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CNN Sunday Morning
Taylor Discusses Possible Asylum With Nigeria's President
Aired July 06, 2003 - 10:13 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The leader of the war torn African nation is under intense international pressure to leave his post. President Charles Taylor discusses possible asylum with his Nigerian counterpart today. CNN's Brent Sadler is live from the capital of Monrovia at the airport, the place where the meeting between those two presidents will take place -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. Good morning. The Nigerian president is expected here any moment. If we look behind us now, as my cameraman goes off my right shoulder, you'll see something of a festival atmosphere. It's quite weird. Taking place behind us there is a military band in amongst the crowd there.
Several hundred people handpicked, of course, by the Liberian president Charles Taylor really to come here. Many of them are carrying slogans. You can't read them from this angle at the moment, but I was reading them a short time ago, and one of the main issues that they're raising is, drop the indictment against Mr. Taylor. That, of course, refers to the U. N. war crimes indictment that was issued against Mr. Taylor from neighboring Sierra Leone only last month.
That's going to be top of the agenda at these crucial face-to- face talks between the Liberian and Nigerian presidents. It will take place here at Monrovia's International Airport, such as it is in this war ravaged country because beyond the confines of the airport perimeter security, of course, cannot be guaranteed.
So, several hundred people here still waiting on the tarmac in the blistering heat hear for the Nigerian to come in and start these high-level talks. Mr. Taylor came in well in advance of the arrival of his counterpart from Abuja, and Mr. Taylor arriving in his own rather noisy motorcade about 45 minutes ago. We have video of that.
And Mr. Taylor, interestingly, dressed from head to toe in white. including his shoes. He spoke very briefly to reporters as he went into the VIP suite here and said quite simply, this is a good day, but we'll see how it turns out. The Nigerians are offering Mr. Taylor what's called "temporarily political asylum" to enable him to perhaps dodge that war crimes indictment if he were to leave office as Mr. Bush is continually saying he should do the sooner the better for the sake of Liberia's impoverished population.
And really, the pressure is mounting. International pressure is very much on Mr. Taylor right now. So, if the Nigerian leadership can broker a deal here today, that could pave the way for the arrival of an international peacekeeping or stabilization force possibly to include a contingent of U.S. forces.
Now, as that goes on the ground here in terms of this reception committee, we understand that U.S. assessors are gathering in Spain, a team expected to arrive possibly in Monrovia by the end of this day, a team of about 12 to 15, an assessment team, a preliminary gathering here. They come in probably by helicopters into the U.S. Embassy with an increased marine military escort. So, a lot happening on the ground here, but all eyes are on this top- level meeting that will take place here in this airport between the presidents of Nigeria and Liberia, really as this country's future hangs in the balance.
WHITFIELD: And, Brent, a lot going on just at that airport in Monrovia. With that U.S. assessment team likely to touch down later on today, might that coincide with this planned meeting between the presidents? Might it be a rather lengthy meeting at that airport?
SADLER: No. The assessment team will go into the embassy, we understand, and then start working out the various modalities of how that could kick off a joint verification team that would include representatives from the warring factions, West African states, U.S. participation, as well as United Nations involvement. If you can look at those signs, we won't go back to them live now, but some of those signs are talking about, let's have the U.S. and the United Nations help Liberia build a future.
So, a lot at stake here, but really, it's going to be the timing of Mr. Taylor's departure, what's on the ground that's really going to be crucial. No one wants to see a vacuum here in this country given its bloody history and the possibility that all this could still fall apart and that blood shed could again ensue.
WHITFIELD: All right. Brent Sadler in Monrovia at the airport there, thank you very much.
Well, President Bush is calling for Mr. Taylor to leave Liberia to allow for a restoration of peace there. The President has sent a U. S. assessment team, as we were explaining, on their way to Liberia. Right now they're in Spain according to our Brent saddler. They're expected to be in Liberia later on today.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash is following the developments from the White House. Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, the White House is no doubt following the two very important things that are happening on the ground that Brent was just describing. On the one hand, to find out whether or not Charles Taylor will leave the country immediately and what will happen after he meets with the Nigerian president.
