you break it, you buy it.

He's very charismatic. He can convince you even when you know he is lying. He is a con artist.
-Archbishop Francis, Liberia


Charles Taylor has finally been given over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, after two and a half years in exile in Nigeria and a foiled escape attempt.

Taylor was president of Liberia from 1997 until 2003, winning "free and fair" elections after fighting a seven-year civil war. While in power, he created, armed, and supported rebels in Sierra Leone, who in their civil war committed horrible crimes, including using child soldiers, rape, and amputation.

During Taylor's presidency, rebels in Liberia fought another civil war to oust him from power. The country asked for international help to stabilize the situation. The US said it wouldn't send peacekeepers until Charles Taylor left the country. Charles Taylor said he wouldn't leave until peacekeepers arrived. The rebels eventually made it to the capital, Charles Taylor accepted exile in Nigeria, and the peacekeepers finally came.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia in 2005. The country is held together by a fragile peace, and some members of the new government are former followers of Charles Taylor. Nigeria's government had indicated that they would return Taylor only to Liberia and only under request from Liberia's government. Johnson-Sirleaf worried, quite reasonably, that returning Taylor to Liberia now might undermine the stability of the government by reigniting his followers and bringing them out of the woodwork. However, the US - as part of its campaign to undermine the International Criminal Court in favor of regional Special Courts - put significant pressure on Liberia's government to request extradition now. Johnson-Sirleaf caved and let Nigeria's president know they wanted him back.

Charles Taylor disappeared for three days.

He was caught at the Cameroon border, because his Land Rover had easily traceable diplomatic license plates.

He was flown to Liberia and immediately handed over to the Special Court in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he will be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Update 4/3/06: Charles Taylor pleads not guilty to war crimes.