After nine months and more than 5,000 deaths, the civil war in Liberia sputters on. The U.S. had hoped the capture of President Samuel Doe by insurgents and his death two weeks ago would immediately lead to negotiations among rival rebels Prince Yormie Johnson and Charles Taylor, the remnants of Doe's loyal soldiers, and troops from a five-nation West African peacekeeping force.
Visiting the area last week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Herman Cohen told Johnson and Taylor that the U.S. would sever relations with Liberia unless a truce was declared. Taylor, head of the 10,000-member National Patriotic Front of Liberia,...