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There are many examples of triumphant liberation leaders and successful political leaders, but it's rare to find someone who has managed the transition from one to the other.

George Washington did it in the 18th century. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk of Turkey did it after World War I. And Nelson Mandela also belongs to this exclusive club.

"It is hard enough to find someone courageous enough to lead a revolution, rarer still for them to have remarkable leadership skills," says Jack Goldstone, director of the Center for Global Policy at George Mason University.

NPR Full Coverage

Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013

After months of worsening violence, the United Nations voted Thursday to send French and African troops to the Central African Republic in an attempt to restore stability.

Brutal sectarian violence has engulfed the mostly Christian country since March, when the first Muslim leader assumed power after a coup.

Armed gangs of Muslim extremists joined by mercenaries from neighboring countries now control most of the country. Armed Christian forces are fighting back. Slaughter, rape and torture are widely reported.

A regional force has been in the country for months, but it's untrained, outmanned and outgunned. U.N. and Western officials say they fear a possible genocide.

Widespread Horrors

At a Catholic mission in Bossangoa in the country's north, more than 35,000 people are squatting in squalid conditions. Bundles of filthy rags are piled high in the seminary, and people have to pick carefully through the scant plastic sheeting and debris in a site far too small for the number of people. They have fled from the armed Muslim gangs known as Seleka, which means "alliance" in the local Sango language.

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Want to understand why House Republicans aren't onboard with an immigration overhaul? Take a close look at the districts they represent.

Percent white (avg.)

Percent Hispanic (avg.)

Districts with 20 percent or higher Hispanics

Democratic Districts
(200)

50.7

22.9

76

Republican Districts
(232)

74.1

11.5

39

"There's our ship!" says Officer Lisa Sacco.

We're standing at the Port of Miami, where Sacco works for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Our ship, the Hansa Kirkenes, left Cartagena, Colombia, about a week earlier carrying all 6,078 of the Planet Money women's T-shirts.

Interactive Documentary