Pentagon May Send 200 Troops to Liberia

[Emboldened Chimp]

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Filed at 3:18 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some 200 American troops could move ashore in Liberia if rebels fighting there abandon the country's port, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

The U.S. forces would include elements to serve as liaison to African peacekeepers, Navy SEALS to make sure the waterway is secured and engineers to assess the port for delivery of humanitarian aid.

The force would be the largest committed so far in more than two months of debate in the Bush administration over how to help the wartorn West African nation.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-US-Liberia.html