lovely news for a sunday morning

[ursako]

From the NYT:

BUKAVU, Congo - Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist, cannot bear to listen to the stories his patients tell him anymore

Comments

[wendolen]

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I wish this weren't old news. I've been reading stories about stuff like this from Congo for years now. :(

[ursako]

From the Congos, from the Sudan; I know we're not supposed to regard the entire continent of Africa as a problem that needs fixing, but there are certainly regions that could be so summarized.
And the thing is, what could we do besides place a platoon in every village, and would that even work? There are times when I wonder whether the early 21st century will be when the U.S. discovers once and for all the limits of its own ability to be the world cop. We can bomb things pretty well, but we can't keep tribe A from fucking up tribe B.

[wendolen]

That would require the ability to learn and remember in our upper echelons, which I see no evidence of.

[ursako]

I don't know- I think if we get enough nasty news from Iraq, the impotence of the U.S. Armed Forces w/r/t sectarian conflicts/civil wars will be well and duly impressed on the better part of the populace.
This isn't a notion that I necessarily like, mind you. As a good liberal, I'd like to believe that as a 'superpower' we can at least prevent genocide and mass rape. I don't know how we'd do it, though, and I'm starting to wonder if we can.

[str1]

The problem I see with the situation in Africa, particularly in regards with any attempt at international aid of any sort, is that there is just too much too horrible going on to let slide, but at the same time, how do you decide what to help with first, and how? The U.N. is supposed to send help for the African Union troops that are struggling to help Darfur, but that help isn't supposed to come until late this year/early next year. Add in this rape epidemic and everything else happening, and this turns less into a question/condemnation of the U.S.'s world policing ability and more of a question of what could anybody do with any effectiveness at all.

[dkingsbury]

"Lost Unto This World