US general sees long-term positive gains from intervention in Liberia

[thedrifter]

US general sees long-term positive gains from intervention in Liberia


By ROBERT BURNS
The Associated Press
9/2/03 1:43 PM


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Peacekeeping in Liberia, led by West African troops and supported by a relatively small U.S. force, is likely to have a lasting, positive impact on the region, a senior U.S. general said Tuesday.

"It's going to ... put some stability in that region that they haven't seen for years," including the troubled neighboring nations of Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, said Air Force Gen. Charles F. Wald, the deputy commander of U.S. European Command. His command is responsible for U.S. military operations in West Africa, including a three-ship naval force off Liberia's coast.

Wald said it is uncertain when the U.S. force, which includes about 2,200 Marines aboard the ships, will depart the area. The Marines arrived off the Liberian coast in early August to help coordinate the peacekeeping efforts of Nigerian troops. There also are about 150 U.S. troops ashore in Liberia, including dozens of extra Marines providing security at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, according to figures provided by the Pentagon.

President Bush said about two weeks ago, "We'll be out of there by October the 1st," to be replaced by U.N. troops that are scheduled to take over the peacekeeping mission on that date. It is not clear, however, how long the Marines aboard the three ships will remain in the area, officials say.

"There is speculation they could come home in a few weeks," Wald said, referring to the three-ship Amphibious Ready Group whose combat force, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is based in North Carolina. He added that no final decisions have been made.

Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the timing of the ships' departure will depend on the security situation on the ground in Liberia.

The United Nations is scheduled to take over the peacekeeping operation Oct. 1, although some question whether the world body will have troops ready by then. Wald said that the U.N. force would not be fully operational until at least Nov. 1. He said the force would have between 10,000 and 14,000 U.N.-commanded troops.

The peacekeeping effort in Liberia has been led by troops from countries of the Economic Community of West African States. They currently number about 1,500 Nigerians and about 250 each from Senegal and Mali. Wald said Ghana also has agreed to commit troops to the African contingent.

The experience has gone so well that it may serve as a model for future African peacekeeping, he said.

"I think next time they'll be willing to do it themselves," with no American troop involvement, he said.

Wald also said the U.S. military is considering areas in Africa that can be used as U.S. "forward operating locations," available for use by U.S. troops in a crisis. He cited as an example the small equator-straddling island of Sao Tome, in the Gulf of Guinea, west of Gabon.

http://www.nj.com/newsflash/washingt..._BC_US-Liberia

Sempers,

Roger