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US President George W. Bush said Monday that the United States is considering sending troops to Liberia but will only play a "limited" role in helping the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stabilize situation in the West African country.
"Any commitment we have would be limited in size and limited in tenure. Our job would be to help facilitate an ECOWAS presence, which would then be converted into a UN peacekeeping mission," Bush said when meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the White House.
He said the efforts to help ECOWAS, which said last week that it will send up to 1,500 troops to Monrovia, to enforce a ceasefire in Liberia "may require troops" but the United States does not know how many yet.
Bush said that US military experts sent to the region around Liberia are still exploring what is necessary from the United States to help maintain the ceasefire in the war-torn African country.
He stressed that any future deployment of US troops will be conditional on Liberian President Charles Taylor's departure.
Responding to a question from the press, Bush said he will make a final decision on troop deployment in Liberia "as soon as possible."
Annan, who arrived here Monday for a meeting with Bush, said he and Bush have agreed to a general approach on the Liberian issue.
"We have more or less agreed to a general approach on the Liberian issue, and I am very pleased with that," the UN chief said.
Under a plan outlined by Annan, President Taylor will leave Liberia after ECOWAS deploys troops to the country.
US forces will arrive to support the ECOWAS efforts and then leave, turning the operation into a UN peacekeeping mission.
"We would not be blue helmeted," Bush said. "We would be there to facilitate and then to leave."
In a related development, US officials said Monday that the United States has sent four aircraft and about 1,000 troops to Senegal and Sierra Leone to facilitate a quick exit if necessary for the US military experts who were sent to the region to assess possible US involvement in Liberia.
(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2003)
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