The Chief UN Envoy has requested a troop surge to help quell the violence from rebel forces. Now where have we heard that idea before? Oh yes, Rwanda and Iraq.
Renewed fighting in the DR Congo has lead to around 100,000 people running away from the conflict, spilling into the Sudan and some into Zimbabwe. The United Nations have 17,000 troops occupying the DR Congo - the largest UN peacekeeping force anywhere.
With something like 6 million Congolese dead (over the last 10 years) and hundreds of thousands displaced, this is an ongoing disaster. And that's without investigating the shady mining deals, accusations of slave camps and torture of children whilst hundreds of millions of dollars of EU funds move through paying for troops and election expenses.
The UN troops on the ground requested troop support to head off the Rwanda genocide, and they were ignored. Will the request for a surge be ignored again?
Related Link: UN need a troop surge
Renewed fighting in the DR Congo has lead to around 100,000 people running away from the conflict, spilling into the Sudan and some into Zimbabwe. The United Nations have 17,000 troops occupying the DR Congo - the largest UN peacekeeping force anywhere.
With something like 6 million Congolese dead (over the last 10 years) and hundreds of thousands displaced, this is an ongoing disaster. And that's without investigating the shady mining deals, accusations of slave camps and torture of children whilst hundreds of millions of dollars of EU funds move through paying for troops and election expenses.
The UN troops on the ground requested troop support to head off the Rwanda genocide, and they were ignored. Will the request for a surge be ignored again?
Related Link: UN need a troop surge
There's something a little fishy about the call for more troops. 17000 is a very large number and although the Congo is a big place the areas of operations are relatively few.
ReplyDeleteThis has more to do with politics than operational necessities, methinks.
Actually, there's been quite a bit of fishy happenings in the DRC.
ReplyDeleteFrance has mopped up something like 600 million running the elections back in 2006 (via the UN), and the dealings on mines and access to mineral wealth is another story in itself.
The UN has proven to take 5 times the amount of resource to accomplish almost nothing (sometimes due to ridiculous terms of engagement) and there are cases of UN troops engaged in shady practices. These troops tend to be from the countries that have pretty dubious internal records - such as the Syrian contingent, although occasional rogue units are a feature of many wars.
So there is a deeper story here, but what ever the case, the headcount will continue, and yet the left will continue to focus their criticism on Iraq where they can blame the US and the UK for far less.
Indeed. They'll continue to give the U.N.s genocide enabling a free pass because ideology trumps humanity every time for these useful idiots.
ReplyDeleteHas there ever been a more destructive influence on global affairs than the left? I very much doubt it.
Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Castro proved to be so successful internally, it made sense to take the product international, I guess.
ReplyDeleteIt's the "no refund if not completely satisfied, in fact we'll probably shoot you" fine print that buyers don't seem to pay much attention to.
*snicker* ain't that the truth....
ReplyDelete