How an American Company Supported War Criminal Charles Taylor in Liberia

The Leonard Lopate Show | Nov 17, 2014

What are the costs of doing business in a war zone? ProPublica reporter T. Christian Miller and Frontline producer Marcela Gaviria discuss their investigation of the secret relationship between the American tire company Firestone and the infamous Liberian warlord Charles Taylor. Frontline/ProPublica’s “Firestone and the Warlord” pieces together how Charles Taylor (the American-educated war criminal notorious for his use of child soldiers) and Firestone (Liberia’s largest single employer) intersected between 1989 and 1992, and how Firestone channeled millions of dollars to Taylor in exchange for being able to operate—money that Taylor said provided the “financial assistance that we needed for the revolution.” “Firestone and the Warlord” airs Tuesday, November 18 at 10 P.M. on PBS and on demand at pbs.org/frontline.

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