Continuing down the foreign policy path……let us move on to the “Dark Continent”…….

Some say that the heart of Africa died on 05 December, Nelson Mandela, which may be very accurate….but in this case I am talking about the actual heart of the continent…..the Central Africa Republic…….

What a couple of decades ago was known as the Central Africa Empire….in 1976 the empire was formed by Boukassa and in 1979 the French assisted in throwing him out of power……and since then it has been known as the Central African Republic…..but things did not go as well as the French and others had hoped…..nothing went well leaders were sworn in then thrown out…the longest lasted about 10 years and during all this time there has been a simmering resentment among the various factions and at times has erupted into bloodshed…….

And finally the French have flexed its muscle….like they did in Mali…looks like they are trying to keep their old colonies in line…..

(Newser) – As sectarian fighting rages on in the Central African Republic, France has seen its first casualties since announcing it would deploy more soldiers to the country, says the office of French president Francois Hollande. Two soldiers were killed late yesterday in Bangui, the AP reports. The paratroopers were involved in fighting near the airport, says a French official. “They were injured and very quickly taken to the surgical unit, but unfortunately they could not be saved.”

Yesterday, French and African troops began disarming militias and fighters who call themselves part of a new army in the CAR, the BBC reports. Following a South Africa memorial for Nelson Mandela, Hollande himself is due in the country later today, where some 10% of the population has fled from home and more than a million need food, the BBC notes.

So with all this chaos……..what will the US do….will it aid an allyt or will it stay away from entanglements that could have wider implications?

Here’s your answer!

(Newser) – Now the US is getting involved: Washington has agreed to fly European and African peacekeepers into the Central African Republic to help quell the bloody strife between various Muslim and Christian groups and other rebel militias, CNN reports. US military aircraft will fly troops—including a few French ones—from Burundi into Bangui, the Central African Republic’s capital. The operations will likely be small, but the US will have to secure its own planes and hasn’t said how many of its troops will be involved. Violence on the ground will be “a big factor,” according to a US official.

The US agreed to get involved after a direct plea from French and African Union peacekeepers, who have already been on the ground in the Central African Republic. Today’s development comes after the UN Security Council approved military intervention in the beleaguered African nation, where rebels overthrew the president in March and agreed to share power with the government—but the country has since devolved into near collapse. Defense Department officials are expected to make an official announcement today.

Now we get to see just what our aid will produce……..I worry every time the US helps its allies…..more than one war has been started by our assistance….

Since I wrote this draft more news has come to light…….from AJE

Some European countries will send troops to support a French-African mission to restore order in the Central African Republic, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

France has deployed 1,600 troops to its former colony to prevent worsening violence between Christian militias and the largely Muslim Seleka rebels who ousted ex-President Francois Bozize.

While European nations including Poland, Britain, Germany, Spain and Belgium have provided various forms of assistance, French troops are intervening alone for the second time this year after ousting armed rebels in Mali, another former French colony.

Diplomats said the ground troops involved could come from Belgium and Poland and may be used to relieve French forces who are securing the airport in Bangui.

Is this the beginning of a wider war?  Just what will be the US part in this conflict?  Is this a new chapter in the old imperialism book written for Africa more than a century ago?  Where does this stop?  Who will make it cease?

Questions….I have questions…..to quote Roy Batty.  (You know you are a nerd if you get that reference)…….