Asst. Secretary for African Affairs, Herman Cohen, was surprisingly frank about the U.S. policy flaws. He spoke at a “truth and reconciliation” hearing in St. Paul, Minnesota–home to one of the largest Liberian communities in the United States.
“I thought it was a lot foolish on the part of the administration to sit by and allow the conflict to rage, leading to the death of thousands of people,” Cohen said. “This could have been avoided.”
Former U.S. National Security advisor Brent Scowcroft said America could not intervene, recalled Cohen, because it did not want to be responsible for Liberia forever. The TRC was established to “promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation,” and at the same time, hold perpetrators accountable for gross human rights violations in Liberia between 1979 and 2003.
In an unrelated development, American Peace Corps volunteers will return to Liberia this fall after an almost 20-year absence.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf expressed hope that the focus of the volunteers would be education. The volunteers are expected to serve for short periods to perform high-impact work, such as raising the capacities of Liberian teachers. Special the the NNPA from GIN
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