[Destro]

Liberia, like all of Africa, is filled with Lebanese middle men who act as buyers of diamonds and gold, etc. If al-Qaeda is in Liberia-it is there indirectly. I do not discount al-Qaeda involved with Liberia or Taylor but as Taylor's partner? Maybe dealing with diamond sales using al-Qaeda sympathetic Lebanese diamond and gold merchants but I would not say there is more of a connection with any certainty. In addition such contacts would explode if we allow Muslims to take over, IMHO.

[Angelus Errare]

The articles I linked say that al-Qaeda is being assisted in their diamond efforts by both Taylor's government and Lebanese middle-men who work for Hezbollah. They also state that senior al-Qaeda leaders, including Faisal Abdullah Mohammed, the man who presided over the recent attacks in Mombasa, got VIP treatment from Taylor after 9/11.

According to LURD, who may or may not be lying to get US support, there are "Arabs" fighting with the Liberian government. They also say that al-Qaeda in Liberia are probably working to stir up trouble in the Ivory Coast. LURD's credibility aside, if this is true then it is definitely a bad thing and needs to stopped.

Bottom line: if Taylor's siding with al-Qaeda, that's as valid a conservative rationale as ever to teach him that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated.