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U.S. Assessment Military Team Arrives in Monrovia
Aired July 07, 2003 - 09:09 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A U.S. military assessment team has arrived in Liberia this morning. Their job is to report back to the White House and the Pentagon where the decision -- about where the decision on sending troops to Liberia will be made.
Brent Sadler is live from Monrovia, Liberia, for us this morning.
Brent -- good morning to you.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning, Soledad.
As you say, no decision from President Bush yet as to whether there will be a much larger U.S. presence on the ground here in Liberia as part of some stabilization force, including West African states.
What we have seen a few hours ago taking place on the ground here on that helicopter landing pad behind me, we can show you the video of the first elements of a specialist team of assessors, military personnel all of them, 13 of them. The advance guard of that element, if you like, really uploading from helicopters that came into the U.S. embassy compound here in the Liberian capital of Monrovia. They came in from neighboring Sierra Leone in an operation which is still going on. One of perhaps two or three waves of helicopters coming in here, bringing in about a 20-member assessment team, who will go out possibly as early as this afternoon our time here in Liberia to go and check the massive humanitarian needs that this country requires in the very near future. They'll be going to see refugees, some of them, about a million in all refugees in Liberia, a cease-fire, a tenuous cease-fire in place now between the rebel groups in the north and south of the Liberian capital and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor.
Charles Taylor under tremendous international pressure, including President Bush saying he's got to leave office and leave office soon. But no precise details of when that might happen.
So, still an uncertain future as far as this country is concerned -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Brent Sadler reporting for us from Monrovia, Liberia. Brent, thank you very much for that.
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 - 09:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A U.S. military assessment team has arrived in Liberia this morning. Their job is to report back to the White House and the Pentagon where the decision -- about where the decision on sending troops to Liberia will be made.
Brent Sadler is live from Monrovia, Liberia, for us this morning.
Brent -- good morning to you.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning, Soledad.
As you say, no decision from President Bush yet as to whether there will be a much larger U.S. presence on the ground here in Liberia as part of some stabilization force, including West African states.
What we have seen a few hours ago taking place on the ground here on that helicopter landing pad behind me, we can show you the video of the first elements of a specialist team of assessors, military personnel all of them, 13 of them. The advance guard of that element, if you like, really uploading from helicopters that came into the U.S. embassy compound here in the Liberian capital of Monrovia. They came in from neighboring Sierra Leone in an operation which is still going on. One of perhaps two or three waves of helicopters coming in here, bringing in about a 20-member assessment team, who will go out possibly as early as this afternoon our time here in Liberia to go and check the massive humanitarian needs that this country requires in the very near future. They'll be going to see refugees, some of them, about a million in all refugees in Liberia, a cease-fire, a tenuous cease-fire in place now between the rebel groups in the north and south of the Liberian capital and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor.
Charles Taylor under tremendous international pressure, including President Bush saying he's got to leave office and leave office soon. But no precise details of when that might happen.
So, still an uncertain future as far as this country is concerned -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Brent Sadler reporting for us from Monrovia, Liberia. Brent, thank you very much for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
