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CNN Live Sunday

Interview With James Butty

Aired July 13, 2003 - 16:14   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.


RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN ANCHOR: Despite his vow to step down Liberia's president is still in power. U.S. military advisers are gauging the security concerns in Liberia. Their findings could determine if American troops are sent there. James Butty is the Washington correspondent for "West Africa". He joins us with some insights on what troops are likely to encounter. It's good to talk to you this afternoon.
JAMES BUTTY, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT FOR "WEST AFRICA" MAGAZINE: My pleasure.

SCHAFFLER: Let's talk a little bit first about Charles Taylor. Is he going to leave, and if so, when?

BUTTY: Well, he said he would leave. He said that on June 17 at the peace talks in Ghana. And the West African community took him for his word. Although many people believe that they should not have taken him for his word, because out of 14 agreements signed since 1989, when the war started in Liberia, Mr. Taylor have been found to have violated all those agreements. So many people feel they shouldn't have taken him for his word.

What is kind of interesting here is that President Bush said to Charles Taylor that he must leave. As you know, President Taylor has been indicted before the special court in Sierra Leone for war crimes. President Taylor is setting conditions for his departure. And while he's doing that, the whole process going on in Ghana where there are peace talks going on are on hold now because they have to put together an interim government that will take President Taylor's place if and when he leaves.

People are saying, would we have gone to war -- what happened if Saddam Hussein had said, okay, United States, you want to come overthrow me, but please wait until the Iraqis finish their harvest, then I'll be willing to leave. We would not have taken that, or President Bush would not have accepted that. So people are saying President Bush should not -- or the West African community, should not accept President Taylor setting the conditions for his own departure.

SCHAFFLER: What sort of pressure do you think the Bush administration is under at the moment?

BUTTY: What I said on the same program when I was on a couple weeks ago, I said, the United States must be willing to put its military and finance where President Bush put his mouth, that is, saying that President Taylor must leave. You must be willing, as President Carter said there, that we must, the United States must be willing to send the peacekeeping force to join the West African peacekeepers who already have been identified.

The problem is the West Africans are willing to do the job. They have been in Liberia before since 1990 and they were there under the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of peacekeeping. Their problem was they did not have the logistics, the communication. So everyone is saying this time, if the United States joins these West African peacekeepers, that will help to strengthen them for them to do a better job this time around.

SCHAFFLER: Would the Liberians welcome a U.S. presence at this point?

BUTTY: Of course. You saw it just last week when the special mission, the U.S. special experts who were sent to Liberia ahead of this whole process went to Liberia. Liberians were dancing in the streets, welcoming them. The problem is, as we see, as long as President Taylor is in power, everybody is going to wait to see what is going to happen.

You don't want to jump in the streets demonstrating, then in the end the process breaks down. What I see is the process breaking down the more time the international community waits to send in the troops. The peace process, which has been worked on in Accra, Ghana, may collapse, and once it collapse -- there are a lot of people would like for it to collapse so that President Taylor stays in power and the process continue.

SCHAFFLER: James Butty, "West Africa" magazine. No doubt we'll be talking to you again. Thanks for joining us this afternoon as well.

BUTTY: My pleasure.

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 13, 2003 - 16:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN ANCHOR: Despite his vow to step down Liberia's president is still in power. U.S. military advisers are gauging the security concerns in Liberia. Their findings could determine if American troops are sent there. James Butty is the Washington correspondent for "West Africa". He joins us with some insights on what troops are likely to encounter. It's good to talk to you this afternoon.
JAMES BUTTY, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT FOR "WEST AFRICA" MAGAZINE: My pleasure.

SCHAFFLER: Let's talk a little bit first about Charles Taylor. Is he going to leave, and if so, when?

BUTTY: Well, he said he would leave. He said that on June 17 at the peace talks in Ghana. And the West African community took him for his word. Although many people believe that they should not have taken him for his word, because out of 14 agreements signed since 1989, when the war started in Liberia, Mr. Taylor have been found to have violated all those agreements. So many people feel they shouldn't have taken him for his word.

What is kind of interesting here is that President Bush said to Charles Taylor that he must leave. As you know, President Taylor has been indicted before the special court in Sierra Leone for war crimes. President Taylor is setting conditions for his departure. And while he's doing that, the whole process going on in Ghana where there are peace talks going on are on hold now because they have to put together an interim government that will take President Taylor's place if and when he leaves.

People are saying, would we have gone to war -- what happened if Saddam Hussein had said, okay, United States, you want to come overthrow me, but please wait until the Iraqis finish their harvest, then I'll be willing to leave. We would not have taken that, or President Bush would not have accepted that. So people are saying President Bush should not -- or the West African community, should not accept President Taylor setting the conditions for his own departure.

SCHAFFLER: What sort of pressure do you think the Bush administration is under at the moment?

BUTTY: What I said on the same program when I was on a couple weeks ago, I said, the United States must be willing to put its military and finance where President Bush put his mouth, that is, saying that President Taylor must leave. You must be willing, as President Carter said there, that we must, the United States must be willing to send the peacekeeping force to join the West African peacekeepers who already have been identified.

The problem is the West Africans are willing to do the job. They have been in Liberia before since 1990 and they were there under the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of peacekeeping. Their problem was they did not have the logistics, the communication. So everyone is saying this time, if the United States joins these West African peacekeepers, that will help to strengthen them for them to do a better job this time around.

SCHAFFLER: Would the Liberians welcome a U.S. presence at this point?

BUTTY: Of course. You saw it just last week when the special mission, the U.S. special experts who were sent to Liberia ahead of this whole process went to Liberia. Liberians were dancing in the streets, welcoming them. The problem is, as we see, as long as President Taylor is in power, everybody is going to wait to see what is going to happen.

You don't want to jump in the streets demonstrating, then in the end the process breaks down. What I see is the process breaking down the more time the international community waits to send in the troops. The peace process, which has been worked on in Accra, Ghana, may collapse, and once it collapse -- there are a lot of people would like for it to collapse so that President Taylor stays in power and the process continue.

SCHAFFLER: James Butty, "West Africa" magazine. No doubt we'll be talking to you again. Thanks for joining us this afternoon as well.

BUTTY: My pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com