Taylor's NPFL laid siege to the Liberian countryside and systematically embarked on killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians including, pregnant women, the elderly, children and his perceived enemies. The NPFL's war of attrition and macabre tactics forced hundreds of thousands of Liberians to be displaced in the West African sub-region and forcibly exiled tens of thousands others in Europe and North America. The resulting madness of Taylor's war led to the collapse of the Liberian state leaving nothing to show except poverty, misery, spiraling refugee population, and a country decimated, which is now dominated by a plethora of terrorizing security and paramilitary networks. To exacerbate the plight of the Liberian people, corrupt security personnel, compromised public officials, NPFL operatives, and an assortment of powerful individuals, including Taylor, have all conspired and frantically looted the national coffers. Instead, the proceeds from these national assets are used by Taylor and his circle of loyalists to support their ostentatious lifestyle.
Basic life sustaining essentials are non-existent.
Water, electricity and the provision of health and social welfare services are not factored into national priorities in Liberia. Meanwhile, the regime's restrictive political framework makes it hopelessly unhealthy in building a democratic and core economic foundation for Liberia in the next millennium. The president has shown no remarkable leadership in grappling with the confluence of crises at home, coupled with his unwise dalliance and presidential pageantry have all conspired to paint a portrait of a country driven by anarchy and lawlessness. Taylor has stubbornly refused to create the necessary organizational architecture that must focus on economic and political reforms, reconciliation and reconstruction of a country that he and other warlords ravaged. Even worse, this man has routinely sneered vituperation at the United States for pushing harder for reforms in his regime.