** Visit AAM's new website! http://www.africanassociation.org **

The saga and the marathon discussion on the Liberian War
and the call on America to intervene really fascinates me.

Do we really need to persuade America to come to Liberia to
stop this war?? I am yet to learn where America has been
persuaded to join the UN for any peace keeping operation
anywhere in the world.

America will only do so not on humanitarian grounds but
only under political expediency of which socio-economic
factors play very important role. When there is an interest
for America, it will initiates the process and then coerce
the UN or other countries for support.

Lets support and commend the efforts of ECOWAS for the hard
work in stopping the carnage being perpertuated by those
bunch of irresposible rascals calling themeselves rebels.
Unfortunately those who mastermind these rebel groups live
outside of Liberia leaving poor innocent youth to waste
their lifes.

Now I want somebody to educate me on this issue of Liberia
being created or founded by freed slaves from America. How
is a country created or founded. Was there any war of
colonization or were these settlers, on humanitarian
grounds, given a place to call home after their long
journey from the so called New World???????


Have a wonderful weekend.


Joe


On Fri, 1 Aug 2003 12:49:34 -0400
 "Wilmot B. Valhmu" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> ** Visit AAM's new website!
> http://www.africanassociation.org **
>
> To those not already waried by news of the Liberian
> conflict, please read on.  The following OP-ED article by
> Chester Crocker was taken from the New York Times
> (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/01/opinion/01CROC.html).
>
> - Wilmot
>
> *****************************************
>
> August 1, 2003
>
> A War America Can Afford to Stop
>
> By CHESTER A. CROCKER
>
>
> WASHINGTON
>
> The news that peacekeeping troops from Nigeria and other
> West African countries will head into Liberia next week
> and that Charles Taylor, the country's thuggish ruler,
> may
> go into exile at that time is to be cheered. But it
> should
> not become an excuse for the United States to delay or
> decide against sending ashore its own forces to ensure
> Liberia's return to security and political stability.
>
> Liberia is not just another African country. It is an
> American creation, founded by former slaves 150 years
> ago,
> reflecting our image and legacy. American leaders have
> been ducking the Liberia challenge since Mr. Taylor
> launched his rebellion in 1989. But President Bush (in
> word if not yet in deed) appears anxious to break with
> tradition. Nonetheless, a fierce debate continues within
> his administration, hampering America's capacity to lead
> and to bring relief to Liberia's suffering people.
>
> Skeptics make a number of arguments. They argue that,
> with
> plenty of work ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, America's
> military is severely stretched and that another
> commitment
> of scarce combat units is the last thing it needs. Some
> fret about the possibility of getting sucked into a
> morass
> and make allusions to Somalia and the hideous imagery of
> "Black Hawk Down."
>
> In addition, these doubters, hoping to avoid action, have
> knowingly set the bar of conditions for American
> deployment too high — insisting not only that West
> African
> forces precede us and that Mr. Taylor depart, but also
> that a stable cease-fire be in place among the Taylor
> loyalists and the two major rebel groups.
>
> But their main criticism has been that Africa simply
> doesn't matter — that it is not, as candidate Bush put it
> in 2000, part of America's "national strategic interest."
> In other words, let the other Africans and the
> postcolonial Europeans deal with it — even in a nation
> whose capital, currency, flag and political structure all
> bear an American imprint.
>
> Some of these arguments make more sense than others. Yes,
> American forces are stretched — but if they are too
> stretched to spare the few thousand marines President
> Bush
> has already put on ships headed to West Africa, then the
> time has come for a major reassessment of America's
> readiness for global leadership. If we worry about being
> able to keep the peace in Liberia for a few months, we
> should worry even more about the conclusions being drawn
> from this uncertainty by our rivals and allies alike —
> particularly the Chinese, the North and South Koreans and
> the Japanese.
>
> As for the Somalia analogy, it is simply a red herring.
> Liberians are not warlord-controlled Somalis — they are
> not spoiling for a fight, especially with the country
> they
> have always looked to for partnership and even salvation.
> For a better comparison, consider what happened in
> neighboring Sierra Leone in 2000. Prime Minister Tony
> Blair of Britain showed how 1,200 well-trained combat
> troops, through a skilled, time-limited intervention,
> could resuscitate a floundering United Nations operation
> and bring political stability.
>
> Most important, the Liberia crisis does, in fact, affect
> significant United States interests. Our efforts would
> restore order not just in Liberia but throughout a
> troubled region whose stability affects American
> interests
> in combating terrorism and promoting good governance.
> Liberia is a specific example of the broader challenge
> posed by failed states everywhere, which we are (slowly)
> grasping are the incubators of almost every hostile
> challenge to American interests and values around the
> globe. And if Washington wants other countries to help in
> sharing security burdens that fall on its shoulders in
> the
> future, it is essential that it play a lead role in
> Liberia today. Finally, this is about stopping,
> relatively
> quickly, a humanitarian disaster at reasonable cost.
>
> In some ways, the intervention has, in effect, already
> begun. The American ambassador to the United Nations,
> John
> Negroponte, is working on a resolution to give the
> organization's authorization to the peacekeeping forces
> of
> the Economic Community of West African States and any
> other members of a coalition of the willing. This
> resolution would also call for a follow-on, blue-helmeted
> United Nations peace operation to shepherd the country
> through reconstruction and political transition.
>
> In addition, the American 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
> will be in position to act within a few days. America has
> committed $10 million for military logistics and support
> to the African countries' initative. A seasoned American
> diplomat and former Air Force major general, Jacques
> Klein, has been tapped by the United Nations secretary
> general, Kofi Annan, to run its Liberia transition
> effort.
> American interests are represented by a gutsy,
> experienced
> ambassador, John Blaney, who has put the heat on Liberian
> factions to rein in their gunmen and kept the American
> flag flying in Monrovia, the capital, despite pressures
> from some in Washington to take it down and look away.
>
> President Bush needs to recognize that the African
> nations' decision to send in troops is our chance to act
> —
> that making our role contingent on verified cease-fires
> or
> on Mr. Taylor's confirmed departure would risk losing the
> momentum gained this week and only encourage mischief
> among the leaders of Liberia's armed factions, whose
> control of their own forces is uncertain.
>
> Liberians, at this point, are not capable of finding
> their
> own way back to peace. They want American troops — not
> just African neighbors — on the ground to ensure
> even-handedness. A self-confident American administration
> should not hesitate to have its forces deploy alongside
> African troops to ensure that Liberia's 14-year nightmare
> will finally end.
>
>
> Chester A. Crocker, professor of strategic studies at
> Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, was
> assistant secretary of state for African affairs from
> 1981
> to 89.
>
>
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