The State of Conflict in Africa
April 2nd, 2010
Africa’s Forever Wars: Why the Continent’s Conflicts Never End: This article paints a sad, sad picture of Africa’s descent into bloody conflicts that have no purpose and no winners, typified by brutal leaders who seem bent on nothing but destruction.
[Former rebel and current Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s] words seem downright noble compared with the best-known rebel leader from his country today, Joseph Kony, who just gives orders to burn.
Even if you could coax these men out of their jungle lairs and get them to the negotiating table, there is very little to offer them. They don’t want ministries or tracts of land to govern. Their armies are often traumatized children, with experience and skills (if you can call them that) totally unsuited for civilian life. All they want is cash, guns, and a license to rampage. And they’ve already got all three. How do you negotiate with that?
The short answer is you don’t. The only way to stop today’s rebels for real is to capture or kill their leaders. […]
The author argues that these people aren’t fighting for anything. They don’t want to rebuild a country or improve the lives of their people. They simply want brutal power over whatever they can get their hands on.