US President George W Bush warned in a speech in the Nigerian capital Abuja he would not allow extremists to use Africa as a base for attacks, and repeated a call for Liberian President Charles Taylor to quit. "We will not allow terrorists to threaten African people nor to use Africa as a base to threaten the rest of the world," the US leader said in his last speaking engagement of a five-nation tour of Africa.
| It's logical for the Islamists to relocate to Africa as they wear out their welcome in one place after another. There are certainly enough failed states to choose from... |
Mr Bush was also unequivocal on Mr Taylor, who has refused so far to make good on a promise to resign and accept a Nigerian offer of asylum. "Charles Taylor must step down," Mr Bush declared, promising to work with the United Nations and west African bloc ECOWAS to restore peace in Liberia, mired in almost incessant civil war since 1990. He said the US would be "active" in Liberia but added he had not yet decided whether to send American troops to a country where rebels have threatened to fight peacekeepers. "I told the President we'd be active," Mr Bush said. "The definition of that will be when we understand all the parameters." Mr Bush said he is waiting on reports from US military experts on the ground in the west African state to asses how best to bring stability after hundreds of civilians were killed last month in the latest chapter of nearly 14 years of war. |