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cali

(114,904 posts)
Sat Jun 15, 2013, 07:13 AM Jun 2013

The U.N. is going to war- for the first time. This is what humanitarian intervention actually looks

like.


AFRICAN economies are rising steadily, but in the Democratic Republic of Congo life for many is as bad as ever. Armed men rape and plunder with impunity. Rebel groups terrorise vast stretches of land rich in minerals and agricultural potential. Millions have died as a result. And for years the outside world has done little more than shrug. Its main effort—a 14-year-old UN peacekeeping mission—has failed to end “Africa’s world war”, which started as an ethnic conflict sparked by the genocide next door in Rwanda before descending into murderous anarchy farther afield.

Now things are changing. The Rwandan government backed Congolese rebels until recently but, shamed by their cruelty and by international outrage, it has abandoned them. That presents an opportunity too good to waste, so the UN Security Council is trying a new tack (see article), deploying 3,000 troops to fight at least some of the rebels. Soldiers from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi wearing UN insignia will take on the irregulars who sow mayhem in Congo’s east.



This is the first time that the UN will send its own troops into battle. In the past the Security Council has authorised the use of “all necessary force” but has delegated the fighting to posses from willing nations. In the Korean war the Americans were in command. In Afghanistan and Libya NATO took charge. In Congo, however, the UN itself will be responsible for artillery fire, helicopter gunships—and the inevitable casualties. Should the UN really be doing this?

<snip>

Congo fits that description. No powerful nation has been prepared to take the job on independently; not even those keen to intervene in the bloody quagmire of Syria are tempted to send troops to Congo, no matter how prolonged and grotesque its people’s nightmare may be. Mindful of this, the Security Council authorised the new force unanimously—a high bar to clear. This was not a sneaky power grab by an unaccountable bureaucracy or a warmongering few. Approval followed months of patient and sincere diplomacy. Even normally reluctant powers like China and Russia voted yes.

<snip>

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21579462-almost-unnoticed-un-about-fight-its-first-war-gamble-worth-taking-art

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The U.N. is going to war- for the first time. This is what humanitarian intervention actually looks (Original Post) cali Jun 2013 OP
The UN is welcome to this insoluble problem FarCenter Jun 2013 #1
wont take long for the UN to screw it up, being a blue helmet is the worst military job loli phabay Jun 2013 #2
So long as they cause fewer atrocities than the irregulars, it will be an improvement. FarCenter Jun 2013 #3
depends if you are the one at the end of the atrocity or not. loli phabay Jun 2013 #5
k&r for exposure. n/t Laelth Jun 2013 #4
 

FarCenter

(19,429 posts)
1. The UN is welcome to this insoluble problem
Sat Jun 15, 2013, 07:59 AM
Jun 2013

Population densities of 400 / square kilometer and a tropical agriculture barely able to sustain them, along with very high population growth rates will make the African Lakes Region a focal point of war for food and space.

 

loli phabay

(5,580 posts)
2. wont take long for the UN to screw it up, being a blue helmet is the worst military job
Sat Jun 15, 2013, 08:03 AM
Jun 2013

In the world, more politicking than leadership. Wont be long until we here about the atrocities caused by the blue helmets.

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