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CNN Live Today
Liberia in Crisis
Aired July 07, 2003 - 10:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We turn our attention to the war-torn nation of Liberia and a possible U.S. role in its future stability. A team of U.S. military experts arrived there this morning. They're there to assess whether American troops should be there and taking part in a peacekeeping effort.
We begin our coverage in the capital, Monrovia. CNN's Brent Sadler checking in live from there.
Hello, Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.
As you say, specialists, military specialists, have arrived on the ground, an advance element of a team building, even as I speak to you another helicopter landing due here in the U.S. embassy compound in Monrovia shortly.
Now, why are these military personnel here? Well, they're going to like primarily, Leon, at the dire problems this country faces, first of all, on the humanitarian level. More than one million refugees, primarily in the capital here, Monrovia, as well as in the second largest city, Buchanan (ph), people who have fled the terror of fighting in the Bush area. Rebels (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the north of Monrovia, another group to the suggest, and President Charles Taylor lodged in the middle.
So these U.S. personnel from U.S. European command are here. They are going to be looking at the serious water problems, sanitation, construction, roads, the whole gambit of major problems this country faces.
At the same time, of course, laying the groundwork about what might happen next as regards a possible U.S. intervention as part of a military humanitarian mission taking part in, perhaps some sort of stabilization form.
Now, the big problem behind that as things stand now, is the future of Liberia's own president, Charles Taylor. Charles Taylor's under serious, mounting pressure from President George W. Bush to quit his office as soon as possible.
Mr. Taylor says, look, yes, I will go, but I'm not going to go everybody, until I think it's right, until I can leave a stable government, a stable country behind, and that's a tall order. But Mr. Taylor's still here, saying he will accept political asylum in Nigeria, an offer made by the Nigerian president Sunday. Still very much hanging in the air as for the mechanic, how Mr. Taylor will go to allow an international force with the U.S. taking a lead role in that being deployed in this war ravaged nation -- Leon.
HARRIS: Brent, we're just now getting word in from our Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, telling us if the president does decide to send any U.S. Troops into that region, they will likely come from the Horn of Africa, which is the eastern end of the continent, and that would mean they'd be coming clear across the continent to the west, where Liberia is, and that could take a number of weeks. We're getting that word in here right now about that.
What are you hearing, though, about Charles Taylor and his possible moving over into Nigeria? If that does happen, does this mean that all calls for him to be brought up on some war crimes trials would actually be dropped, or would that be something continue to be pursued?
SADLER: I think dropped is perhaps going to be a mission impossible. I think put on the back burner is more to the point. If you notice what President Bush has been saying, he's saying, quite clearly, Mr. Taylor has to go. He needs to go now for the sake of his impoverished nation. Nothing more about this war crimes indictment that was issued last month, June 4th, from neighboring Sierra Leone. Mr. Taylor being accused of being involved in exchanging conflict (ph) diamonds in exchange from Sierra Leone, in exchange weapons for weapons, and mercenaries, of which there was a huge pool of fighters in this country that got exported to Cotovoir (ph), Ivory Coast on one side, and Sierra Leone on the other.
So this is a complex thing for many (UNINTELLIGIBLE) surrounding the Taylor issue.
What is clear from Mr. Taylor's meeting with the Nigerian president yesterday, is that they're not going to be rushed, not going to be harassed, they say, into making the wrong decision, despite this mounting international pressure led by the U.S. administration, and that information just came in there, with, Leon, is very interesting. I think we have to look at this as being a slowly developing, possible deployment, nothing rapidly happening on the ground here, and this country's future still very much hangs in the balance -- Leon.
HARRIS: Thank you very much, Brent Sadler, reporting live from Monrovia. We'll have more on this developing story there.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 7, 2003 - 10:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We turn our attention to the war-torn nation of Liberia and a possible U.S. role in its future stability. A team of U.S. military experts arrived there this morning. They're there to assess whether American troops should be there and taking part in a peacekeeping effort.
We begin our coverage in the capital, Monrovia. CNN's Brent Sadler checking in live from there.
Hello, Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.
As you say, specialists, military specialists, have arrived on the ground, an advance element of a team building, even as I speak to you another helicopter landing due here in the U.S. embassy compound in Monrovia shortly.
Now, why are these military personnel here? Well, they're going to like primarily, Leon, at the dire problems this country faces, first of all, on the humanitarian level. More than one million refugees, primarily in the capital here, Monrovia, as well as in the second largest city, Buchanan (ph), people who have fled the terror of fighting in the Bush area. Rebels (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the north of Monrovia, another group to the suggest, and President Charles Taylor lodged in the middle.
So these U.S. personnel from U.S. European command are here. They are going to be looking at the serious water problems, sanitation, construction, roads, the whole gambit of major problems this country faces.
At the same time, of course, laying the groundwork about what might happen next as regards a possible U.S. intervention as part of a military humanitarian mission taking part in, perhaps some sort of stabilization form.
Now, the big problem behind that as things stand now, is the future of Liberia's own president, Charles Taylor. Charles Taylor's under serious, mounting pressure from President George W. Bush to quit his office as soon as possible.
Mr. Taylor says, look, yes, I will go, but I'm not going to go everybody, until I think it's right, until I can leave a stable government, a stable country behind, and that's a tall order. But Mr. Taylor's still here, saying he will accept political asylum in Nigeria, an offer made by the Nigerian president Sunday. Still very much hanging in the air as for the mechanic, how Mr. Taylor will go to allow an international force with the U.S. taking a lead role in that being deployed in this war ravaged nation -- Leon.
HARRIS: Brent, we're just now getting word in from our Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, telling us if the president does decide to send any U.S. Troops into that region, they will likely come from the Horn of Africa, which is the eastern end of the continent, and that would mean they'd be coming clear across the continent to the west, where Liberia is, and that could take a number of weeks. We're getting that word in here right now about that.
What are you hearing, though, about Charles Taylor and his possible moving over into Nigeria? If that does happen, does this mean that all calls for him to be brought up on some war crimes trials would actually be dropped, or would that be something continue to be pursued?
SADLER: I think dropped is perhaps going to be a mission impossible. I think put on the back burner is more to the point. If you notice what President Bush has been saying, he's saying, quite clearly, Mr. Taylor has to go. He needs to go now for the sake of his impoverished nation. Nothing more about this war crimes indictment that was issued last month, June 4th, from neighboring Sierra Leone. Mr. Taylor being accused of being involved in exchanging conflict (ph) diamonds in exchange from Sierra Leone, in exchange weapons for weapons, and mercenaries, of which there was a huge pool of fighters in this country that got exported to Cotovoir (ph), Ivory Coast on one side, and Sierra Leone on the other.
So this is a complex thing for many (UNINTELLIGIBLE) surrounding the Taylor issue.
What is clear from Mr. Taylor's meeting with the Nigerian president yesterday, is that they're not going to be rushed, not going to be harassed, they say, into making the wrong decision, despite this mounting international pressure led by the U.S. administration, and that information just came in there, with, Leon, is very interesting. I think we have to look at this as being a slowly developing, possible deployment, nothing rapidly happening on the ground here, and this country's future still very much hangs in the balance -- Leon.
HARRIS: Thank you very much, Brent Sadler, reporting live from Monrovia. We'll have more on this developing story there.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
