UN and Congo preare to Defend Goma

[Grimecraft]

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inp...551413122.html

I get the feeling from the comments/captions on the photos that the rebels seem to be on the verge of a victory. Is this a likely situation?

Can someone explain the situation here- I've not been keepings tabs on whats been going on in Congo.

[Menelik_I]

Can someone explain the situation here

In 1992 Rwanda is plunged into a civil war, 1 million people at least are killed and it is generally called the Rwandan Genocide. The losers (mainly Hutus rebels) of this civil war flee into Congo, then Zaire and use their refugee camps to foment disorder in Rwanda.

In 1997 Laurent Kabila launch a successful rebelion against the then president of Congo with help of Rwanda, in exchange of guaranties that they will get the Hutu rebels.

In 1998 the former allies get mad at each other and a massive cluster of a war ensue Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi vs Congo, Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. War go unresolved nobody win, son of Kabila goes into power.

Since 2000 a weird game is being plaid in the region with Rwanda funding various rebel groups to up Congo, and the Congolese president doing everything in his power to not win any decisive victory.

The situation benefits Rwanda because they are the main export gate for illegally mined Congolese minerals and they have a veiled territorial claim to achieve a greater Rwanda.

needless to say the congolese president is a traitor and He is willingly helping Rwanda plunder the place and displace enough people to annex it.

The very idea that Congo needs UN help is ridiculous, because Congo have the money and the manpower to stabilize the region, and in fact have in many time been offered help from Angola, but it seems that there is internal sabotage.

[hellheaven1987]

The very idea that Congo needs UN help is ridiculous, because Congo have the money and the manpower to stabilize the region, and in fact have in many time been offered help from Angola, but it seems that there is internal sabotage.

What Congo needs is cash.

Crap, how dare I speak out the truth!!

Edit: Anyway, the preparation has been going on for a whole month, so it is an old news.

[Grimecraft]

so who are the rebels then?


also +rep for the info

[Menelik_I]

so who are the rebels then?

The rebels in this case call themselves the M22, they where part of the rebels who where waging war in the 2000's in the region, around 2004 or 2005 they where integrated into the congolese army as part of a peace deal. They led a mutiny a few months back and rebelled under the pretext that they are not being fairly treated by the army.

also +rep for the info

What Congo needs is cash.

Crap, how dare I speak out the truth!!

No they don't they don't, Congo recently signed a $9bn deal with China for infrastructure building in exchange of mineral exports.

Taking part of this money to actually build an army capable to rout the rebels would have been easy and I think that China military-industrial complex would have been happy, especially since they could be trained by Angola, which has by far the best army in the whole of Africa ... or just ing pay the Angolans to fight for them.

The ineptitude of the Congolese army is somewhere between comical and criminal.

not to mention their is a cold war going on between US and China over Africa, so it will only get worse in the near future.

Not much of that, unless you read people stuck in Cold War memes, it is mostly the USA spending money like stupid like in Mali (whose army got routed by terrorists in a week ... where in the the USA military aid went?) and China simply doing business by offering to buy future mineral resources in exchange of building infrastructure.

Ironically Communist China is the best thing to happen to Africa since the Colonial powers started building roads.

[hellheaven1987]

No they don't they don't, Congo recently signed a $9bn deal with China for infrastructure building in exchange of mineral exports.

Yet they could not pay their army, which was the flash point of this recent rebellion.

Furthermore, even you have an elite army, you cannot do much without a road for them to march first; which is exactly the problem of that region.

[Menelik_I]

Furthermore, even you have an elite army, you cannot do much without a road for them to march first; which is exactly the problem of that region.

Mortars, helicopters and forced marches have solved this problem in many occasions ... but asking Congolese soldiers to do a forced march is probably going to lend you a mutiny

[hellheaven1987]

Mortars, helicopters and forced marches have solved this problem in many occasions ...

It is difficult to use mortars in a jungle war, which has so many close quarter combats that indirect fire weapons are not suitable. On the other hand, helicopters is a good idea, and an article I have read last year point out both UN and Congolese military lacks helicopters for patrolling purpose.

but asking Congolese soldiers to do a forced march is probably going to lend you a mutiny

And you bet why French was stucked in Hanoi during First Indochina War.

They led a mutiny a few months back and rebelled under the pretext that they are not being fairly treated by the army.

