stabilization efforts in the next 60 days. Many of those Carib and Med boats that have 95% American passengers will take note and tow the line and their lobbying efforts won't go unnoticed.

That said...watch for them to change their flags in the next 4 months to other African countries that offer the same tax havens. It will take 15 years before all theses flag of convenience countries dry up.

-Mal

[ejdrapes]

If Bush & Co. weren't visiting Africa in the near future I doubt they'd be talking much about the bloodshed in Libera or Zimbabwae (or any other hell hole over there for that matter).