Russ Feingold: “I rise to comment on the urgent crisis in Liberia, and on my conviction that the United States has a role to play in its…”

“I rise to comment on the urgent crisis in Liberia, and on my conviction that the United States has a role to play in its resolution. I also rise to call for the kind of information and clarity that we need if we are to take effective action. In recent days the newspapers have reminded Americans of the special relationship that exists between America and the west African Republic of Liberia, a country founded by freed slaves from the United States in 1820. But it is important to note the more recent historical links between our countries as well. During the cold war, eager for reliable client states in Africa, the United States supported Samuel Doe when he seized control of Liberia in a 1980 coup, and kept supporting him even when he stole the 1985 elections. In fact, in the first five years of the Doe regime, the United States contributed nearly $500 million in economic and military aid--effectively bolstering the government's staying power. The Doe regime was an extraordinarily brutal one that not only disenfranchised many Liberians, it also effectively erased the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate political action.”