webGuinée / Policy Affairs

Dane F. Smith
US-Guinea Relations during the rise and fall of Charles Taylor

School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC
Journal of Modern African Studies

Abstract

The Liberian civil war was the major issue in US-Guinea relations between 1990 and 2003. During the first half of this period, the US sought with limited success to secure Guinea's cooperation in finding a diplomatic solution. President Conté viewed Charles Taylor as Guinea's implacable enemy and authorised arms support for anti-Taylor factions, while the US pressed for a negotiated peace. The Guinean leader's negative reaction to US criticism of the flawed 1993 presidential elections halted most dialogue on Liberia for the next two years. When Taylor continued supporting civil war in Sierra Leone after 1997, and fighters allied to him assaulted Guinea border posts in 1999, the US strengthened its engagement with Guinea. Providing military training and non-lethal equipment, it sought to counter the threat that Guinea would succumb to the destabilisation which had afflicted Liberia and Sierra Leone. The US appears positioned to play a positive role in Guinea's political and economic transition after the departure from the scene of the seriously ill Guinean president.

Dr. Dane F. Smith is a former Ambassador of the United States of America to Conakry (1991-1994)

webGuinée / Policy Affairs

Dane F. Smith US-Guinea Relations during the rise and fall of Charles Taylor

Abstract

Dane F. Smith
US-Guinea Relations during the rise and fall of Charles Taylor