And also, he is awaiting a report from the assessment team that Brent talked about, the 10 to 15 military and civilian officials that are heading to Monrovia to figure out, according to European command, what kind of humanitarian needs are on the ground and what kind of troop deployment would go to Liberia if necessary. Now, the President is waiting for all of those things to happen and waiting for reports back to make his final decision on whether or not to send U.S. troops. That is a decision he has not yet made.
Now, this morning the President spent his 57th birthday this morning going to church with the First Lady, attending services just up the street, and it is a day ahead of the President's first trip to the continent of Africa. Liberia will not be one of the countries that he is going to visit, but it will no doubt be on the minds of many of the leaders that he will meet with on the continent of Africa.
And this morning, the Senate chairman of the Armed Services Committee, a fellow Republican, John Warner, said that he spent a lot of time yesterday at the Pentagon assessing intelligence information about the situation on the ground in Liberia and said he was very concerned. He's concerned about any kind of danger that U. S. troops would be in no matter what capacity they went into Liberia in, and he also said that it's important for the U. S. Senate to have a vote before any decision is made to send troops because they need to have a part in whether or not it is in the U. S. national strategic interest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: Is it vital in our national security interest? What are the details of that mission, and what's the exit strategy? Some people say, well, we can come out in 90 days. Speaking for myself, I think that is a rather dangerous situation to say we're going in just for 90 days, and then we're coming right back out. Yes, it would be advisable to do that, but that might just precipitate a timetable that cannot be met for the West African nations that have to send in their own forces. So, you have to put timetables aside. Bottom line, this senator is very concerned about the personal safety of any Americans who go into that situation now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, Warner is among the first government officials to publicly raise questions about whether it would be a good idea to send U. S. troops into Liberia, not only because of the dangers there in the warring factions there, but also because the U. S. Military is stretched so thin at this time.
Now, the President himself as a candidate raised questions about sending U. S. troops into areas like Liberia for nation building, as he called it, or peace keeping, but his aides are saying now that it is a different world now in a post-September 11 world. It is important, the President thinks, to be involved in areas that are chaotic because he believes they could be breeding grounds for terrorists. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much, Dana Bash.
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 6, 2003 - 10:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The leader of the war torn African nation is under intense international pressure to leave his post. President Charles Taylor discusses possible asylum with his Nigerian counterpart today. CNN's Brent Sadler is live from the capital of Monrovia at the airport, the place where the meeting between those two presidents will take place -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. Good morning. The Nigerian president is expected here any moment. If we look behind us now, as my cameraman goes off my right shoulder, you'll see something of a festival atmosphere. It's quite weird. Taking place behind us there is a military band in amongst the crowd there.
Several hundred people handpicked, of course, by the Liberian president Charles Taylor really to come here. Many of them are carrying slogans. You can't read them from this angle at the moment, but I was reading them a short time ago, and one of the main issues that they're raising is, drop the indictment against Mr. Taylor. That, of course, refers to the U. N. war crimes indictment that was issued against Mr. Taylor from neighboring Sierra Leone only last month.
That's going to be top of the agenda at these crucial face-to- face talks between the Liberian and Nigerian presidents. It will take place here at Monrovia's International Airport, such as it is in this war ravaged country because beyond the confines of the airport perimeter security, of course, cannot be guaranteed.
So, several hundred people here still waiting on the tarmac in the blistering heat hear for the Nigerian to come in and start these high-level talks. Mr. Taylor came in well in advance of the arrival of his counterpart from Abuja, and Mr. Taylor arriving in his own rather noisy motorcade about 45 minutes ago. We have video of that.
And Mr. Taylor, interestingly, dressed from head to toe in white. including his shoes. He spoke very briefly to reporters as he went into the VIP suite here and said quite simply, this is a good day, but we'll see how it turns out. The Nigerians are offering Mr. Taylor what's called "temporarily political asylum" to enable him to perhaps dodge that war crimes indictment if he were to leave office as Mr. Bush is continually saying he should do the sooner the better for the sake of Liberia's impoverished population.
And really, the pressure is mounting. International pressure is very much on Mr. Taylor right now. So, if the Nigerian leadership can broker a deal here today, that could pave the way for the arrival of an international peacekeeping or stabilization force possibly to include a contingent of U.S. forces.
