Bush stressed the US task force would play a supportive role for the deployment of African peacekeepers.

"Today, I did order for our military, in limited numbers, to head into the area to help prepare for ECOWAS' (the Economic Community of West African States) arrival to relieve human suffering," Bush said during a White House press conference.

"US troops will be there to help ECOWAS go in and serve as peacekeepers necessary to create the conditions so that humanitarian aid can go in and help the people in Liberia," he added.

"We're deeply concerned that the condition of the Liberian people is getting worse and worse. Aid can't get to the people. We're worried about the outbreak of disease," the president said.

At the United Nations, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan welcome Bush's move.

"The Secretary-General was very pleased to learn that today, President Bush has directed the Secretary of Defence to position 'appropriate military capabilities' off the coast of Liberia, " Annan's spokesman said.

"The Secretary-General believes that this is an important measure, which should accelerate the deployment of the ECOWAS forces and the subsequent multinational forces to stabilize the situation in Liberia," he added.

The Pentagon said it had not received an order to move forces toward Liberia but was sending a a five-member team to Nigeria to assess the military capabilities of an ECOWAS force.

ECOWAS is expected to decide Monday on sending a west African peacekeeping contingent to Liberia, where hundreds of civilians have died in murderous clashes between rebel and government forces.

Lt. Dan Hetlage, a Pentagon spokesman, said there was nothing beyond the order given to a three-ship US task force to move from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.

"There is nothing other than the order to go to the Mediterranean," Hetlage said. "I believe no order will be received during the weekend."

The three US warships -- the Iwo Jima the Carter Hall and the Nashville -- carry a total of 4,500 sailors and marines. They are currently making their way into the Mediterranean.

Other Pentagon sources did not rule out that the US military contingent could be airlifted to Liberia.

A detachment of 60 Marines has already been sent to Monrovia to beef up security at the US Embassy, which was hit by mortar fire from rebel positions.

Another 100 US troops with three HH-60 helicopters and an MC-130 aircraft are based in Senegal and Sierra Leone ready to evacuate US nationals from Monrovia.

Bush said the Pentagon would soon be making its actions clear, and he reiterated his calls for Liberian President Charles Taylor to stand down and leave the country. Nigeria has offered him asylum.

Taylor was indicted in June by the United Nations Special Court in Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the decade-long civil war in Liberia's northwestern neighbour, in which some 250,000 people lost their lives.

Taylor is also under UN sanctions, including an arms embargo, for his perceived role in that war and alleged links to the trade in so-called "blood diamonds" mined by the Sierra Leonean rebels.

The former warlord faces a rebel advance in his own country's devastating four-year war, with the rebels now controlling four-fifths of the country.

Bush said the US role would be limited in time and scope, and the US forces would only remain in place until relieved by United Nations peacekeepers.

"We're working very closely with the United Nations. They will be responsible for developing a political situation. And they will be responsible for relieving the US troops in short order," Bush added.

The Pentagon estimates it will take between seven and ten days for the US amphibious task force to arrive off Liberia's coast.

At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher repeated much of what Bush said but added details about an initial 10-million-dollar contribution that the United States pledged on Thursday to help ECOWAS in its peacekeeping effort.

The money, he said, had been awarded to a private firm, Pacific Architects and Engineers, which will provide logistics and other support to the ECOWAS mission and has done similar work for Washington in Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast.

"They will on our behalf support the deployment of the West Africans," Boucher told reporters. "It will include a full range of logistic support to include transportation, equipment and communications."

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