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The White House has urged Liberian President Charles Taylor to act on his promise to step down.

Spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters Friday that Mr. Taylor's words are encouraging, but that President Bush calls on the Liberian leader to back up his words with deeds in the interest of peace. Mr. Fleischer also announced that the United States is sending a team of military experts to Liberia to assess what is needed to bring stability to the West African nation.

The team will work with regional leaders and U.N. officials to help the Bush administration decide whether to send troops. Mr. Fleischer also said a final decision on U.S. intervention in Liberia has not yet been made. The comments came shortly after President Taylor said he will resign, but only after the deployment of an international peacekeeping force. Mr. Taylor welcomed the idea of U.S. troops, but said they are needed before he leaves office to prevent the possibility of chaos.

Heavily armed rebels are camped on the edges of the capital, pushed back after their assault assault on Monrovia last week. More than 500 civilians were killed in fighting between rebels and government soldiers, and thousands of others displaced. The Bush administration is weighing possible U.S. intervention in Liberia, including sending U.S. troops as part of a larger peacekeeping operation. But Mr. Bush has said Mr. Taylor's resignation is the key to bringing peace to Liberia. Also Friday, defense ministers of the West African regional body, ECOWAS, agreed to send 3,000 troops of a 5,000 strong intervention force to help stabilize Liberia. The remaining 2,000 troops are expected to come from other nations, including Morocco, South Africa and, possibly, the United States.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.