I think this is foolish, but Liberians have a high opinion of Americans. When Bush II sent Marines there as peacekeepers after their civil war, Liberians were puzzled as to why they were hunkered down as if they expected attacks; they eventually made it clear that nobody regarded the Americans as anything but saviors, and I don;t believe a single American has been molested there (and they’ve been there a long time now).
Don’t expect to see it in the news, but Liberians I work with, who support Democrats because our media has apparently told them Republicans hate black people, admit that Bush II is immensely popular there.
this isn’t a peacekeeping mission
it’s a mission to protect scarce resources that will benefit a small number of dying people and the elites and use lethal force to guard against access by panicked dying mobs
it’s a mission to back up Liberia troops in keeping panicked dying mobs inside a quarantine area while trying to deliver food and water to the quarantined to make their dying seem less inhumane - a confined death zone
It won’t take the average Liberians long to fall out of love with these guards and enforcers