Posted on 07/07/2003 5:54:28 AM PDT by Brian S
July 7 — By David Clarke
MONROVIA (Reuters) - A U.S. military team flew into Liberia on Monday to look at how best to bring stability to the broken West African country as President Charles Taylor prepares for foreign exile.
The first group of the humanitarian survey team touched down in a helicopter at the heavily-fortified U.S. embassy in the steamy coastal capital Monrovia. Gun-toting U.S. Marines leapt out in flak jackets and helmets.
The 20-member team is seen as a possible precursor to a larger force, which the United States is considering and Liberians are praying will come in to save them from nearly 14 years of violence.
"We are here to see what we will need to bring with us to provide humanitarian assistance," said the commander, Captain Roger Coldiron. "I am not here to assess the military situation, but I am here to assess the security situation."
President Bush, due to leave for Africa on Monday, has not yet decided whether to send peacekeepers to the country founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century. He insists that the first step should be Taylor's departure.
Hemmed in by rebels and wanted for war crimes by an international court, Taylor said on Sunday he had accepted an offer of asylum from regional giant Nigeria and just wanted to make sure an international force was in place to prevent chaos.
West African countries have pledged 3,000 troops and want U.S. forces to help them bring that up to 5,000, but Washington well remembers a bloody withdrawal from Somalia 10 years ago after a humanitarian intervention went awry.
The team that flew in from Europe on Monday will visit camps for tens of thousands of refugees from Liberia's war. It includes experts in water purification, preventive medicine, construction and logistics.
QUESTIONS OVER BIGGER FORCE
Any bigger operation would be certain to raise questions given heavy commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Sunday the U.S. Congress should vote before any American troops were sent to Liberia.
Liberians want U.S. peacekeepers because they fear that no others will win the necessary respect from fighters often stoked on drugs and drink and with a casual attitude to murder, rape and theft.
The big worry -- as Taylor has pointed out himself -- is that fighters and rebels would run wild if no force was in place by the time he left.
"We believe that it is not unreasonable to request that there be an orderly exit from power," Taylor said after announcing he had accepted Nigeria's asylum offer during a visit by President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday.
Pressure for Taylor to step down has grown since rebel attacks on Monrovia left 700 dead last month. He is accused of masterminding wars across West Africa, holds barely a third of Liberia and is wanted by Sierra Leone's war crimes court.
Taylor emerged as the dominant faction leader after a war that left 200,000 dead in the 1990s and won an election landslide. Foes from that conflict started a new one three years ago while Liberia was still on its knees.
Under the constitution, Taylor's successor would be Vice-President Moses Blah. He is an old loyalist and military man, but many Liberians question whether he would be able to control the volatile fighters.
Although Sierra Leone's war crimes court has vowed to pursue Taylor even if he goes to Nigeria, Obasanjo made clear on Sunday that he would not be pressured. Nigeria has no law under which Taylor could be extradited to face the court.
Did we get the "necessary respect" from Mohammad Aidid and his khat-chewing killers? Do we get the "necessary respect" in Libya, Sudan, Zimbabwe or even South Africa? No we don't, and we won't. Have you seen pictures of the mobs dancing around Liberia with big weapons and blank eyes from all the killing? If we send "peacekeepers" there, we will get NO respect from any side and will soon become "invaders" and then "targets". We cannot impose peace, only a strained ceasefire for a time.
![](http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030707/capt.1057582767.liberia_dkb101.jpg")
There has not been a single report in the US media about who the rebels are nor what they are fighting for. I wonder why the media wouldn't want us to know what the rebelion is all about.
I note that all the reports about Liberia mention that it was founded by freed US slaves. There hasn't been a single report that says who the land for this country used to belong to - nor how exactly it was wrestled from its former owners and carved up into a nation.
Michael
Umm, because all the other choices are suckier?
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