Liberia slowly returns from the depths of chaos

The last time I wrote about Liberia things looked pretty bleak there. In August 2003, rebels and government-backed thugs were fighting in the broken-down capital of Monrovia and civilians were caught in the crossfire. U.S. Marines were about to go in on a heavily armed “peace enforcement” mission.

As it turned out, the decision was made not to deploy the 2,300-strong Marine Expeditionary Unit. Instead, responsibility for separating warring factions and enforcing security was entrusted first to the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), and then to the United Nations. It now looks like that was the smart decision, as Liberia has emerged from the morass of its 14-year civil war and is slowly returning to a semblance of normalcy--without a single U.S. combat casualty.

One of the largest factors enabling the international community to begin patching Liberia together has been the exile of former President Charles Taylor. For nearly two decades, Taylor fostered vicious conflict within Liberia and in neighboring states, in order to enrich and empower himself. Now in exile in Nigeria, he is increasingly irrelevant.

Despite recent botched peacekeeping jobs and the still-unfolding scandal of the corrupt Oil for Food program in Iraq, the U.N. deserves some credit for progress in Liberia. Since assuming the peacekeeping role last October, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has implemented a plan of disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration.

• A transitional government was quickly put in place, just two weeks after UNMIL began operations on 1 October. The new government’s Chairman (he doesn’t want to be called “president”) is Gyude Bryant, a successful entrepreneur with a reputation for consensus building and no connection to rebel groups or Taylor.

• An extensive arms-for-cash program is being implemented, with reasonable success. Many of the child-soldiers that made the Liberian Civil War so infamous have turned in their weapons and are returning to school. Ranks of the two main rebel groups have shrunk considerably.

• There are signs of economic improvement, where just last year it was a stretch to use “Liberia” and “economy” in the same sentence. Jobs are returning, and parts of the wrecked infrastructure are being repaired, thanks to international aid donations that have exceeded expectations.

Of course, there is a very long road ahead--with many obstacles. Charles Taylor, even in exile, could re-ignite the internecine warfare. He is under loose house arrest in Nigeria, and early in his detainment there was able to use satellite phones to maintain contacts within Liberia. The transitional government includes the seeds of its own downfall, as it incorporated former rebel commanders as well as members of the Taylor-led regime. The possibility of one faction or the other attempting to seize power is significant.

The difference this time may be the level of international commitment. The UNMIL is the largest U.N. peacekeeping force in the world right now, involving almost 15,000 uniformed personnel from some 50 countries. Additionally, U.N. operations commanders in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leonne, and Liberia are coordinating to shut down cross-border arms smuggling between these troubled states.

But the key factor in the emerging Liberian success story has been, and will continue to be, the level of U.S. support. Although we did not send in the Marines, this is the first time in decades that the United States has been really engaged in an African country. Teams of U.S. advisors have been training a new Liberian security force, and Washington has lent important political support to the new government--for example by inviting Chairman Bryant to Washington in January when there were demands for his resignation in Liberia.

In order for a failed state like Liberia to recover, support from the international community--whether through a regional organization like ECOWAS, or an extensive U.N. mission--is certainly important. But in the end, it sure makes a difference to have the unilateralist might of the United States behind the effort.

T.T.

©2004, WestRim Digital Arts