LONDON — Naomi Campbell may be dimwitted and self-centered, and the poor schmuck she gave the diamonds to 13 years ago is in deep trouble even though he never tried to turn them into cash, but she certainly is useful. If she hadn't been forced to testify, nine out of 10 people wouldn't even know who Charles Taylor is.
It worked. Unless you were on Mars last week, you know that Taylor, the former Liberian strongman, is on trial at The Hague on charges of terrorism, murder, rape, enslavement and torture. You know it because the star-struck Taylor gave Campbell some illegal "blood diamonds" when they were both Nelson Mandela's guests in South Africa in 1997, and because Mia Farrow (who was also there) eventually blew the whistle on her.
It's not a story about war crimes, it's a media-feeding frenzy about celebrities. When Campbell gave her evidence to the international court in The Hague, the number of journalists covering the trial jumped tenfold. She has served her purpose: Now everybody knows that Taylor has been brought to trial for killing, torturing and maiming hundreds of thousands of his fellow Africans.