IT'S ALL ABOUT THE IVORY:

U.S. Troops On the Way to Ivory Coast: American Children Holed Up in Boarding School (Clar Ni Chonghaile, September 24, 2002, Associated Press)

The United States dispatched troops to safeguard 100 American schoolchildren trapped in a cut-off, rebel-held Ivory Coast city, a U.S. official said Tuesday after heavy gunfire sounded overnight there and the West African nation's army claimed to have entered the city.

"At the request of the U.S. ambassador to the Ivory Coast, the U.S. European Command is moving forces to assure the safety of American citizens," Lt. Cmdr. Don Sewell, a Pentagon spokesman, said in Washington.

This is what happens when the American democracy is stolen by a clique of ivory industry robber barons. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 25, 2002 8:15 AM