<they would need to have WMD to be taken seriously>
Like Iraq had WMD?
C'mon now, if a case can be made, and sold to the American people, for invading Iraq, then it ought to be possible to make a case for invading and Nation Building in Congo. The absence of facts or national interests at stake, are easily overcome obstacles.
Here is why we should occupy Congo:
1. Their governments are brutal tyrannies, and the people clearly yearn for freedom and prosperity. It is the duty of Americans, as global champions of all that is good, to bring them the boon of our guidance. Can't you see the Congolese throwing flowers on our tanks? Doesn't that vision make you proud to be an American?
2. Oil has been discovered nearby (Angola), and might be discovered in Congo. So, we should act now, using the theory of preemptive occupation of theoretical future oil fields (similar to the theory of overthrowing governments that might attack us, sometime in the vague future).
3. As a warlord State, with no functioning central government, it looks a lot like interior Yemen, or Lebanon during the Civil War, or 1980s Afghanistan. Such places attract terrorists, who can set up Safe Havens. Best to take preventive action now, and not wait till more attacks in New York. This follows the general principle: anyplace America isn't in control, bad things are probably happening (the ControlFreak Paradigm).
4. Domino Theory: If we knock over one nation, and set an example, and Act Firm, it will only be a short time till every other African nation is a prosperous democracy.
5. Access: if we ever have the need to do anything anywhere else in Africa, Congo would be a great place to start from. We can exert influence, from Nigeria to South Africa, with a permanent military presence there. Not sure why we'd want to do that, but we'll probably think of something. |
