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Who is next? They are dropping like flys! Soon we will rule the world! Muhhhaaaaa!
It sounds like Chirac will be next!
MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- Liberian President Charles Taylor said Friday he will step down once international peacekeeping troops are in his war-torn country.
"Before I transit, I think it is important that peacekeepers be present," he told a meeting of Liberian clerics.
Later, he told CNN that if he leaves immediately the country will erupt in even greater chaos and anarchy. Peacekeepers are needed to establish law and order, he said.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Taylor's vow to leave is "encouraging if true. It's important he act on it."
Taylor has said previously that he would step down when certain conditions are in place.
Fleischer said U.S. President George W. Bush "urges Taylor to back up his encouraging words with deeds so that the stability of the region can be achieved, so that peace can be effective, so that the lives of the Liberian people and the region can be improved."
Bush is sending a military assessment team to the region to work with Liberia's west African neighbors and U.N. officials to determine "what is needed to establish stability," Fleischer said.
The team, composed of about a dozen people, will leave for Liberia from Europe within the next two days as soon as air transport can be arranged, a military official said.
Bush has not determined whether U.S. troops will be sent to the region to lead a peacekeeping force, Fleischer said.
A decision had been expected by the time Bush leaves on a trip to Africa next week, which does not include a stop in Liberia -- but Fleischer said Friday the president would not be held to a deadline.
Fleischer did not say whether Taylor's departure would be a precondition for sending troops.
If Taylor's pledge is true, Fleischer said, "the exact timing will be something that develops in due course."
He added, "Stability is important, but stability may be impossible to achieve unless Mr. Taylor leaves."
In an interview Thursday with CNN's Inside Africa, Bush would not say whether U.S. troops would forcibly depose Taylor.
"I'm convinced he will listen and make the decision -- the right decision -- if he cares about his country," Bush said.
Liberian cabinet minister Samuel P. Jackson, a close adviser to Taylor, told CNN that Taylor has long said he would step down once the proper conditions are in place.
The conditions, he said, include the presence of a peacekeeping force.
"This has to be an orderly transition -- not a surrender by a legitimate government to some rebel organization," he said.
Liberian rebels seeking what they call a return to democracy in the country take a very different view.
"Mr. Taylor is a fugitive from law," said Kabineh J'anneh, spokesman for Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the main rebel group.
Taylor seized power in a 1989 rebellion and won a 1997 special election which opponents said was tainted by intimidation tactics.
The country was engaged in a seven-year civil war in which more than 200,000 people died before shaky peace deal was agreed in 1996.
For the past three years, LURD rebels have been attacking government forces in an attempt to oust Taylor.
Fighting has continued in recent days despite a June 17 cease-fire agreement.
"We are fully prepared to negotiate a settlement," said J'anneh. "That is why we are here at these peace talks."
Hundreds of Liberians demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia Thursday, calling for Taylor to step down "for the sake of peace."
Jackson warned that if Taylor is ousted in a rush, even more chaos will erupt and "there will be a Rwanda-style genocide in Liberia."
Human rights groups accuse Taylor of masterminding conflicts throughout the region. A U.N. court indicted him on war crimes charges for allegedly arming and training rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in exchange for diamonds.
An estimated 50,000 people died in Sierra Leone during a 10-year civil war marked by brutal tactics.
Taylor has demanded assurances he would not have to face the charges in exchange for stepping down. U.S. and U.N. officials have not said whether they would offer such a deal.
Nigeria has tentatively offered Taylor asylum, which he initially rejected. He told CNN he thinks of it as a "soft landing" and will be continuing discussions with Nigerian officials.
White House officials have said proposals under consideration for military intervention range from a force of 500 to about 1,000. The U.S. troops would lead a peacekeeping force composed largely of troops from Liberia's west African neighbors.
The Pentagon has ordered the U.S. European Command to prepare a list of various military options and recommend a course of action.
U.S. officials said the United States has an interest in securing peace in the beleaguered country. Liberia was founded by freed U.S. slaves in 1822 and has what Bush called "special ties" to the United States.
U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice also said that since the September 11 attacks, the United States has been wary of permitting "conditions of failed states to create conditions in which there's so much instability that you begin to see greater sources of terrorism."
