top
US
US
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Obama's State Department on the defensive re Rwanda's undeclared war in Congo

by KPFA Weekend News/Ann Garrison
On Tuesday, 12.11.2012, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the eastern Congo "conflict." The "conflict" would have to be called a war if the press, Congress and the rest would stop calling the M23 "Congo rebels" and acknowledge that Rwandan Defense Minister James Kabarebe, who answers to Rwandan President Paul Kagame, is commanding them. The "eastern Congo conflict" sounds less serious and worthy of the world's attention than a war. Though M23 were still referred to as "Congo rebels" in this hearing, it was a milestone towards establishing the truth. The U.S. relationship to Rwanda came under particular scrutiny at this hearing.
Listen now:
Copy the code below to embed this audio into a web page:
AFRICOMWardinRwandawithKabarebe.jpg
William "Kip" Ward, center, in gray camouflage, was the first AFRICOM (U.S. Africa Command) commander.  He is seen here in Rwanda, with Rwandan National Defense Minister James Kabarebe, whose command of the M23 militia fighting in Congo, has been documented in the latest UN Group of Experts report on the undeclared war known as "the Congo conflict." The Rwandan military is one of the Pentagon's most useful "military partners" on the African continent, but this aspect of the U.S. relationship to Rwanda - and Uganda - another useful Pentagon "military partner" - was not much discussed at the 12.11.2012 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.

The hearing was nevertheless important in that it acknowledged the truth of the UN Group of Experts report - that Rwanda and Uganda are not only "behind," but commanding and sending arms and soldiers to the M23 militia in eastern Congo.

For more on this undeclared war, see World Watches as Rwanda and Uganda Violently Assault and Dismember Congo, and more on the Black Star News, the San Francisco Bay View's Africa and the World section, and my website, anngarrison.com.

To sign a petition to ask UN Ambassador Susan Rice to back targeted sanctions against the top officials in Rwanda and Uganda, see change.org:  Susan Rice U.S. Ambassador To United Nations (212) 415-4050: Back UN Sanctions Against Kagame/Museveni for Backing M23 Terrorists

And, tune into KPFA's Morning Mix, with Sabrina Jacobs, from 8:00 to 9:00 A.M. on Monday morning, 12.13.2012.  
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network