Washington Post Chronicles UN/Congo-Created Disaster

People are responsible for the predictable consequences of their actions. The UN and the Congolese government knew that an attempt to round-up the ex-genocidaires would provoke them to lash out at innocent Congolese civilians. Given these circumstances, it was incumbent on them to have the power to achieve their objectives quickly and decisively. Yet it was clear from the outset of the operation that they lacked the manpower, training, and equipment to do the job. The results are detailed in a story in today's Washington Post, titled Fresh Nightmare in Congo.

MINOVA, Congo -- A Congolese military operation against Rwandan rebels who have caused years of conflict in eastern Congo is unleashing fresh horrors across this region's rolling green hills.

The mission, backed logistically by U.N. peacekeepers and politically by the United States, aims to disband the remaining 7,000 or so Rwandan Hutu rebels who fled into eastern Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

But since the operation began in January, villagers have recounted nightmarish stories that raise questions about whether the military action will ultimately cause more destruction than it prevents.