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While LURD has dropped some mortar bombs into densely packed refugee camps, the panic they're creating outweighs the number of tubes they actually have. Western media headlines screamed that over 600 civilians had been killed in the last few days, citing Liberia's Defense Minister Daniel Chea and yet aid workers only calculated that about 100 civilians had been killed. Chea's motivations are questionable and probably prone to extreme exaggeration, since his neck will be one of those on the block if American troops don't arrive before the current government is overrun. 

Just to be on the safe side, the Pentagon has already ordered about 4,500 sailors and marines closer to Liberia by routing their ships from the Horn of Africa into the Mediterranean Sea. The three-ship USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) includes the USS Iwo Jima, USS Nashville and USS Carter Hall. This also includes over 2,100 Marines and sailors from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), based at Camp Lejeune.

The 26th MEU (SOC) is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force made up of four elements: Battalion Landing Team 1/8 (the ground combat element made up of infantry, light armored vehicles, artillery and amphibious assault vehicles), Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-264 (a composite helicopter squadron forming the aviation combat element), MEU Service Support Group-26 (a combat service support element that provides logistical support) and the command element. 

The 26th MEU recently completed an eight day training exercise near Camp Lemonier, Djibouti This included live-fire training in near 120-degree desert heat for its tanks, artillery, infantry, light armored reconnaissance, combined anti-armor teams and the command element. While cynics might point out that desert training isn't preparing anyone for urban operations in a verdant country, these Marines are pretty flexible and the 26th will be ready by the time they swap out their tan BDUs for green. - Adam Geibel