Now, as that goes on the ground here in terms of this reception committee, we understand that U.S. assessors are gathering in Spain, a team expected to arrive possibly in Monrovia by the end of this day, a team of about 12 to 15, an assessment team, a preliminary gathering here. They come in probably by helicopters into the U.S. Embassy with an increased marine military escort. So, a lot happening on the ground here, but all eyes are on this top- level meeting that will take place here in this airport between the presidents of Nigeria and Liberia, really as this country's future hangs in the balance.
WHITFIELD: And, Brent, a lot going on just at that airport in Monrovia. With that U.S. assessment team likely to touch down later on today, might that coincide with this planned meeting between the presidents? Might it be a rather lengthy meeting at that airport?
SADLER: No. The assessment team will go into the embassy, we understand, and then start working out the various modalities of how that could kick off a joint verification team that would include representatives from the warring factions, West African states, U.S. participation, as well as United Nations involvement. If you can look at those signs, we won't go back to them live now, but some of those signs are talking about, let's have the U.S. and the United Nations help Liberia build a future.
So, a lot at stake here, but really, it's going to be the timing of Mr. Taylor's departure, what's on the ground that's really going to be crucial. No one wants to see a vacuum here in this country given its bloody history and the possibility that all this could still fall apart and that blood shed could again ensue.
WHITFIELD: All right. Brent Sadler in Monrovia at the airport there, thank you very much.
Well, President Bush is calling for Mr. Taylor to leave Liberia to allow for a restoration of peace there. The President has sent a U. S. assessment team, as we were explaining, on their way to Liberia. Right now they're in Spain according to our Brent saddler. They're expected to be in Liberia later on today.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash is following the developments from the White House. Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, the White House is no doubt following the two very important things that are happening on the ground that Brent was just describing. On the one hand, to find out whether or not Charles Taylor will leave the country immediately and what will happen after he meets with the Nigerian president.
And also, he is awaiting a report from the assessment team that Brent talked about, the 10 to 15 military and civilian officials that are heading to Monrovia to figure out, according to European command, what kind of humanitarian needs are on the ground and what kind of troop deployment would go to Liberia if necessary. Now, the President is waiting for all of those things to happen and waiting for reports back to make his final decision on whether or not to send U.S. troops. That is a decision he has not yet made.
Now, this morning the President spent his 57th birthday this morning going to church with the First Lady, attending services just up the street, and it is a day ahead of the President's first trip to the continent of Africa. Liberia will not be one of the countries that he is going to visit, but it will no doubt be on the minds of many of the leaders that he will meet with on the continent of Africa.
And this morning, the Senate chairman of the Armed Services Committee, a fellow Republican, John Warner, said that he spent a lot of time yesterday at the Pentagon assessing intelligence information about the situation on the ground in Liberia and said he was very concerned. He's concerned about any kind of danger that U. S. troops would be in no matter what capacity they went into Liberia in, and he also said that it's important for the U. S. Senate to have a vote before any decision is made to send troops because they need to have a part in whether or not it is in the U. S. national strategic interest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: Is it vital in our national security interest? What are the details of that mission, and what's the exit strategy? Some people say, well, we can come out in 90 days. Speaking for myself, I think that is a rather dangerous situation to say we're going in just for 90 days, and then we're coming right back out. Yes, it would be advisable to do that, but that might just precipitate a timetable that cannot be met for the West African nations that have to send in their own forces. So, you have to put timetables aside. Bottom line, this senator is very concerned about the personal safety of any Americans who go into that situation now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, Warner is among the first government officials to publicly raise questions about whether it would be a good idea to send U. S. troops into Liberia, not only because of the dangers there in the warring factions there, but also because the U. S. Military is stretched so thin at this time.
Now, the President himself as a candidate raised questions about sending U. S. troops into areas like Liberia for nation building, as he called it, or peace keeping, but his aides are saying now that it is a different world now in a post-September 11 world. It is important, the President thinks, to be involved in areas that are chaotic because he believes they could be breeding grounds for terrorists. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much, Dana Bash.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
