Essay on History of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Djibouti, a small 9000 square miles Horn of Africa (HOA) enclave located at the convergence of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, is strategically important to the U. S. Foreign policy. All instruments of U.S National Power – diplomacy, information, military and economic – are exercised as part of a deliberate and sustained ‘whole of government’ approach. The U. S. Ambassador to Djibouti, the Honorable Geeta Pasi, leads a State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Team in enabling U. S. Strategic policy vision in HOA, while enabling and collaborating with Djibouti in strengthening government, social, economic and international capabilities.

Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest

Formerly known as Zaire, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DROC) is located in the center of Africa bordered by nine different countries and one territory. (Lerner, 10) The bordering countries are Central African Republic and Sudan at the northern boarder, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burundi on the eastern boarder, Zambia and Angola directly South of DROC and Congo on the Western boarder.

Disease such as malaria are degrading the society and causing a lack of educated youth in the Congo. The children are the future of any society. The main goal of the United States is to have a well educated and effective group of children who will grow up and lead the country to success. The Congo off course would

Sub point 1: Cause 1: According to the journal article The DRC's Crumbling Legitimacy in 2012, written by foreign policy analyst Dizolele and lawyer Kambale, the 2011 presidential election in the DRC have led to a crisis of legitimacy. Over 100 people who were against current Congolese president Joseph Kabila, who has been suspected of fraud in his election result, were wounded in the capital

creates a lack of understanding between the social groups in the Congo and their own

Morel was one of the bigger people that helped end King Leopold's reign over the Congo. He was employed by Elder Dumpster to supervise the arrival and departure of ships coming to or from the Congo. Just like Sheppard and Williams he saw the atrocities that Leopold was doing to the territory. He did dabble with freelance writing which he then used to write about what he saw. Elder Dempster did try keep him quiet, but Morel decided to devote his life to exposing Leopold’s plans.

What KIng Leopold II was trying to do with the Imperialism was get to the many resources that the Congo had to offer. After the Congo gained its independence back they are still striving to make the Congo a completely free country. They are still on of the least developed countries due to their lack or quality of life, resources, imports and exports, and education. Violence has also become a problem since the Rwandan Genocide that caused many wars. Statistics say the Congo has great potential to be in a good place again, financially and economically. The imperialism, however, sent them into years of a spiral decline that they are rigorously trying to get back up

In the past the United States has made many empty promises saying that we are going to be active in helping control the conflict that was occurring in Sudan. By sending in help the United States can regain credibility that they will follow through with their word. There are many people who are upset with the way that the United States has chosen to handle this situation. They have promised to send aid and resources but have followed with little efforts. The United States could gain respect from those around them and have a major role in a country with growing interest.

Over the course of human history, many believe that the “Congo Free State”, which lasted from the 1880s to the early 1900s, was one of the worst colonial states in the age of Imperialism and was one of the worst humanitarian disasters over time. Brutal methods of collecting rubber, which led to the deaths of countless Africans along with Europeans, as well as a lack of concern from the Belgian government aside from the King, combined to create the most potent example of the evils of colonialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. The Congo colonial experience, first as the Congo Free State then later as Belgian Congo, was harmful to that region of Africa both then and now because of the lack of Belgian and International

King Leopold is fully responsible for the effects of the Congo Free State because of what he did to colonize it. First, he privately established a colony in the region through his private holding company, the Association Internationale Africaine, and through his famous explorer Henry Morton Stanley. From then on, he slowly gained full control of the area by making advantageous deals with local chiefs. In a

The large cash injection would then create a “greasing the gears effect” and allow for the jumpstart of economic development. Between the years of 1948 and 1952 the U.S. granted $13 billion to revamp the European economy (Dambisa, 2009: 35). This particular method achieved great success in post-World War II Europe and was known as the Marshall Plan. Due to its effective and unquestionable success in this era, the model was applied to economic development in Africa with the confidence that the same outstanding results would ensue. However, the application of the Marshall Plan to Africa is problematic for three reasons. One, the Marshall Plan had a rigid duration period of five years while, the concessional loans and grants to Africa over the last 50 years have been unending (Dambisa, 2009: 36). Two, European institutions were already in place to receive the aid efficiently and effectively. In Africa, however, these same institutions are either non-existent or grossly ineffective due to corruption (Dambisa, 2009: 37). The vast amounts of corruption have been heavily documented. Mobutu Sese Seko, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997, for example, stole an equivalent of U.S. 5 billion dollars from his people (Dambisa, 2009: 48). However, even the less corrupt rulers of many African countries had few options as to what to invest the aid money on. Consequently, the bulk concessional aid goes directly into consumption without a variety of investment outlets. This process does not solve the problem but instead, allows for the cycle to continue. Lastly, three, the money from the Marshal had specific targets to repair physical infrastructure such as, roads, communications, sewage, factories, and electric systems (Dambisa, 2009: 37) In Africa today, the scope of the

The Republic of Congo’s government will continue to weaken and will not be able to work successfully. To strengthen the economy you must first have balance in the political development and democracy, which in fact is organized by policies modeled by The World Bank (International Monetary Fund 6).

The Central African Republic (CAR) is located in the heart of equatorial Africa. The country, with an estimated population of 4.4 million and a landmass of 622,984 sq km , is landlocked, sharing borders with Chad, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon. The country, a former colony of France (formerly known as Ubangi-Shari), gained independence on August 13, 1960. Like most former colonies, CAR was subject to interference in domestic affairs by its former colonizer. The French were linked to the death of Barthélémy Boganda, the country’s pre-independence leader . The French were also directly involved in several coups within the CAR.

The U.S. must intervene in South Sudan, as it is an enduring interest within our National Security Strategy to maintain “An international order advanced by U.S. leadership that promotes peace, security, and opportunity.” General Rodriguez, commander of AFRICOM, should employ both diplomatic and economic instruments of power. By doing so, the U.S. risks a potentially long-term engagement in East Africa.