Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Saturday
International Pressure Mounts Against President Taylor
Aired July 05, 2003 - 18:00 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.
KELLI ARENA, CNN ANCHOR: We start in Liberia where the world is waiting to see what the next step will be as international pressure mounts against President Charles Taylor.
CNN's Brent Sadler joins us live from Liberia's embattled capital city of Monrovia -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Kelli.
Well, the future of this war ravaged nation certainly hangs in the balance with that mounting international pressure you talk about, not least from U.S. President George W. Bush who says that Charles Taylor, the Liberian president, must step down and that President Bush will not accept no for an answer.
Now, even though that pressure continues to build there are signs of jitters in the city. Take a look outside from this video taken earlier today outside the Nigerian embassy here in the capitol Monrovia and you'll see that hundreds of people were scrambling to try and get tickets out on special flights really concerned that maybe now is the time to leave as a fragile cease-fire continues to hold.
Now, this war ravaged nation is one of the poorest nations on earth and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the war and they are now looking, many of them telling me they're looking to the United States as they savior, potential savior to get them out of the kind of 20 years of vicious and bloody civil war they've had to face, not least last month when hundreds of people were killed in the city as rebels moved towards the capital to dislodge Charles Taylor.
Now, Mr. Taylor it's reported from Liberian officials may be offered temporary political asylum in Nigeria and it is to Nigeria's president, he'll be coming to Monrovia tomorrow to meet Mr. Taylor, that a crucial behind the scenes deal may be taking shape. Mr. Taylor trying to dodge a war crimes indictment that was issued against him from neighboring Sierra Leone but nothing is certain.
Even though that continues, U.S. plans are active in trying to establish some sort of contribution to a stabilization force here on the ground in Monrovia -- back to you, Kelli.
ARENA: Brent, is Mr. Taylor still intent on remaining in the country until there is some sort of an international peacekeeping force on the ground?
SADLER: Well, that's the problem. Mr. Taylor says he'll quit, he'll leave, probably to Nigeria as things stand now but he won't go, he says, until there is an orderly transition of power and leading to that a disposition of troops on the ground here in Liberia beginning in Monrovia, and western observers feel that may be a ploy by Mr. Taylor to draw in international troops, possibly U.S. forces, to meet his own ends -- Kelli.
ARENA: Brent Sadler live from Monrovia thanks for joining us.
Well, U.S. officials plan to send an assessment team to Liberia. Its mission would be two-fold, determining if U.S. Marines should be sent in as peacekeepers engaging the humanitarian needs of Liberian refugees. The White House is still weighing the pros and cons of committing U.S. troops. For the latest, let's go live to White House Correspondent Dana Bash -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kelli.
Well, the president's advisers do say he has not yet made up his mind as to whether to send in U.S. troops but that he is doing his due diligence to figure out just what that would entail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): As diplomatic effort intensify to convince Charles Taylor to leave the country immediately, military planners are hard at work this holiday weekend on potential troop deployment to Liberia.
U.S. military sources tell CNN the focus is now on assembling a mission not just for peacekeeping but also to possibly assist in humanitarian efforts helping aid organizations with more than one million displaced Liberians.
Bush aides insist the commander-in-chief, playing 18 holes Saturday morning, still has not made a decision to send any troops. He is waiting in part to hear from a team of a dozen or so military and civilian officials scheduled to arrive in Monrovia Sunday on what exactly U.S. troops would do and how West African countries would pitch in.
Despite scenes of Liberians eager for American intervention, experts warn any mission in the country plagued by civil wars and rebel factions would be precarious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even if Charles Taylor does leave it will not be a very simple situation for peacekeeping troops which is why an American contribution could make a very important difference. In a post Taylor environment in Liberia there will still be serious threats of instability.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we got to be very careful when we commit out troops.
BASH: Candidate Bush spoke of limiting the role of the U.S. military for so-called nation building and even declared Africa was not in America's national strategic interest, but today a very different vision for how the military can be used.
BUSH: Without America's active involvement in the world, the ambitions of tyrants would go unopposed and millions would live at the mercy of terrorists.
BASH: Mr. Bush's advisers say September 11 made him look at faraway war-torn places as breeding grounds for terrorists.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And top U.S. diplomats are working with U.N. and West African officials to try to figure out how to get Taylor, an indicted war criminal, out of the country as soon as possible and with that the main focus, the senior U.S. official conceded that putting him on trial for those alleged crimes might be put on the back burner -- Kelli.
ARENA: Dana, live at the White House, thanks for that report.
Well, President Bush is expected to visit several African nations next week. The situation in Liberia will not be on the top of the agenda, though. Instead, the main focus of his trip will be diplomatic. Mr. Bush wants to strengthen ties and push his initiative for fighting AIDS in Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, and Nigeria.