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/04/liberia.us/index.html
It sounds like Chirac will be next!
MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- Liberian President Charles Taylor said Friday he will step down once international peacekeeping troops are in his war-torn country.
"Before I transit, I think it is important that peacekeepers be present," he told a meeting of Liberian clerics.
Later, he told CNN that if he leaves immediately the country will erupt in even greater chaos and anarchy. Peacekeepers are needed to establish law and order, he said.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Taylor's vow to leave is "encouraging if true. It's important he act on it."
Taylor has said previously that he would step down when certain conditions are in place.
Fleischer said U.S. President George W. Bush "urges Taylor to back up his encouraging words with deeds so that the stability of the region can be achieved, so that peace can be effective, so that the lives of the Liberian people and the region can be improved."
Bush is sending a military assessment team to the region to work with Liberia's west African neighbors and U.N. officials to determine "what is needed to establish stability," Fleischer said.
The team, composed of about a dozen people, will leave for Liberia from Europe within the next two days as soon as air transport can be arranged, a military official said.
Bush has not determined whether U.S. troops will be sent to the region to lead a peacekeeping force, Fleischer said.
A decision had been expected by the time Bush leaves on a trip to Africa next week, which does not include a stop in Liberia -- but Fleischer said Friday the president would not be held to a deadline.
Fleischer did not say whether Taylor's departure would be a precondition for sending troops.
If Taylor's pledge is true, Fleischer said, "the exact timing will be something that develops in due course."
He added, "Stability is important, but stability may be impossible to achieve unless Mr. Taylor leaves."
In an interview Thursday with CNN's Inside Africa, Bush would not say whether U.S. troops would forcibly depose Taylor.
"I'm convinced he will listen and make the decision -- the right decision -- if he cares about his country," Bush said.
Liberian cabinet minister Samuel P. Jackson, a close adviser to Taylor, told CNN that Taylor has long said he would step down once the proper conditions are in place.
The conditions, he said, include the presence of a peacekeeping force.
"This has to be an orderly transition -- not a surrender by a legitimate government to some rebel organization," he said.
Liberian rebels seeking what they call a return to democracy in the country take a very different view.
"Mr. Taylor is a fugitive from law," said Kabineh J'anneh, spokesman for Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the main rebel group.
Taylor seized power in a 1989 rebellion and won a 1997 special election which opponents said was tainted by intimidation tactics.
The country was engaged in a seven-year civil war in which more than 200,000 people died before shaky peace deal was agreed in 1996.
For the past three years, LURD rebels have been attacking government forces in an attempt to oust Taylor.
Fighting has continued in recent days despite a June 17 cease-fire agreement.
"We are fully prepared to negotiate a settlement," said J'anneh. "That is why we are here at these peace talks."
Hundreds of Liberians demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia Thursday, calling for Taylor to step down "for the sake of peace."
Jackson warned that if Taylor is ousted in a rush, even more chaos will erupt and "there will be a Rwanda-style genocide in Liberia."
Human rights groups accuse Taylor of masterminding conflicts throughout the region. A U.N. court indicted him on war crimes charges for allegedly arming and training rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in exchange for diamonds.
An estimated 50,000 people died in Sierra Leone during a 10-year civil war marked by brutal tactics.
Taylor has demanded assurances he would not have to face the charges in exchange for stepping down. U.S. and U.N. officials have not said whether they would offer such a deal.
Nigeria has tentatively offered Taylor asylum, which he initially rejected. He told CNN he thinks of it as a "soft landing" and will be continuing discussions with Nigerian officials.
White House officials have said proposals under consideration for military intervention range from a force of 500 to about 1,000. The U.S. troops would lead a peacekeeping force composed largely of troops from Liberia's west African neighbors.
The Pentagon has ordered the U.S. European Command to prepare a list of various military options and recommend a course of action.
U.S. officials said the United States has an interest in securing peace in the beleaguered country. Liberia was founded by freed U.S. slaves in 1822 and has what Bush called "special ties" to the United States.
U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice also said that since the September 11 attacks, the United States has been wary of permitting "conditions of failed states to create conditions in which there's so much instability that you begin to see greater sources of terrorism."
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/04/liberia.us/index.html
