The UN Security Council has cleared the way for a much-delayed multinational force to enforce a cease-fire in Liberia so the West African nation's bloody civil war can be ended and humanitarian aid rushed in.
But last night's vote in the 15-nation council was marred by three abstentions.
France, Germany and Mexico said they could not support the US-drafted resolution because Washington insisted on language allowing any crimes committed by peacekeepers to be prosecuted only by the peacekeepers' own governments.
With an initial force of Nigerian troops expected to arrive in Liberia on Monday, the resolution lays the groundwork for an African force as well as US involvement. But it does not spell out what role, if any, US Marines would play.
UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan said he hoped the vote "implies a new political will, a will that I think has been absent among the international community. But now that this resolution is passed, I hope we will move ahead with urgent and determined action to help the Liberian people."
Mr Annan first asked for the force more than a month ago. In the absence of a response, the war raged on and hundreds died.
The provision that France, Germany and Mexico objected to gave the multinational peacekeepers immunity from prosecution by anyone - including the new International Criminal Court - but their own governments.
The Bush administration vehemently opposes the new court.
Asked by reporters about the three abstentions, Mr Annan responded: "Frankly, my sentiments are with those countries that abstained."
At Britain's suggestion, the resolution gave an exception to the 91 nations that have ratified the statutes of the ICC.
The resolution says it is critical for Liberian President Charles Taylor, who has been indicted by a Sierra Leone war crimes tribunal, to leave the country for the war to end.
It also makes clear that any US involvement in Liberia will be brief, calling for a UN peacekeeping force to replace the multinational troops by October 1st, a date most UN officials believe is too soon to organize and dispatch troops.