Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - SIERRA LEONE - EBOLA & THE RUF WAR

Brother John Mbaku, you said:

Second, Taylor's conviction reinforces the fact that no one, even those elites who serve in the government, including the executive and members of the judiciary and legislature, is above the law – the law is supreme.

Yes, the law should be supreme and, yes, it is good that Taylor was punished for his atrocities. But if the law was truly supreme, then why do you make no mention of the fact that Taylor was a CIA agent and that agents of the US govt facilitated Taylor's escape from prison and ultimate reappearance in West Africa? If the ICC was really about justice, then why haven't they taken up the very serious issue of the fundamental role that the US government played in creating the conditions for the conflict?

kzs


On Friday, October 31, 2014 8:19:23 AM UTC-5, John Mbaku wrote:

Dear Professor Ofure Aito:

Perhaps you should read my co-authored piece in the Guardian (London) on the trial of Charles Taylor. <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/apr/26/africa-charles-taylor-guilty-liberia>

On Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 7:55 PM, ofure aito <ofur...@gmail.com> wrote:

I tend to agree with Professor Emeagwali on this strand of dialogue. War is the result of conflict that is initiated by disagreements between one or more groups or individuals. First, it is the result of one group's desire to control, dominate, oppress, manipulate another for economic, social, religious or cultural benefits or reasons. Second, it is an individual's ideological motive to impose his own perspective on another and which may extend to a group. The notion of the individual is elastically stretched to include communities, race, ethnic groups or even a country. It is not passive but produces responses that may be violent, either verbal or physical, and sometimes effects positive dimensions to societal development.  Indeed and oftentimes, the reaction to conflict leaves a chain of responses that become unmanageable or uncontrollable. It starts as a "sharp disagreement" to an oppressive motive and ends up in a violent struggle or a fight if not immediately managed or resolved. Either way, war/conflict has both external and internal consequences and physical and spiritual; private and public impact as well as takes physical, verbal and violent forms. So in conflict or war anything can happen and take place. Our concern should be on conflict management and resolution. Importantly, interest should be on management in other to avoid the details of what Prof. Mbaku has presented to us.
The term "conflict management" in this sense implies that oppression/opposition, dissent/struggle is a reality, which man must strive to identify, manage and contain. It is in some ways a move towards conflict resolution. At this juncture,I wish to ask why must war/conflict management or resolution in Africa come from the west? When are we going to start dealing with our situations and mopping up or managing to contain our own mess without making the innocent pay or suffer?
Ofure

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JOHN MUKUM MBAKU, ESQ.
J.D. (Law), Ph.D. (Economics)
Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Attorney & Counselor at Law (Licensed in Utah)
Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of Economics & Willard L. Eccles Professor of Economics and John S. Hinckley Fellow
Department of Economics
Weber State University
1337 Edvalson Street, Dept. 3807
Ogden, UT 84408-3807, USA
(801) 626-7442 Phone
(801) 626-7423 Fax

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