Liberia's former president, a friend to terror?

"Dateline" in Liberia
Mike Shanklin is a U.S. intelligence veteran. Now retired, Shanklin headed the CIA’s operations in Liberia in the 1990s, at a time when Taylor was coming to power.

“Dateline” asked Shanklin, who had previously been consulted by the special court, to come on our behalf to Sierra Leone and Liberia to help sort out allegations of al-Qaida’s presence and diamond-dealing in the region. Together, we uncovered evidence that U.S. officials appear to have missed.

“Al Qaida, Bah, Taylor, they were there,” says Shanklin. “There is no question in my mind these people were there. They were there during the period in question. And clearly they were involved in some sort of a diamond business. That’s a fact.” 

Ironically, Shanklin says, a few years ago, a top Liberian security official—unaware that his boss, Charles Taylor might have been doing business with al-Qaida—naively launched an investigation into the terrorist group’s activities in Liberia. 

But the investigation ended before it could begin.

“Charles Taylor quashed it, said, ‘You don’t need to worry about this.’ And that was the end of it," says Shanklin.

Several witnesses at the hotel (where al-Qaida operatives are said to have met) confirmed to “Dateline” that al-Qaida fugitives had stayed there as guests about six years ago.

What’s more, a senior Liberian official told “Dateline” that around the same time, a couple of unwitting Liberian investigators apparently went to the hotel and tried to have the men arrested —again, not realizing they were guests of their president, Charles Taylor.

“Taylor had the government investigators arrested… and freed the al-Qaida operatives,” says Shanklin.

Hansen: What does that say about the relationship between the al-Qaida operatives and Charles Taylor?

Shanklin: Well, it certainly says that Charles Taylor didn’t want these people under arrest

What’s most ominous is that the special court’s former chief investigator believes al-Qaida is still active in the region. And he’s desperately trying to convince the U.S. government to do something about it.

“They’re here. They’re absolutely here," says White. "I can’t tell you the number. But, what I can tell you is that there’s a significant presence in West Africa. I don’t know exactly what the al-Qaida operatives are doing. That’s what concerns me. And, again, the problem is that’s not my mission. It’s the FBI’s mission to come over and find that out.”

Is the U.S. government doing enough?
There is one man who could settle the disagreement over al-Qaida’s presence and diamond-dealing in West Africa: former Liberian president Charles Taylor. 

Two years ago, after the special court charged Taylor with 17 counts of war crimes committed in Sierra Leone, the U.S. helped broker a deal in which Taylor left office in Liberia and went into exile at this estate in Nigeria.

Despite repeated requests from the international community, Nigeria’s president has so far refused to turn Taylor over to the special court for prosecution.

And the United States — which considers Nigeria a vital ally and oil supplier — has seemed reluctant to really press the issue.

But Al White, who’s just finished a three-year stint in West Africa, says Charles Taylor is still conspiring with terror suspects, and that bringing him to justice may be the only way to prevent further bloodshed.

Al White: We’ve lost three years. Three years of time in actively pursuing these terrorists. Can we afford to waste another three years by denying that they’re presence is over there?

Hansen: And what has al-Qaida gained in those three years?

White: [In the three years] they’ve gained momentum. They have absolutely no problem pursuing their agenda and training in West Africa because they’re off limits.

Shanklin agrees: “We’re fighting a war and we’re talking about going after al-Qaida. We had an opportunity to go after al-Qaida here. Maybe we didn’t do it as aggressively as we should have. Charles Taylor was dealing with these people. And we should be doing something about Charles Taylor. This isn’t tough. This doesn’t even fall in the category of tough. This is pretty easy. Let’s do it.”

There is new evidence that Charles Taylor may be meddling in his former nation’s coming election, and thus violating the terms of his exile agreement. With that in mind, the United States has joined the chorus of nations requesting that Taylor be turned over to the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal. Taylor’s host, the Nigerian president, still refuses to cooperate.

With additional reporting from NBC producer Adam Ciralsky.

MORE FROM DATELINE

Dateline Section Front

The Secret Life of Tiger Woods The Trial of Amanda Knox NBC's People of the Year: Read the interviews The Night Mary Jane Disappeared The Friday the 13th Mystery Mystery at Lost Dog Road Slideshow: Photos in the Bob Duke case When The Smoke Clears   Sneak peek: When The Smoke Clears Slideshow: The Christie Fleming murder Dateline Section Front   Add Dateline headlines to your news reader: