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East/Subsaharan Africa | |
Bush: Taylor has to go | |
2003-07-06 | |
EFL President Bush says he will not accept any outcome that allows Liberian President Charles Taylor, a one-time warlord wanted on war crimes charges, to remain in power in his embattled country. African leaders have asked Bush to decide whether to send American troops to help bring stability to Liberia before he departs Monday for his trip to the continent. The White House said Bush did not feel bound by the deadline. In the region, negotiations continued to persuade Taylor to relinquish power, as Bush and a growing number of world leaders are demanding.
Doesn't sound like we'll have an announcement on Monday. Bush said in a television interview that information from separate meetings between U.S. officials and the 15-country Economic Community of West African States also would be crucial to his decision. That bloc said Friday it would contribute 3,000 troops. "That's very important information for me, the decision-maker on this issue, to understand what the recommendations might be," Bush said in an interview with the Voice of America, conducted Thursday and aired Saturday. Bush leaves Monday for a five-day African trip, which includes a meeting with Obasanjo next Saturday during his stay in Nigeria. Bush won't visit Liberia, but his first stop is in nearby Senegal. In the Voice of America interview, Bush stressed - again - that Taylor must abandon the presidency and said "I suspect he will" eventually agree to do so. I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer," he said. Time's up, Chuckles, you're outta there! Meanwhile, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson added his voice to the many in the region, in Europe and at the United Nations pleading for American military intervention. He said Washington has an obligation to the country founded by freed American slaves, and the need for U.S. involvement in Liberia is more clear-cut than in past situations in other African countries, such as Somalia. "Both parties, both the rebels and the Taylor forces, are inviting us in. That's different from an occupying relationship," said Jackson, who served President Clinton as a special envoy to Africa. You're not serving now, Jesse, so sit down! | |
Posted by:Steve White |