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CNN Live Saturday
U.S. Marines In Liberia In Support Role
Aired August 16, 2003 - 18:47 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.
KOPPEL: A large group of U.S. Marines is still on the ground in Liberia. Our Chris Plante joins us from the Pentagon with more on their role. Chris, I don't know if you were looking at the video as I was during Jeff's piece there, but you saw aid workers, you saw lots of Nigerian peacekeepers, but you didn't see any U.S. Marines on the ground. What exactly are they doing?
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are about 100 Marines at the embassy that have been there for well over a week now, providing security there. On Thursday, 200 more Marines came in from ships offshore. About 150 of those Marines remain on the ground at the airport there in Monrovia, but they are not actively involved in securing the airport or in securing the sea port. That mission is behind handled by Nigerian peacekeepers at this point, and later on peacekeepers from other West African nations.
But the 150 Marines at the airport are effectively there at the beck and call of the commanders of the Nigerian and West African peacekeepers. They are there as a quick reaction force. If the peacekeepers find themselves in any trouble, then the Marines are there to respond to that trouble with force -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: So any idea how long they plan to remain in the region and what it would take, what kind of circumstances, for them to leave?
PLANTE: Well, the United States agreed to go in to provide backup to the West African force there until humanitarian aid is flowing and until the situation is stabilized. They didn't want to go in to create the peace but now that the mission is a peacekeeping mission instead of a peacemaking mission, the Marines are going to stay there. From what we can tell, there is no end date, until the situation is stable and until aid is flowing, whenever that may be.
KOPPEL: Why aren't they helping get the aid out? One of the reasons I think that aid hasn't -- well, I know that there's been a lot of looting, but that some of the ships can't get in there because the port wasn't secure. Why don't the Marines go and help out at the port?
PLANTE: Well, the United States really has a vested interest in seeing too that ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, and the military component, which is called ECOMIL, they have a vested interest in seeing to it that this mission succeeds. They want the West African force to develop a reputation and a capability so that they can go into other situations in West Africa in the future, not just this situation, but become an effective, independent force that can stabilize other situations down the road, and they don't want the American force to be seen as sort of the big brother that has to come in and have to restore order before the United Nations or other forces can get economic and humanitarian aid is flowing.
You know, Green Berets helped train these Nigerian forces at one point several years ago, so the United States really just wants to make sure that this force is successful on its own -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: Got you. OK. Chris Plante at the Pentagon, thanks for that update.
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 August 16, 2003 - 18:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KOPPEL: A large group of U.S. Marines is still on the ground in Liberia. Our Chris Plante joins us from the Pentagon with more on their role. Chris, I don't know if you were looking at the video as I was during Jeff's piece there, but you saw aid workers, you saw lots of Nigerian peacekeepers, but you didn't see any U.S. Marines on the ground. What exactly are they doing?
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are about 100 Marines at the embassy that have been there for well over a week now, providing security there. On Thursday, 200 more Marines came in from ships offshore. About 150 of those Marines remain on the ground at the airport there in Monrovia, but they are not actively involved in securing the airport or in securing the sea port. That mission is behind handled by Nigerian peacekeepers at this point, and later on peacekeepers from other West African nations.
But the 150 Marines at the airport are effectively there at the beck and call of the commanders of the Nigerian and West African peacekeepers. They are there as a quick reaction force. If the peacekeepers find themselves in any trouble, then the Marines are there to respond to that trouble with force -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: So any idea how long they plan to remain in the region and what it would take, what kind of circumstances, for them to leave?
PLANTE: Well, the United States agreed to go in to provide backup to the West African force there until humanitarian aid is flowing and until the situation is stabilized. They didn't want to go in to create the peace but now that the mission is a peacekeeping mission instead of a peacemaking mission, the Marines are going to stay there. From what we can tell, there is no end date, until the situation is stable and until aid is flowing, whenever that may be.
KOPPEL: Why aren't they helping get the aid out? One of the reasons I think that aid hasn't -- well, I know that there's been a lot of looting, but that some of the ships can't get in there because the port wasn't secure. Why don't the Marines go and help out at the port?
PLANTE: Well, the United States really has a vested interest in seeing too that ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, and the military component, which is called ECOMIL, they have a vested interest in seeing to it that this mission succeeds. They want the West African force to develop a reputation and a capability so that they can go into other situations in West Africa in the future, not just this situation, but become an effective, independent force that can stabilize other situations down the road, and they don't want the American force to be seen as sort of the big brother that has to come in and have to restore order before the United Nations or other forces can get economic and humanitarian aid is flowing.
You know, Green Berets helped train these Nigerian forces at one point several years ago, so the United States really just wants to make sure that this force is successful on its own -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: Got you. OK. Chris Plante at the Pentagon, thanks for that update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
