VOA News
03 Jul 2003, 20:18 UTC
President Bush says he is awaiting recommendations for possible U.S. intervention in Liberia.
In an interview with VOA Thursday at the White House, Mr. Bush said he expects to be presented with options over the next few days. U.S. officials have said they are considering a range of possibilities, including sending U.S. troops as part of a larger peacekeeping force.
Mr. Bush also said one of the conditions for peace in the West African nation is that President Charles Taylor must leave the country.
The president told VOA that Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.N. chief Kofi Annan have held meetings "to facilitate that kind of move." When asked how he would respond should Mr. Taylor refuse to step down, Mr. Bush said he would not take no for an answer.
President Taylor has so far refused to leave office. He is under indictment by a U.N.-backed court in neighboring Sierra Leone for war crimes, and has said there can be no peace in his country unless the indictment is lifted.
Washington is under growing international pressure to act in Liberia, where last week's upsurge in fighting has killed hundreds of civilians in the capital, Monrovia.
The Pentagon has contingency plans for Liberia ranging from taking no action to deploying anywhere from several hundred to two thousand U.S. soldiers as part of a larger multi-national peacekeeping force. West African nations have already pledged to send soldiers for the proposed operation.
President Bush also told VOA the United States has a moral obligation to help stabilize Liberia, given the unique relationship between the two nations. Liberia was founded in 1847 by freed American slaves.
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