Liberia leader offers to go
BBC:
Liberia President Charles Taylor says he will step down but only when an international peacekeeping force has been deployed.
His declaration was welcomed by the United States, which has urged Mr Taylor to leave the country for the sake of peace.
The White House is sending a team of military experts to assess whether deploying US troops will restore order to the war-torn country and has indicated it may be flexible about Mr Taylor's departure.
More...
UPDATE: Reuters reports that Nigeria has offered Taylor asylum there, and that he has accepted.
Posted by Venomous Kate at July 4, 2003 03:45 PM
Bad situation. Can't leave Taylor in control. No apparent successor.
Whoever ends up babysitting Liberia is in for a lot of fun and games. Reorganizing public safety venues, maintaining government infrastructure and all sorts of other goodies while they search for a more reasonable permanent leadership situation. Bands of militant rebels who undoubtedly have their own ideas as to who should run the country and how it should be run. Lots of heavily armed citizens with their own agendas and axes to grind.
Whooooo will be "elected" to babysit?
Will it be France? Germany? Russia? Two of these or all three? Will it be an equal mix of UN members?
Or will it be the usual crowd, with the customary lack of realistic support from the Big 3 of the EU, or the UN in general? Will events be shaped by interminable hot air exchanged at the UN, or the EU? Will it be a "quagmire"?
Tune in tomorrow for.... "Old Taylor, Straight Up".
