ABSTRACT
America’s Liberian colony was really born on that April day in 1980 when Doe seized power. The US-Liberian relationship was rooted in the historical role the United States had played as the country that had passed legislation in 1807 outlawing the importation of slaves. For the United States during the 1980s, Liberia’s importance lay in part in the form of strategic installations. On 21 November 1983, a group of armed men attacked the Yekepa iron ore mine on Liberia’s northern border with Guinea, in the hope that they could attract support from the local population and inspire a broader uprising against the regime. Unlike Angola, Liberia had no cards to play in the post—Cold War era. Its strategic importance to the US was derived from the weakness of its institutions, the retarded character of its system of government, and the absence of principle in decision-making.