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 5, 2003 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLI ARENA, CNN ANCHOR: We start in Liberia where the world is waiting to see what the next step will be as international pressure mounts against President Charles Taylor.
CNN's Brent Sadler joins us live from Liberia's embattled capital city of Monrovia -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Kelli.
Well, the future of this war ravaged nation certainly hangs in the balance with that mounting international pressure you talk about, not least from U.S. President George W. Bush who says that Charles Taylor, the Liberian president, must step down and that President Bush will not accept no for an answer.
Now, even though that pressure continues to build there are signs of jitters in the city. Take a look outside from this video taken earlier today outside the Nigerian embassy here in the capitol Monrovia and you'll see that hundreds of people were scrambling to try and get tickets out on special flights really concerned that maybe now is the time to leave as a fragile cease-fire continues to hold.
Now, this war ravaged nation is one of the poorest nations on earth and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the war and they are now looking, many of them telling me they're looking to the United States as they savior, potential savior to get them out of the kind of 20 years of vicious and bloody civil war they've had to face, not least last month when hundreds of people were killed in the city as rebels moved towards the capital to dislodge Charles Taylor.
Now, Mr. Taylor it's reported from Liberian officials may be offered temporary political asylum in Nigeria and it is to Nigeria's president, he'll be coming to Monrovia tomorrow to meet Mr. Taylor, that a crucial behind the scenes deal may be taking shape. Mr. Taylor trying to dodge a war crimes indictment that was issued against him from neighboring Sierra Leone but nothing is certain.
Even though that continues, U.S. plans are active in trying to establish some sort of contribution to a stabilization force here on the ground in Monrovia -- back to you, Kelli.
ARENA: Brent, is Mr. Taylor still intent on remaining in the country until there is some sort of an international peacekeeping force on the ground?
SADLER: Well, that's the problem. Mr. Taylor says he'll quit, he'll leave, probably to Nigeria as things stand now but he won't go, he says, until there is an orderly transition of power and leading to that a disposition of troops on the ground here in Liberia beginning in Monrovia, and western observers feel that may be a ploy by Mr. Taylor to draw in international troops, possibly U.S. forces, to meet his own ends -- Kelli.
ARENA: Brent Sadler live from Monrovia thanks for joining us.
Well, U.S. officials plan to send an assessment team to Liberia. Its mission would be two-fold, determining if U.S. Marines should be sent in as peacekeepers engaging the humanitarian needs of Liberian refugees. The White House is still weighing the pros and cons of committing U.S. troops. For the latest, let's go live to White House Correspondent Dana Bash -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kelli.
Well, the president's advisers do say he has not yet made up his mind as to whether to send in U.S. troops but that he is doing his due diligence to figure out just what that would entail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): As diplomatic effort intensify to convince Charles Taylor to leave the country immediately, military planners are hard at work this holiday weekend on potential troop deployment to Liberia.
U.S. military sources tell CNN the focus is now on assembling a mission not just for peacekeeping but also to possibly assist in humanitarian efforts helping aid organizations with more than one million displaced Liberians.
Bush aides insist the commander-in-chief, playing 18 holes Saturday morning, still has not made a decision to send any troops. He is waiting in part to hear from a team of a dozen or so military and civilian officials scheduled to arrive in Monrovia Sunday on what exactly U.S. troops would do and how West African countries would pitch in.
Despite scenes of Liberians eager for American intervention, experts warn any mission in the country plagued by civil wars and rebel factions would be precarious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even if Charles Taylor does leave it will not be a very simple situation for peacekeeping troops which is why an American contribution could make a very important difference. In a post Taylor environment in Liberia there will still be serious threats of instability.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we got to be very careful when we commit out troops.
BASH: Candidate Bush spoke of limiting the role of the U.S. military for so-called nation building and even declared Africa was not in America's national strategic interest, but today a very different vision for how the military can be used.
BUSH: Without America's active involvement in the world, the ambitions of tyrants would go unopposed and millions would live at the mercy of terrorists.
BASH: Mr. Bush's advisers say September 11 made him look at faraway war-torn places as breeding grounds for terrorists.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And top U.S. diplomats are working with U.N. and West African officials to try to figure out how to get Taylor, an indicted war criminal, out of the country as soon as possible and with that the main focus, the senior U.S. official conceded that putting him on trial for those alleged crimes might be put on the back burner -- Kelli.
ARENA: Dana, live at the White House, thanks for that report.
Well, President Bush is expected to visit several African nations next week. The situation in Liberia will not be on the top of the agenda, though. Instead, the main focus of his trip will be diplomatic. Mr. Bush wants to strengthen ties and push his initiative for fighting AIDS in Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, and Nigeria.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
