Blogs > Yes, "bring them on."

Dec 27, 2003

Yes, "bring them on."



Assuming that the mission is to be well-thought out (not always a given, as we've seen), I applaud the reported intention of the White House to send 500-1,000 Marines to Liberia as peacekeepers. Should the mission be successful, the stigma against American intervention in Africa might be broken and a lot of good might be possible in the near future. I do not endorse American military involvement in every single African conflict, but rather the selective and humane use of it when clearly necessary. Such actions might also do much to encourage more peacekeeping commitments by other powers (like the recent British intervention in Sierra Leone and the current, but small, French force in the Congo).

Of course, it ought to be mentioned that this is reported on the same day that the president issued a ridiculous challenge to Iraqi militants, needlessly antagonizing an Iraqi populace that is quickly souring on U.S. occupation. I think that we could not bring in Pakistani or Indonesian (as has been rumored) peacekeepers too soon.



comments powered by Disqus