ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role the USA played in the Liberian civil war and traces it against the background of the 'special relationship' that people thought should have dictated a more decisive intervention on Washington's part. It discusses the extent of America's involvement as well as the relationship between the USA, the Liberian factions and ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). The chapter discusses the activities' related to the civil war, undertaken by the Liberians resident in the United States. The USA's strategic interest in Liberia was, in the West African sense, prominent, although nothing compared to a place like South Africa, Angola or even the Horn of Africa during the Cold War. After Samuel Doe's election victory, the USA gave its endorsement that the election was, in the African context, relatively fair. The USA made its first financial contribution to ECOMOG peacekeeping in January 1991, when a sum of US$2.8 million was given to the mission.
