Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Great quotes...

Photo credit: U.S. embassy, Liberia


"We are holding our breath that everything we taught them will stick..." - Jeff Rodriguez, DynCorp.

At the end of August Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf presided over a ceremony to inaugurate the first battalion of the newly formed Armed Forces of Liberia. Infamous (under former president Charles Taylor, currently on trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague for crimes against humanity) for eating the hearts and livers of their victims, and for using children as soldiers, the previous army was disbanded. This new army has been trained by a military contractor, DynCorp. Applicants were "rigorously vetted", and in addition to military training also received human rights training. Yes, let's hope that it sticks!

Liberia's President Johnson-Sirleaf, U.S. General Ward Attend Historic Activation of Liberian Military Unit