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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (3055)	7/6/2003 2:09:25 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

U.S. likely will send troops to Liberia Thu Jul 3, 7:07 AM ET URL:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&ncid=716&e=21&u=/usatoday/20030703/ts_usatoday/5295512 Laurence McQuillan USA TODAY WASHINGTON -- President Bush (news - web sites) is expected to commit U.S. troops to lead a peacekeeping force to maintain a cease-fire in Liberia's 14-year civil war, two senior administration officials said Wednesday. • See what the pros make in the new football salaries database • Books in your inbox. Sign-up for your Books e-mail newsletter! • Today in the Sky: Real-time airport weather, delays, and travel news • Travel deals, news, and features straight to your inbox. Click here to sign up! AFP Slideshow: Liberia Snapshots USA TODAY Snapshot What is your favorite holiday for a backyard party? More USA TODAY Snapshots Bush said, ''We're exploring all options.'' Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said, ''It is premature to say an announcement is forthcoming in the next day or so.'' The decision, likely to be announced before Bush leaves Monday for a five-nation trip to Africa, would end an intense debate between State Department officials who sought U.S. intervention and Pentagon (news - web sites) advisers leery of adding another commitment on top of troops in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites). Hundreds of thousands of Liberians have died in strife that began with a rebellion launched by Charles Taylor, who is now president. Bush demanded Wednesday for the second time that Taylor surrender power. ''One thing has to happen: Mr. Taylor needs to leave the country,'' the president said. ''In order for there to be peace and stability in Liberia, Charles Taylor needs to leave now.'' Taylor, indicted by a United Nations (news - web sites) war crimes tribunal, wants assurance that he won't be prosecuted. Two senior officials said Bush has concluded that peace cannot be achieved if Taylor remains in Liberia. Taylor agreed to step down as part of a June 17 peace accord but reneged. There is a lull in fighting, but the cease-fire is considered fragile. Britain and other close allies have pressured the United States to intervene. Several dozen U.S. Marines were on standby in Spain in case they were needed at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia or to evacuate Americans. The United States has close ties to Liberia, which was founded in 1822 by freed American slaves. It was a U.S. base for covert activities during the Cold War. Three senior U.S. officials said Bush's top advisers, including Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, were discussing how to limit the role of American forces. The officials said details could change as Powell confers with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) about enlisting African nations in the peacekeeping force. They said the size of the U.S. commitment would be kept to a minimum; one said it would not exceed 800 troops. Most troops would be withdrawn within three to four months, one of the officials said. The plan requires approval by the U.N. Security Council, something administration officials expect to be won easily once it is presented. The limited stay and number of troops are intended to meet objections Bush raised during the 2000 presidential campaign, when he complained of expanding U.S. commitments to peacekeeping. The deployment would be the first U.S-led peacekeeping mission in Africa since 1992, when the first President Bush sent troops to Somalia. U.S. experiences with peacekeeping in the past decade have been mixed. Missions in Bosnia, Kosovo and Haiti have lent stability to war-torn countries and cost few American lives. But in Somalia, 18 soldiers died in Mogadishu in 1993 after a failed effort to capture Somali warlords. President Clinton (news - web sites) removed the troops. In Afghanistan, much of the country remains in the control of warlords nearly two years after the United States invaded and ousted the ruling Taliban.