Intervention in Liberia

Under pressure from the U.S., Liberian president Charles Taylor departed into exile in Nigeria yesterday, opening the country up to relief efforts by the "international community". (Click here to see the A.P. news report). Gandi figures the U.S. judged well to bring troops offshore without actually getting them involved. Here's a quote from an editorial on the subject:

No one can look at the suffering in Liberia without wanting to do something, and we're not against such a humanitarian intervention in principle. But especially with Africans making progress on the ground, no one we've seen has offered a proposal for what American troops are supposed to do once they got there. Beyond enforcing an immediate cease-fire, which unsavory side in the conflict are we supposed to favor? The danger is that U.S. troops could get sucked in for a long stay or suffer casualties with no clear purpose.

This post was guest authored by Gandhi.