Joint Task Force Liberia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Joint Task Force Liberia was a joint task force

Task force

A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...

formed from August to October 2003 in response to the crisis that developed during the Second Liberian Civil War

Second Liberian Civil War

The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy , emerged in northern Liberia. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, emerged in the south, and...

. The on-going civil war destabilized the area and created a large number of refugee

Refugee

A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

s as rebel forces closed in on Monrovia

Monrovia

Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...

and took over Bushrod Island

Bushrod Island

Bushrod Island is an island near Monrovia, Liberia surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Saint Paul River and the Mesurado River. It contains the Freeport of Monrovia, the major national port of Liberia and a variety of businesses. It also contains numerous residential areas and government buildings...

. As a result, the Freeport of Monrovia

Freeport of Monrovia

Freeport of Monrovia is the main commercial port facility in the West African nation of Liberia. The port was artificially created on Bushrod Island near Monrovia in 1948. The port facility contains four piers and one main wharf with four berths. The port also has tanker facilities and a fishery...

closed, causing food shortages.

As the crisis unfolded, U.S. Ambassador to Liberia John W. Blaney

John W. Blaney

John William Blaney is a United States State Department official and former U.S. Ambassador to Liberia. Prior to joining the U.S Foreign Service, Blaney served as an officer in the U.S. Army.As of 2010 Blaney is a senior advisor at Deloitte Consulting....

requested military assistance. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

Donald Rumsfeld

Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...

approved deployment of U.S. forces on July 20, 2003 and soon afterwards, the U.S. military

Military of the United States

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

established Joint Task Force Liberia.

Formation and deployment of the task force

In July, Marines from a forward deployed Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) left Naval Station Rota, Spain for Liberia. The FAST platoon reinforced the embassy security and began non-combatant evacuation operations

Non-combatant Evacuation Operation

A non-combatant evacuation operation or NEO is an operation conducted to evacuate civilians from another country, generally due to a deteriorating security situation.-United States:...

. After a month of the platoon of Marines being alone to defend the Embassy Compound, the 26th MEU, which had steamed at full speed for 2 weeks from the coast of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

finally arrived off shore.

Members of the Southern European Task Force formed the headquarters element of the task force while the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group

Amphibious Ready Group

An Amphibious Readiness Group of the United States Navy consists of a Navy element—a group of warships known as an amphibious task force —and a landing force of United States Marines , in total about 5,000 people. Together, these elements and supporting units are trained, organized, and equipped...

with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit

26th Marine Expeditionary Unit

The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. The MEU consists of four major parts: a command element,...

provided the operational forces. The Task Force Command Element Forward embarked aboard the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

USS Iwo Jima is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.Fabrication work for Iwo Jima began at Ingalls shipyard on 3 September 1996, and the ship's keel was laid on 12 December 1997. She was launched on 4 February 2000. USS Iwo Jima was christened by her sponsor, Mrs. Zandra Krulak, wife of General...

with the intent of keeping a small footprint ashore.
On August 14, 2003, the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group conducted an amphibious operation

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

and landed about 150 Marines at Roberts International Airport

Roberts International Airport

-Accidents and incidents:*On 5 March 1967: Varig flight 837, a Douglas DC-8-33 registration PP-PEA flying from Rome-Fiumicino to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão via Roberts International Airport, caught fire after a mistaken approach to Monrovia, missing the threshold of the runway by 6,023 ft...

and another 50 at the Freeport of Monrovia on Bushrod Island. Nigerian Army

Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army the largest of the Nigerian Armed Forces, has about 100,000 professional personnel. The original elements of the Royal West African Frontier Force in Nigeria were formed in 1900....

forces also deployed as part of an Economic Community of West African States

Economic Community of West African States

The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....

peacekeeping

Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....

force. The Joint Task Force Liberia and ECOWAS forces quickly stabilized the area and the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

brought in humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...

. President Charles Taylor left the country soon afterwards under pressure from the international community, and the stage was set for the arrival of first a ECOWAS interim peacekeeping force, ECOMIL, and then the UN peacekeeping force the United Nations Mission in Liberia

United Nations Mission in Liberia

The United Nations Mission in Liberia is a peace-keeping force established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War....

Formation and deployment of the task force

Further reading