The irony part is what they claimed probably is truth - afterall, it is not first time Congolese government not paying and supplying their troops, and would not be last time.

A major issue of unrest in that region is that pretty much everyone's claim is right, so it is difficult to choose side.

[Glista]

Not much of that, unless you read people stuck in Cold War memes, it is mostly the USA spending money like stupid like in Mali (whose army got routed by terrorists in a week ... where in the the USA military aid went?) and China simply doing business by offering to buy future mineral resources in exchange of building infrastructure.

Ironically Communist China is the best thing to happen to Africa since the Colonial powers started building roads.

In short. China is new colonialist and natives get shafted. Again.

[Grimecraft]

In short. China is new colonialist and natives get shafted. Again.

Hardly; China has done much more for the region than we have in decades of flinging money at them and hoping they sort themselves out.

[Glista]

Hardly; China has done much more for the region than we have in decades of flinging money at them and hoping they sort themselves out.

And that is ? Buying cheap natural resources and than selling back there garbage ? China is there to profit not for the humanitarian reasons.

[Menelik_I]

In short. China is new colonialist and natives get shafted. Again.

China is beneficial because they buy the raw resources in advance, like 10 years purchases, and pay by building the infrastructure right now.

Before the Chinese you could get a 3 hour traffic in Luanda/Angola to travel 15Km, but now the Chinese built a set of motorway ring and traffic in that particular hell hole is as fast as a first world country. In that country some roads used in 2000 were roads built by the Portuguese in 1965(!).

Same for the hospital, schools, railway the Chinese are building, you don't have the notion of how much money African politicians stole in the last 50 years and how many things they could have built with that money.

China is actually building stuff to pay for raw material they are legally buying, I don't see the shaft.

[selder]

Not much of that, unless you read people stuck in Cold War memes.

let me guess you are one of those people who thought the cold war ended...

what is wrong with option 2? all that has to be done is a little tweeking, like reforming the political structures holding the leaders more accountable for their actions. Maybe you think Africans are incapable of self governance.

[Menelik_I]

what is wrong with option 2? all that has to be done is a little tweeking, like reforming the political structures holding the leaders more accountable for their actions.

Tweeking is funny for someone living in Europe, but not for the millions of African kids who have to live misery during the reforms and after the failure of the reforms ... black Children are not Guinea for wannabe PhD in Public Administration.

How many years of ''tweeking'' and how many millions of kids should have their lives destroyed for lack of transportation, water and electricity (All of which the Chinese built in many African capitals) to satisfy your China derangement Syndrome ?

Maybe you think Africans are incapable of self governance.

African leaders have proven be inept and kleptomaniac, so the Chinese way of commission infrastructure is way superior.

let me guess you are one of those people who thought the cold war ended

It ended around here, sorry to hear that it didn't in your side of the globe ... though luck.

[selder]

African leaders have proven be inept and kleptomaniac, so the Chinese way of commission infrastructure is way superior.

ahhh so it is genetic...too bad they are stuck with faulty African genes and the Chinese get all the superior ones. Maybe the Chinese can teach them to be more civilized, oh wait the Europeans already tried that. Ah what the hell lets just exploit them for what they are...right?

your China derangement Syndrome

Is that what it is called? Thank God I thought it was serious, hey I think the Filipinos and vietnamese might have it too.

[selder]

not to mention their is a cold war going on between US and China over Africa, so it will only get worse in the near future.

[Glista]

Building cheap with there own workers from China. Roads are built so that transport is faster hence cheaper for there benefit. Angolans are just second hand receiver. Like European colonial powers built rail roads.

[Menelik_I]

Building cheap with there own workers from China.

What is the problem ?

You have to take into account the two possibilities at hand :

Option 1.

China buy oil/copper and pay in advance by building roads and railway with cheap imported labor from China.

Option 2.

China/USA/EU buy oil/copper pay as you go, half of the money get stolen by president and ministers, other half goes to the ministers building company to build less than 20% of what Chinese could build and at a lower quality.

Option 3.

Sell oil/copper, steal money and nothing gets built.

I kind of prefer option 1, but that is just me.

Before China :



After China.

[hellheaven1987]

I hope the day when every African household is rich enough to buy an AK would come in my life time.

[Menelik_I]

I hope the day when every African household is rich enough to buy an AK would come in my life time.

Buy and have the right to bear them ... Prosperity and the Second Amendment is the 2 American imports I would love to have in Africa