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CNN Live Saturday
Report On Presidents Decision To Send Troops To Liberia
Aired July 26, 2003 - 12:06 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.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: In the besieged capital city of Liberia, a church called the Greater Refuge Temple was no safe haven, today. At least seven people reported dead after mortars slammed into the church, dozens of others were wounded. Thousands of people fled to the church hoping to escape the latest exchanges between government forces and rebels intent on capturing Monrovia.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops are being dispatched to Liberia's coast. Three U.S. warships, carrying nearly 2,000 Marines aboard, are expected to reach Liberia's shores within the next several days. For more on the U.S. involvement and peacekeeping efforts, we turn to CNN's Chris Plante at the Pentagon -- Chris.
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Andrea. That's right, Marines aboard two warships, actually, at this point, the USS Iwo Jima and the USS Carter Hall, are headed toward the shore of Liberia. The two ships are currently in the Mediterranean Sea. A third ship, the USS Nashville, which is currently down by Djibouti, is expected to start moving in that direction and join up with the two ships -- other ships in the group. The steam time from the Mediterranean to the shore of Liberia is expected to be about seven days at this point.
And, when they arrive there, the expectation is that Nigerian peacekeeping troops will go in to restore order in the capital and that U.S. Marines will be able to provide logistical support, hopefully, at that point for the administration of aid and relief products to the city and to the country.
At this point there is no intention, certainly, by people at the Pentagon to find themselves involved in the civil war there, in an active combat role, but merely in a support role. The U.S. is also expecting that President Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, will leave before U.S. troops put anybody on -- the U.S. puts any troops on the ground. However, Charles Taylor has said that he wants to see U.S. troops on the ground before he leaves. So, that could present something of an impasse, one of many -- one of many complications in this situation -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: Chris, I was hoping you could explain something. There was a report in one of today's newspapers that seemed to indicate that the president's announcement, yesterday, took the Pentagon off guard and that they were scrambling to get those ships headed to Liberia. Is there anything to that? And what are the prospects that those Marines might actually end up on shore in Liberia and participate in this peacekeeping force?
PLANTE: Well, as for the report in the "New York Times," this morning, suggesting the Pentagon was taken off guard, I spoke to a number of people here yesterday, who had been involved in the planning. None of those people seemed to be taken off guard and in fact, as I mentioned, the USS Iwo Jima and the USS Carter Hall, now in the Mediterranean, actually left their position near Djibouti, about a week ago to start steaming toward the shore of Liberia in anticipation of this deployment order. So, I'm not detecting any great surprise over here at the Pentagon, but keep in mind this is the newspaper that brought us Jayson Blair, so everything with a grain of salt.
KOPPEL: OK. And, any prospect that those troops, the Marines, could end up in Liberia?
PLANTE: Well, I wouldn't be surprised, certainly, if we saw Marines on the ground in Liberia. But, the expectation is, certainly, the planning at this point, is for Nigerian troops to restore order and for U.S. troops to follow on only after the fighting has stopped to provide logistical support for the distribution of aid -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: Chris Plante at the Pentagon, thanks very much.
With U.S. troops heading into what appears to be a new military action in Africa, we are, of course, keeping a close eye on the Oval Office where CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, now joins us live -- Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Andrea. President Bush, of course is responding to international, as well as, domestic pressure to get involved to the call (ph) of this to try to enforce that cease-fire in Liberia, as Chris had mentioned before. Of course, it is not the White House's plan to get U.S. troops on the ground in Liberia, at least not at this time. President Bush yesterday, ordered U.S. troops to position themselves off the coast of Liberia to try to help West African nations take the lead in the peacekeeping effort. President Bush, the plan is that those West African leaders would go in first to stabilize the area, that U.S. Forces would provide logistics, support, communications.
Already the United States committing some $10 million for a military contractor to go ahead and go forward with assistance. Now, of course, one of the key components of all of this is, is Liberia's president, Charles Taylor, has to get out of the country. He has promised he would do so. Since then he is back tracked from that promise, but the feeling here at the White House is -- is that if U.S. troops were to go in, all of those conditions would have to be met. And, primarily it would be Charles Taylor who would have to leave first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: U.S. troops will be there to help Ecowas go in and serve as peacekeepers, necessary to create the conditions so that humanitarian aid can go in and help the people of -- in Liberia. We're deeply concerned that the condition of the Liberian people is getting worse and worse and worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: Now, Andrea, as you know, Secretary Powell, as well as U.N. -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan have been in daily discussions over this. A lot of pressure coming from the United Nations, the European Union, as well as those here, that they want the United States to take a much more active and aggressive role in dealing with all of this. But, President Bush made it very clear, yesterday, that this is a mission that is going to be limited in time and scope, he said, that it is going to be the United Nations, a multinational force that is really going to will make sure that the peace is kept in that region -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: And of course, the twist in all of this is that Charles Taylor has insisted that he won't leave until American peacekeepers arrive.
Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks very much.
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 26, 2003 - 12:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: In the besieged capital city of Liberia, a church called the Greater Refuge Temple was no safe haven, today. At least seven people reported dead after mortars slammed into the church, dozens of others were wounded. Thousands of people fled to the church hoping to escape the latest exchanges between government forces and rebels intent on capturing Monrovia.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops are being dispatched to Liberia's coast. Three U.S. warships, carrying nearly 2,000 Marines aboard, are expected to reach Liberia's shores within the next several days. For more on the U.S. involvement and peacekeeping efforts, we turn to CNN's Chris Plante at the Pentagon -- Chris.
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Andrea. That's right, Marines aboard two warships, actually, at this point, the USS Iwo Jima and the USS Carter Hall, are headed toward the shore of Liberia. The two ships are currently in the Mediterranean Sea. A third ship, the USS Nashville, which is currently down by Djibouti, is expected to start moving in that direction and join up with the two ships -- other ships in the group. The steam time from the Mediterranean to the shore of Liberia is expected to be about seven days at this point.
And, when they arrive there, the expectation is that Nigerian peacekeeping troops will go in to restore order in the capital and that U.S. Marines will be able to provide logistical support, hopefully, at that point for the administration of aid and relief products to the city and to the country.
At this point there is no intention, certainly, by people at the Pentagon to find themselves involved in the civil war there, in an active combat role, but merely in a support role. The U.S. is also expecting that President Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, will leave before U.S. troops put anybody on -- the U.S. puts any troops on the ground. However, Charles Taylor has said that he wants to see U.S. troops on the ground before he leaves. So, that could present something of an impasse, one of many -- one of many complications in this situation -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: Chris, I was hoping you could explain something. There was a report in one of today's newspapers that seemed to indicate that the president's announcement, yesterday, took the Pentagon off guard and that they were scrambling to get those ships headed to Liberia. Is there anything to that? And what are the prospects that those Marines might actually end up on shore in Liberia and participate in this peacekeeping force?
PLANTE: Well, as for the report in the "New York Times," this morning, suggesting the Pentagon was taken off guard, I spoke to a number of people here yesterday, who had been involved in the planning. None of those people seemed to be taken off guard and in fact, as I mentioned, the USS Iwo Jima and the USS Carter Hall, now in the Mediterranean, actually left their position near Djibouti, about a week ago to start steaming toward the shore of Liberia in anticipation of this deployment order. So, I'm not detecting any great surprise over here at the Pentagon, but keep in mind this is the newspaper that brought us Jayson Blair, so everything with a grain of salt.
KOPPEL: OK. And, any prospect that those troops, the Marines, could end up in Liberia?
PLANTE: Well, I wouldn't be surprised, certainly, if we saw Marines on the ground in Liberia. But, the expectation is, certainly, the planning at this point, is for Nigerian troops to restore order and for U.S. troops to follow on only after the fighting has stopped to provide logistical support for the distribution of aid -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: Chris Plante at the Pentagon, thanks very much.
With U.S. troops heading into what appears to be a new military action in Africa, we are, of course, keeping a close eye on the Oval Office where CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, now joins us live -- Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Andrea. President Bush, of course is responding to international, as well as, domestic pressure to get involved to the call (ph) of this to try to enforce that cease-fire in Liberia, as Chris had mentioned before. Of course, it is not the White House's plan to get U.S. troops on the ground in Liberia, at least not at this time. President Bush yesterday, ordered U.S. troops to position themselves off the coast of Liberia to try to help West African nations take the lead in the peacekeeping effort. President Bush, the plan is that those West African leaders would go in first to stabilize the area, that U.S. Forces would provide logistics, support, communications.
Already the United States committing some $10 million for a military contractor to go ahead and go forward with assistance. Now, of course, one of the key components of all of this is, is Liberia's president, Charles Taylor, has to get out of the country. He has promised he would do so. Since then he is back tracked from that promise, but the feeling here at the White House is -- is that if U.S. troops were to go in, all of those conditions would have to be met. And, primarily it would be Charles Taylor who would have to leave first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: U.S. troops will be there to help Ecowas go in and serve as peacekeepers, necessary to create the conditions so that humanitarian aid can go in and help the people of -- in Liberia. We're deeply concerned that the condition of the Liberian people is getting worse and worse and worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: Now, Andrea, as you know, Secretary Powell, as well as U.N. -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan have been in daily discussions over this. A lot of pressure coming from the United Nations, the European Union, as well as those here, that they want the United States to take a much more active and aggressive role in dealing with all of this. But, President Bush made it very clear, yesterday, that this is a mission that is going to be limited in time and scope, he said, that it is going to be the United Nations, a multinational force that is really going to will make sure that the peace is kept in that region -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: And of course, the twist in all of this is that Charles Taylor has insisted that he won't leave until American peacekeepers arrive.
Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
