CONGO: Here we go again ... rape, torture, pillaging, and genocide!

The continuing rebel incursion into the DR Congo is Rwanda all over again. I sometimes wonder if ANYONE knows where and what Africa is?

While the world continues to have an erection over "The One" (h/t FL), rape, torture, and murder proceed unimpeded in the DR Congo, the third largest country by area in Africa.

The UN was shouldered with responsibility for finding a solution years ago ... long before the current war; their answer to the challenge was and is MONUC, which is nothing more than a subsidy for thousands of emasculated foreign military personnel. The EU sent its own contingent of troops as well ... so too the French.

In the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, conservative and religious voices lifted a chorus of "never again," while numerous Western nations conducted inquiries into their failure to prevent the inhumanity ... yet here we are again.

We have well over 5 million (mostly civilian) native deaths directly or indirectly related to the DR Congo wars, yet the world watches and yawns; add the genocide in Darfur and one should choke on the staggering loss of lives in Africa in the past decade.

The incompetence of our global structures to stop these tribal and regional conflicts and bring general peace to the continent speaks volumes about the state of 21st Century man and his creations.

If it weren't so damn irritating it would be laughable.

Raise a stink about this, write your leaders, write the UN, call newspapers. Do something!

Africa, Darfur, DR Congo,
Genocide, Global incompetence, MONUC,
Obama, Geopolitics, United Nations

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TALIBAN: Answering the unanswerable!

Today's article suggests the Taliban may be ready to release their Korean hostages (mostly women).

I've been personally frustrated by various complaints from Christians and Christian organizations about the silence from the Christian community and the Godblogosphere concerning these "Christian" aid workers. The complaints are warranted to a certain extent but let's face reality.

At this juncture, two male members of the Korean group have been murdered; there is no guarantee more won't suffer the same fate.

Most Western Christians are news savvy and know when they are dealing with ignorant unprincipled people; leaders who have no moral compunctions other than their wild allegiance to an aberrant idea.

This does have a tendency to dampen involvement.

And speaking for myself - I have 24 hours each day to minister for the Lord; I'm obligated to use those hours as a gift (no, I'm not always perfect in their use) and to prioritize my labors. Like Satan, I cannot be everywhere at once, all-knowing, and all-mighty. Most of us are doing the best we can.

And I would suggest that Darfur, the Iraqi Christian exodus, and Arab persecution of Christians in general trump the hostages ... and where pray tell is the UN, man's answer to all of this? What a waste!

In other words, where can my noise, my sweat, and my heart do the most good? And since when is this a problem of the American church only? And is the noise I hear from the Church in the North, South, and East not still "from the Church"? Why is so much guilt placed on the shoulders of the Church in the West? We are one body!

Bottom-line, Paul knew before going "to Caesar" that he might not come out alive; the same was said by Jesus on His entry into Jerusalem.

When we opt to go on mission for God, and opt for a dangerous mission field (the field of another), there is a certain awareness of the dangers involved. In some fields (like Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan) there is a tacit understanding that there are no clandestine black berets lurking in the shadows to extricate us if we get in trouble.

My feeling is the criticism is both warranted (in a qualified sense) and unwarranted (in an unqualified sense). Perhaps the critics should reexamine their criticism.

Chritianity, Criticism, Geopolitics,
Hostages, Korean, Missions, Taliban

DARFUR: Authorization for 26 thousand UN troops, but ...

... will they actually go?

Darfur is an ongoing genocide of non-Muslims by Muslims the nations of this world have been ignoring for years.

If as much attention was paid to it by Bono et al, as has been paid to the HIV problem in Africa perhaps these troops could have stayed home!

Africa, Christianity, Darfur, Genocide,
Peace Keeping, United Nations