Bush Opens Door to Troops, Liberians Trade Charges

[papau]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-liberia.html


Bush Opens Door to Troops, Liberians Trade Charges
By REUTERS


Filed at 4:51 p.m. ET

MONROVIA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said Monday he was open to sending a limited number of U.S. troops to Liberia, where rebels and the government accused each other of breaking a fragile truce.

Bush has come under intense international pressure to help end 14 years of almost nonstop war in a nation founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century. ``Any commitment we have would be limited in size and limited in tenure,'' Bush said in Washington after talks with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Bush also said Liberian President Charles Taylor, a former warlord who has been indicted for war crimes, would have to leave first. Taylor has insisted he will only go after peacekeepers arrive. <snip>

MY COMMENT: catch 22?



<snip>U.S. officials said they had sent four aircraft and about 100 troops to Senegal and Sierra Leone to facilitate a quick exit if necessary for the team of experts in Liberia. A defense official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the move should not be interpreted as a precursor to an expanded U.S. mission or an indication that the Pentagon has received information about a threat to the team. A U.S. defense official said they were exploring a range of options from zero troops up to about 2,000 but that the most likely outcome at the moment was a West African peacekeeping force with ``some sort of U.S. leadership or at least support.''<snip>

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