US stalls commitment on Liberia peace role

THE Bush administration yesterday struggled with the question of whether it should send peacekeepers to Liberia, an idea opposed by a US military already stretched thin with other commitments around the world.

Defence Secretary Donald H Rumsfeld attended a White House meeting yesterday morning on the issue after the National Security Council failed to agree on a course of action the day before, officials said.

Rumsfeld is opposed to international proposals that the US send 2,000 troops to head a force of 3,000 peacekeepers in the West African nation.