Charles Taylor

Yes, we're talking about fishermen.

So then the spark ignited on Christmas Eve of 1989 when Charles Taylor invaded from Ivory Coast with his National Patriotic Front of Liberia, the NPFL.

Sounds like a football team, like a football corporation.

Like a pedophile league.

idea.

Who was the president of Liberia during the Liberian Civil War? Charles something.

I don't know.

Okay, well, he had a campaign slogan that was, he killed my mother, he killed my father, but I shall vote for him.

So...

Charles Taylor, maybe? Yeah, Charles Taylor.

I am so good at knowing things.

I was talking to my mom the other day about how you can't import snus anymore because of de minimis and explaining that I am now a single-issue voter for getting my importation of snus back.

So from Vietnam, he went to Guinea.

He didn't come to Ghana again because he knew just like Charles Taylor and the rest, he knew that if he came, they would kill him.

So he went to Guinea.

When he went to Guinea.

You don't know someone's subay unless you give them power.

Samuel Odo did it.

Charles Taylor did it.

Now Kwame Nkrumah has also done it.

Fox News, ICE deports ex-Liberian fighter accused of torture recruiting child soldiers.

Omos Sheik Mazakwai allegedly serves as chief bodyguard to the leader Charles Taylor rebel movement during Liberia's civil war.

I followed this story.

Civil War closely.

And they just, they kept looking the other way.

And then, and it goes on.

that during the investigation, ActBlue's most senior officials have repeatedly invoked their Fifth Amendment rights, and we saw this on television, but then the company's last remaining lawyer on the legal team, Zama Ahmed, reportedly notified ActBlue leadership, including ActBlue's board of directors, that the credible allegations of misconduct at the company, including significant alleged violations of federal campaign finance and false statements to Congress.

According to the committee, Ahmed was placed on suspicious medical leave and had his access to company email revoked.

Atlanta.

Charles Taylor of Salon.com.

Taylor at a salon? What'll they think of next?

This picture is one of the flattest, stupidest, unfunniest sex comedies, as well as one of the worst all-around pictures I've ever seen.

I'm Gerry Norton and with me is Aaron Weir.

In our last episode, we looked at the opportunity Charles Taylor had after his election in 1997 and how quickly he squandered it.

This time, we follow the Taylor story right through to its conclusion.

For Aaron, this isn't simply a political history.

He was also there.

So, pressure inside the country, pressure from outside the country.

What were the steps that led towards the end of Charles Taylor's presidency?

I think the main

I did some international development work, focusing on livelihood development, economic development, and, uh, healthcare for a couple of years, uh, in Sub-Saharan Africa.

I was a little burned out, uh, after coming back because, uh, one of the countries that I spent the most time in was Liberia, which was post-conflict at the time, so, uh, Charles Taylor revolution.

And, uh, decided to sort of do a bit of a career pivot, um, and I went into a workforce development council.

Now, I didn't know that's what they were called at the time.

Thirteen were young trainees, full of vinegar and itching for their wings.

The flight leader was a man named Lieutenant Charles Taylor, a combat-hardened veteran who'd spent the war flying by the seat of his pants over the Pacific.

They lifted off into a cloudless postcard-perfect sky.

Then for the first hour, everything was as right as rain.

In one of the episodes, you talked about one difficult moment for Liberia, one, one moment when the nation held its breath.

Taylor had to resign because, uh, and this is where the American, um, influence came in.

Um, then President George Bush had said Taylor had to leave.

He had ultimatum to leave because Taylor had refused to give in, to step down, but eventually he did step down in August 2003.

And then, um, his vice president then, Moses Blah, took over.

Then we had the civil war officially end Then we had a transitional government that came into place.

That chapter in Liberia's history, why is it important for the country to know?

I think it's important because, uh, today, Taylor had always...

People will be offended that I even mentioned it.

But he's tracking Charles Taylor's-

The sexual revolution-

Yeah