Ex-leader of Liberia cites CIA in jailbreak

Charles Taylor's career from rebel leader to Liberian president, diamond dealer and despotic warlord, still holds many mysteries. But this week in a court in The Hague, where he is on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity, he seemed eager to lift the veil on one of them. Part of the lore surrounding Mr. Taylor is that he broke out of jail in Plymouth, Mass., while awaiting extradition on charges of embezzling $900,000 in Liberia. He told his judges that he did not escape on his own; rather, he said, he was helped by the Central Intelligence Agency. The plan, he said, was for him to join a Liberian military leader, Thomas Quiwonkpa, who was plotting a coup against President Samuel Doe. Mr. Taylor said he was "100 percent positive" that the C.I.A. was providing weapons for the plot.