U.S. forces for Liberia to be limited in size, tenure: Bush

Japan Policy & Politics, July 22, 2003

WASHINGTON, July 14 Kyodo

President George W. Bush said Monday the United States is willing to send a limited number of troops to Liberia in a short-term mission to support a peacekeeping force from West African countries.

''I think everybody understands any commitment we had would be limited in size and limited in tenure,'' Bush told reporters after discussing the issue with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

''Our job would be to help facilitate an ECOWAS presence, which would then be converted into a U.N. peacekeeping mission,'' Bush said.

Troops from ECOWAS -- the Economic Community of West African States -- would serve as the core of a Liberian peacekeeping force.

Bush said he has yet to make a final decision on how many U.S. troops should be dispatched to Liberia.

The U.S. is still assessing the strength of the ECOWAS peacekeeping force and Liberian President Charles Taylor first must leave, he said.

Annan told ECOWAS is now planning to send 1,000 to 2,500 troops to Liberia as an initial step.

If Taylor leaves Liberia, the Liberia peacekeeping force will be strengthened, hopefully U.S. participation and additional troops from the Western African region, he said.

''Eventually U.N. blue helmets will be set up to stabilize the situation...once the situation is calmer and stabler, the U.S. would leave and the U.N. peacekeepers will carry on the operation,'' Annan said.