I have to say I agree with this. Apparently, Brownback has had some life changing experiences when visiting refugee camps.

The Congo has been a natural resource treasure for well over a century, and the history of this region is truly horrific since Leopold the Second of Belgium subsidized the brutalization of native slave labor to build himself a personal fortune from rubber. And Monkeyhawk, to dismiss Brownback’s humanitarian interest in the region is simply absurd, considering that since without humanitarian and conservation attention no one would be paying attention to what is happening in the region at all. Blood diamonds, rubber, timber, palm oil, chocolate, Coltran, Cobalt, etc. it is always the same damn thing. We don’t care who sells it to us as long as someone does. That is what scum like Nkunda are counting on.

Obviously somehow the continent must be stabilized before the indiginous people are eliminated or worse.

A few Cobra helicopters and armed American soldiers?? Sounds like the way Vietnam and Iraq got started.

This actually might be something Obama might know about and has the will to bring about change.

In both of these cases I am struck by how much could be accomplished by simply providing air and logistics support to the UN and AU troops already on the ground. The ‘bad guys’ outnumber and outgun the peacekeepers – however think of the impact some warthogs and choppers could have.

So this is another Mid-East waiting to happen. A hundred years ago the West discovered all those A-Rabs were living on top of our oil. So we happily turned a European war into a World War, knocked up the Ottoman Empire and carved fake nations out of the desert which lead to Iraq and Syria and Palestine and… well, it’s been in the papers.

The Congolese are in the midst of an economic civil war. The only viable long-term resolution is the Congolese reaching an economic agreement. More troops will only exacerbate the bloodshed. The UN should to what it does best: as Churchill called it, “Jaw, jaw rather than war, war.” (if you say it with a Churchill accent, it rhymes)

Oh, and we should subsidize research into battery technologies even better than lithium ion.

Sam the Sham Brownback frames this as merely a humanitarian issue. The Congo most certainly has resulted devolved into that, but his emphasis distracts from the big money interests which caused the problem.

For instance I infer from your comment that you think that Sen Brownback only cares about Christians. Yet this same Sen Brownback was out in front on the Darfur genocide issue where almost all involved are Muslim. Sort of exposes the error of your message, eh?

Have a nice day Maggie. And try not to let your prejudices run you.

In my opinion, Senator Sam Brownback is a “johnny come lately” to offer his help to solve the African continent tragedy. Basically he is looking for a State Department position after his U.S. Senator position expires in two years.

Senator Brownback should find a small Baptist Church in the South to retreat to in his retirement.