Our Complicity in Genocide War Crimes

by emptywheel

Note, per PrahaPartizan's comment, the use of Genocide in the title of this post was an inaccurate use of the word so I have changed it.

Former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor goes on trial tomorrow. Hopefully, Taylor will be held to account for the brutal regime he ran in Liberia.

In a very timely article, the BoGlo shows how the United States watched, cognizant, as Taylor grew increasingly brutal against his own people.

In the fall of 1998, as President Charles Taylor consolidated his grip on Liberia, the defense attache at the US Embassy invited representatives of the country's formerly warring factions to a series of dinners at his residence.

The overture was intended to help the West African nation make a fresh start after more than a decade of civil war. But Taylor's government had other ideas: Members of the three opposing factions "who attended these dinners have been shot dead," the embassy bluntly reported to Washington in a secret cable in October.

"When the going gets tough, Taylor intends to rule through the barrel of a gun," the cable continued.

The secret cable, one of dozens obtained by the Globe under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed for the first time how early the United States was tracking Taylor's alleged crimes in his six-year tenure as president.

As it states, the article relies heavily on FOIAed State Department cables to show a chronology of awareness, but little action and, at times, overt encouragement.

1997: Taylor democratically elected.

October 1998: A cable reports "When the going gets tough, Taylor intends to rule through the barrel of a gun."

February 1999: The Nigerian Foreign Minister urges the US to pressure Taylor to stop supporting rebel groups.

October 1999: the US Ambassador celebrates the opening of a logging venture as a way to resuscitate the economy of Liberia. That same month a cable boasts, "cultivation of rapport with [Taylor] gives us a fresh, new vehicle for communicating our own message" of promoting human rights and democracy.

May 2000: Jesse Jackson meets with Taylor and tells him the US has not joined other countries in calling for a war crimes tribunal. He also tells Taylor to address the rumors of his diamond smuggling and support for rebels.

December 2000: A cable reports Taylor is using logging profits--as well as diamond profits--to "fund rebel groups in at least three neighboring countries." The cable noted Taylor continued to kill his political rivals in Liberia. The cable continues: "What many nations do not understand is that [the logging venture] is without benefit to the Liberian population, ... Few, if any jobs, are created locally from it. The concessions paid by the timber companies go directly to Taylor."

December 2000: Secretary of State Madeline Albright writes a cable labeling Taylor as "a cunning and effective warlord whose brutal rule terrorizes millions in Liberia and Sierra Leone."

May 2001: An informant describes Taylor as a "dangerous and erratic mad man."

August 2002: In response to a Mexican request that the US push for elections to replace Taylor, the US says it is "continuing to review next steps forward."

December 2002: "Taylor claims that he has been an advocate for human and political rights for many years, including as a student organizer during his ten years in the United States."

December 2002: "Liberia is virtually a commonwealth of America and most of Taylor's government was trained there and is strongly pro-American."

December 2002: Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Michael McKinley meets with Taylor personally and tells him, "Washington places great importance on Liberian cooperation with regional peace initiatives and welcomes [Taylor's] assertions that he has no intention of pursuing actions beyond his own borders."

March 2003: The UN indicts Taylor for war crimes.

The US was simultaneously labeling Liberia a "commonwealth" of the US (which I suppose is a sign that the sun has already set on our empire), and acknowledging his war crimes. This approach lasted across two Administrations and helped to destabilize west Africa. I realize these decisions are not always easy and that it pays, always, to continue to engage people. But these cables show a significant degree of self-deception and a good deal of unwillingness to lead.

Comments

[freepatriot]

so our dealing with charles taylor are a mirror image of our dealings with Saddam Hussain

Imagine that

at least we're consistant ...

[emptywheel]

freep

I was thinking that when I was excerpting the timeline. This was all happening at the same time as everyone was trying to figure out what to do with the LAST brutal dictator that went bad.

[oldtree]

our "democratic" government has loved dictators (and adores despots) the most since we came home from the war in europe. if the dictator doesn't act like it is told, it is removed, put into exile or liquidated. two very good examples, Iraq and Iran. most of south and central america qualify too. forgot the african nations. the mujahadeem fighting the ruskies,
wonder why we keep having trouble? only the very worst people in the world could want to come to this country. look at what we advertise.

[PrahaPartizan]

Where is the "genocide" which headlines this commentary? None of the timeline notes referenced even begin to address genocide. Was Taylor guilty of criminal aggression? Yes. Was he guilty of brutality? Yes. Was he guilty of crimes against humanity? Yes. But even summing all of that does not make it genocide.

Using that word incorrectly robs it of its power, of its ability to force the reader to reconsider what has happened. Has anything like the deliberate destruction of a group different in religion, race or ethnicity from the perpetrator happened here? The references sure don't show it, although Taylor was clearly a thug out of the mold of Mbutu, Sukharno, and host of other tyrants who the US has supported over the last century.

[emptywheel]

Praha

I thought about that after I posted--with your comment I've changed it.