Military

Testimony by

Theresa M. Whelan
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
International Security Affairs
Africa

Before the
House Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on Africa
October 2, 2003

DOD Policy toward Liberia

Mr. Chairman,

Thank you very much for this opportunity to discuss with you US policy toward Liberia and the Department of Defense (DOD) role.

Department of Defense Role in Liberia

The Defense Department’s activities in Liberia build upon our security cooperation programs, which are designed to develop allied and friendly military capabilities for self-defense and coalitions operations.  In early June, the Department of Defense deployed approximately 1,800 personnel offshore to assist, if needed, in securing the US Embassy and evacuating American and foreign nationals due to the threat posed by advancing rebels and undisciplined government forces.  Our forces withdrew on 17 June when the rebels halted their offensive and the security situation in the capital appeared to stabilize.

Subsequently, the President indicated his willingness to support the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in mediating peace talks and considering an ECOWAS peacekeeping force for Liberia once a cease-fire was in place and a peace agreement was signed.

The President offered US military support to this West African effort under certain conditions: the departure of Charles Taylor from office and from Liberia; a cease-fire between rebel groups and Liberian government forces; and the firm commitment by West African countries to provide leadership and the bulk of the troops for any peacekeeping effort.

Following the signing of the cease-fire on 17 June, ECOWAS agreed to deploy an interim peacekeeping force into Liberia known as ECOMIL – The ECOWAS Military Mission to Liberia.  ECOWAS requested US and international donor support for funding, logistics, and a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to back up an ECOMIL force that would number roughly 3,600.

At that point the President tasked DOD to provide liaison assistance to ECOMIL to facilitate its deployment to Liberia, and to provide the quick reaction force to back up ECOMIL.  This became the primary mission of the 26^th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).

The US mission has been to assist ECOMIL to mitigate the humanitarian situation and to help set the conditions for transition to a UN stability force as soon as possible.  The plan was for the US mission to end once the UN established its mission in Liberia, which occurred yesterday, setting the groundwork for US troop withdrawls.

We knew from our previous cooperation with ECOWAS in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast that it could field a credible force for the Liberia mission with targeted assistance from other countries.  Many of its member states have been trained and equipped through our military cooperation programs such as Operation FOCUS RELIEF (OFR) and the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI).  We also knew that this force would need to rely totally on donor assistance for funding and logistical support to include tactical and strategic airlift.

The Department of State (DOS) addressed this weakness through the use of peace-keeping operations funds to establish a US commercial contract logistics task force.

Specific DOD Support

In the last 90 days DOD has provided the following forces in support of US policy in Liberia:

·       A 50-person Fleet Antiterrorist Support Team (FAST) from Rota, Spain deployed in August to secure the US Embassy.

·       An 18-person Humanitarian Assistance Survey Team (HAST) deployed from Stuttgart, Germany to assess the humanitarian situation in Monrovia and to look at the condition of the airport, seaport, and road and bridge systems.

·       A 5-person Forward Surgical Team (FST) deployed from Stuttgart, Germany to support the deployed DOD forces and US Embassy with medical care.

·       Three-to-four person Liaison and Facilitation Teams (LAFT) deployed to 8 Troop Contributing Countries throughout ECOWAS and to the ECOMIL Headquarters in Monrovia and the peace talks in Accra, Ghana.  The teams assisted ECOMIL in its deployments and in developing equipment requirements for the Troop Contributing Countries.

·       The USS IWO JIMA Amphibious Readiness Group with the 2,100 person 26^th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived off the Liberian coast on 13 August.  Elements moved ashore for temporary assignments, such as supporting ECOMIL forces when they moved to secure the seaport.  US Navy specialists conducted assessments of the seaport to evaluate its capability.  Throughout, the quick-reaction force has routinely conducted presence and demonstration overflights with its helicopters and aircraft.

US European Command (EUCOM) used elements of its Southern European Task Force (SETAF) to provide a 40-person Joint Task Force Headquarters to conduct planning and liaison with ECOMIL.

DOD has agreed to provide personnel to the UN mission to Liberia (UNMIL).

The total number of DOD personnel deployed to support this effort reached almost 5,000 at its peak.  Forces remaining in Liberia now number less than 100 and will continue to reduce this month.

DOD Long Term Policies Supported

As noted earlier, DOD’s Liberia support mission builds upon DOD’s security cooperation programs that develop allied and friendly military capabilities for self-defense and coalition operations and, in Africa in particular, create a capability for peace-keeping operations and enhance regional stability and security.

We have seen in Liberia some evidence that our programs work to support the above goals.  Specifically, ECOMIL has Operation FOCUS RELIEF-trained and –equipped forces as well as African Crisis Response Initiative-trained and –equipped individuals.  Also, the African Contingency Operation Training and Assistance program (ACOTA), a new program created based on lessons learned from Operation Focus Relief and the African Crisis Response Initiative was useful in pre-deployment training for the Ghanaians.  ECOMIL is also leavened with officers who are former International Military Exchange Training (IMET) students.  Finally, US programs complement similar programs with our allies, notably the UK, France, and Portugal in this regard.

In conclusion, we have seen our Africa security cooperation efforts bear fruit in this combined US/ECOWAS endeavor in Liberia.  There is far more work to be done.  UN peacekeepers are critical to short-term success in Liberia and continued US leadership in training programs will continue to pay dividends in regional stability.