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US Soldiers Arrive in Liberia

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By Somini Sengupta

New York Times
July 7, 2003

American soldiers landed this morning at the United States Embassy compound here, the first contingent of a military assessment team that will evaluate humanitarian conditions in this war-ravaged West African country. The thirteen-soldier group, the advance team of what will be a full force of 32, touched down in a military helicopter at the embassy compound. "We are here to inspect and see what we can do," said the commander of the team, Capt. Roger Coldiron.


The contingent, which arrived from a staging point in Freetown, Sierra Leone, was scheduled to visit several camps of internally displaced people around the city today. Captain Coldiron said that while there was a security component of their mission, their primary task was to make a humanitarian assessment rather than to determine whether the United States should deploy a peacekeeping force. He declined to answer questions about the security component of the trip. President Bush has been weighing the possibility of sending a peacekeeping force to Liberia to help end years of war. He is scheduled to leave Washington, D.C., later today for a five-nation tour of Africa. "Any decision about a larger peacekeeping mission will be made by President Bush," John W. Blaney, the American ambassador to Liberia, said. "This mission is about humanitarian assistance and the Liberian people."

The arrival of the American assessment team came a day after Liberia's President Charles Taylor, the former guerrilla leader who was recently indicted as a war criminal, announced that he would leave his country and accept refuge in nearby Nigeria. Mr. Taylor did not say when he would go, but he dangled his earlier promise to step aside once an international force arrived in this country to monitor a cease-fire deal between his forces and the rebels who have sought to topple him. Mr. Taylor has in recent days warned of potential bedlam if his sudden departure leaves a power vacuum.

On Sunday afternoon, Mr. Taylor appeared behind a lectern before his own portrait at the V.I.P. lounge of the airport on the outskirts of this ruined capital. He let the man he called his "big brother," President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, do most of the talking. Mr. Obasanjo, who had met with his besieged Liberian counterpart for roughly 90 minutes, declared that Mr. Taylor had accepted his offer of "a safe haven in Nigeria." "Charles Taylor is not averse to making the sacrifice of exiting to give the country a chance at peace," Mr. Obasanjo said.

Mr. Taylor did not explain whether his offer included immunity from prosecution for war crimes. Mr. Taylor has been accused of crimes against humanity and of providing support for a war in neighboring Sierra Leone. But Mr. Obasanjo's parting words made plain that he would brook no criticism for accepting an indicted war criminal. "Nigeria will not be harassed by any organization, or by any country for showing this humanitarian gesture," Mr. Obasanjo said.

Mr. Taylor, who led a guerrilla insurgency beginning in 1989 and was ultimately elected president in 1997, has faced mounting pressure from inside and outside the country in recent weeks. Rebels pushed their way toward Monrovia, the capital, twice in the last month. The Special Court in Sierra Leone unsealed a 17-count indictment against him last month. Then, even as peace talks got under way in nearby Ghana, President Bush called for Mr. Taylor's swift exit.

In Washington, White House officials suggested that Mr. Bush would not be satisfied until Mr. Taylor had followed through on the agreement and left the country. "As the president has said, Mr. Taylor needs to leave," Jimmy Orr, a spokesman for the White House, said on Sunday. "He needs to leave quickly so peace can be established." Mr. Orr said Sunday's developments had not led Mr. Bush to make a decision about sending a peacekeeping force to Liberia. He hinted that the president might not resolve the issue before leaving on his trip to Africa this evening. "No decision has been made," Mr. Orr said. The president, he added, "will not be guided by any artificial deadline."

Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia and the chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, said on Sunday on the NBC News program "Meet the Press" that Congress should take a vote before substantial forces were sent to the region. Mr. Warner said that while it was a presidential decision, "I think Congress should be a partner and bear the responsibility of this very, very important decision."

The Bush administration, itself under pressure to sort out the mess in this country founded by Americans more than 150 years ago, has said it will consider sending American troops as part of a multinational force to restore security in Liberia. Liberia was one of the United States' most reliable allies on the continent through the cold-war years.

In a diplomatic dance, Mr. Taylor on Sunday cast himself as acting in concert with Washington, praising President Bush for showing interest in Liberia and saying once again that he would welcome the presence of American troops. "There is a window of opportunity," he told reporters. "We accept that window of opportunity and act hastily." Mr. Taylor let his supporters speak for him as well. War veterans lined up on the airport tarmac with carefully stenciled banners. One read, "Drop the Indictment Against Our President." Another asked, "Upon the leaving of our president, what is our future?" A young man lifted his shirt for a cameraman to reveal a jagged scar along his torso, presumably a war wound suffered in Mr. Taylor's service. Men who had lost legs sat on the hot tarmac.

With reporters from all over the world milling around at the airport, the Liberian defense minister, Daniel Chea, called on the Special Court in Sierra Leone to scrap the indictment against his boss. "I don't want a suspension of the indictment," he said. "I want a removal of the indictment. It must be removed for the sake of peace." Mr. Taylor's spokesman, Vaanii Paasewe, warned of trouble in the streets in the event of a hasty exit for Mr. Taylor. "The government of Liberia has already appealed to the United States to reconsider the immediacy of leaving," Mr. Paasewe said. "The sort of calm you see is really because most Liberians think President Taylor is their choice."

Sunday's dramatic tableau unfolded on the hot airport tarmac. Shortly after 3 p.m., wearing white from head to toe and carrying his signature carved wooden walking cane, Mr. Taylor paraded up a red carpet to greet the arriving Mr. Obasanjo. The Nigerian president, also in white, disembarked with a smile, accepted a live chicken and a plate of kola nuts from a pair of Liberian elders, and strolled slowly alongside Mr. Taylor down the red carpet. Mr. Obasanjo grinned and waved to the well-wishers who lined the red carpet. Mr. Taylor smiled very little.

Ninety minutes later, the two men emerged from their meeting and announced their agreement before a packed hall of reporters. "Liberia needs a lifeline right now to solve its problems," Mr. Obasanjo said. Mr. Taylor said, "I'd like to praise God." Then, the two men walked back along the red carpet side by side and embraced. Mr. Obasanjo sprinted up the steps to his plane, turned around and waved with both arms. Mr. Taylor waved a white handkerchief. As Mr. Taylor pulled out of the airport in his convoy of armored jeeps, a crowd of well-wishers, joined by the Liberian Army band, trailed behind with a boisterous version of a popular hymn. "My God will do it," they sang. "You will never understand it. It's a miracle, God."


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FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.