Speaking of which..
The sad truth today is: Africa needs a strong hand that will ensure the rule of law.
It has been said that a "Marshall Plan" is what is needed.
Unfortunately for Africa, that plan only worked because the U.S. was in charge (both militarily and politically)of virtually all the West at that time.
Today, it is scarcely conceivable that any power on the planet could coordinate all the petty, vindictive despots who run the various sub-saharan African countries.
Anyone with any understanding of the recent history of Africa knows full well that the various dictators in Africa have no reason to fear World opinion...the United Nations has proven to be impotent and since 1994, the United States is also a toothless dragon.
Since 2001 (by the best estimates)almost 200,000 people have died in Darfur at the hands of the Islamic extremist government there.
In Zimbabwe, millions are threatened by the "democratically" elected president Robert Mugabe.
The fact is, the U.S. has no real "national security" stake in these horrors. So what is an "American's" responsibility?
We have a responsibility as HUMAN BEINGS!
Were the people of the World to arouse themselves and insist that Africans, as human equals to Europeans or Americans - are deserving of equivalent rights - the various governments of the World might intervene to stop the slaughter that continues as we quibble over funding levels.
And, if the people of Africa could throw off the yolk of oppression and have the power to form their own governments, I BELIEVE these people would take the ball and run with it.
All people instinctively understand the idea of the "rule of law".
Without the "rule of law", Africa is doomed.
With it, there is no ceiling to its potential.
The G8 and the World Bank MUST understand that the rule of law comes first. Without this, you're pouring money into the pocket of whatever strongman holds power at that particular time. Try to bypass him with foodstuffs...and he'll confiscate it. He'll sell it or use it to guarantee submission. This is how it has always worked.
The truth is: People are going to die. We cannot stop it today. But if we refuse to play the games of those who run Sudan and Zimbabwe and Eritrea and...you name the country...
We stand a chance of forcing - in the near term - the adoption of those rules by which a stable society is...possible.
The truth is...
If we act now, thousands will die.
If we don't act now, millions may.
It has been said that a "Marshall Plan" is what is needed.
Unfortunately for Africa, that plan only worked because the U.S. was in charge (both militarily and politically)of virtually all the West at that time.
Today, it is scarcely conceivable that any power on the planet could coordinate all the petty, vindictive despots who run the various sub-saharan African countries.
Anyone with any understanding of the recent history of Africa knows full well that the various dictators in Africa have no reason to fear World opinion...the United Nations has proven to be impotent and since 1994, the United States is also a toothless dragon.
Since 2001 (by the best estimates)almost 200,000 people have died in Darfur at the hands of the Islamic extremist government there.
In Zimbabwe, millions are threatened by the "democratically" elected president Robert Mugabe.
The fact is, the U.S. has no real "national security" stake in these horrors. So what is an "American's" responsibility?
We have a responsibility as HUMAN BEINGS!
Were the people of the World to arouse themselves and insist that Africans, as human equals to Europeans or Americans - are deserving of equivalent rights - the various governments of the World might intervene to stop the slaughter that continues as we quibble over funding levels.
And, if the people of Africa could throw off the yolk of oppression and have the power to form their own governments, I BELIEVE these people would take the ball and run with it.
All people instinctively understand the idea of the "rule of law".
Without the "rule of law", Africa is doomed.
With it, there is no ceiling to its potential.
The G8 and the World Bank MUST understand that the rule of law comes first. Without this, you're pouring money into the pocket of whatever strongman holds power at that particular time. Try to bypass him with foodstuffs...and he'll confiscate it. He'll sell it or use it to guarantee submission. This is how it has always worked.
The truth is: People are going to die. We cannot stop it today. But if we refuse to play the games of those who run Sudan and Zimbabwe and Eritrea and...you name the country...
We stand a chance of forcing - in the near term - the adoption of those rules by which a stable society is...possible.
The truth is...
If we act now, thousands will die.
If we don't act now, millions may.
posted by Voolfie at 11:59 PM
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