06 August 2003
U.S. Sends Small Group of Marines Into Liberia
White House Report, August 6: Liberia, U.S.-Israel, Powell/Armitage
The United States sent a small team of U.S. Marines into Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, August 6 to help West African peacekeepers with their plans to bring humanitarian relief to that troubled nation.
News reports say seven U.S. Marines landed in Monrovia by helicopter from U.S. Navy ships off the coast of Liberia.
President Bush, talking with reporters in Crawford, Texas, said, "This is all part of determining what is necessary to help ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) ... to go in and provide the conditions necessary for humanitarian relief to arrive, whether it be by sea or by air. And it's part of what we said we would do."
Bush reiterated that the U.S. still expects Liberian President Charles Taylor to leave Liberia.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, who joined Bush in answering questions, said, "We still expect President Taylor to leave."
Nigerian troops landed August 4 in Monrovia to begin a peace process in the country.
"I'm pleased at what ECOWAS has been able to do," said Powell. "The Nigerians showed up in good order, more forces are arriving, and they're starting to establish a sense of security and, I think, put hope back in the hearts of the Liberian people, and we want to support them and assist them, as the president said."
BUSH CITES PROGRESS IN U.S.-ISRAEL TALKS ON SECURITY FENCE
The U.S. and Israel are making progress in discussions about the security fence Israel is constructing in the West Bank, Bush said.
"We're talking to Israel about all aspects of the fence," he said. "I made it clear I thought the fence was a problem, and so we're talking with them and we'll continue to work on this issue, as well as other issues."
"I do believe we're making progress," he said.
Bush said that the key to peace in the Middle East is for Israel and the Palestinian Authority each to "assume their necessary obligations and responsibilities, to create the conditions so that people have confidence, that people know that their lives will be safe and that prosperity can break out."
REPORT OF DEPARTURE IS SPECULATION, POWELL SAYS
Asked about an August 4 report in the Washington Post that Powell and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage have told the White House they will not serve in a second Bush administration, Powell said, "I serve at the pleasure of the president, and this is all August speculation with no basis in fact."
"Washington, particularly in August, is a dangerous period -- a dangerous time, because there's a lot of speculation," Bush said.
Powell and Armitage, who were at Bush's Texas ranch for an August 5-6 working visit, have been in discussions with the president about the intention and obligation of the United States, as a prosperous and strong nation, "to promote peace and freedom" and "to help the less fortunate," said Bush.
"And the fact that he [Powell] is here in Crawford, Texas, talking about issues of importance, should say loud and clear to the American people that he's completely engaged in doing what he needs to do, and that is, serve as a great secretary of State," the president said.
Powell added, "There was no basis for this story to begin with, and we're doing our jobs together."
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=August&x=20030806161020ifas0.9427912&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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