Did Bill Clinton drop the ball during the Rwandan genocide? (radical, extremist)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Perhaps, but it is what it is. Who knows how many nations would have existed without European colonialism by this point? The continent has over 1000 ethnicities. In a world of nation-states, it may have ended up with hundreds of nations by now.
Or one, using New Guinea as an example.
You can argue that the least harmful way to treat Africa below the Sahara would be to have cordoned it off completely. Any introduction of new technology beyond simple metal working, especially transport and weaponry, is bound to have resulted in some serious strife. The existence of different languages implies de facto borders and some degree of conflict already, and simply mixing two ant hills together never ends up with pretty results.
One nice side effect of treating Africa as a giant version of Papua New Guinea (or even more isolated) is that there might be some hope for the ecology of the continent. As it is, the population bomb going off there is going to have truly sad results in terms of wildlife.
You can argue that the least harmful way to treat Africa below the Sahara would be to have cordoned it off completely. Any introduction of new technology beyond simple metal working, especially transport and weaponry, is bound to have resulted in some serious strife. The existence of different languages implies de facto borders and some degree of conflict already, and simply mixing two ant hills together never ends up with pretty results.
One nice side effect of treating Africa as a giant version of Papua New Guinea (or even more isolated) is that there might be some hope for the ecology of the continent. As it is, the population bomb going off there is going to have truly sad results in terms of wildlife.
If Europe, which is less diverse, is not one nation then it certainly would not be an option for Africa.
I don't think Somalia and Bosnia are directly tied to our economy, but we put boots on the ground anyway.
Somalia is a breeding ground for Islamic extremists. Somali pirates regularly take over US and other allies' ships, taking hostages. And Al Shabaab, with bases in Somalia, regularly conducts terrorist attacks in other East African countries.
That being said, due in part to a lack of concrete interests in Bosnia, the US held off on getting involved for years - a stand that was roundly criticized world wide due to the ongoing genocide, ethnic "cleansing," concentration camps, etc that were present in Bosnia, at Europe's doorstep.
If Europe, which is less diverse, is not one nation then it certainly would not be an option for Africa.
New Guinea really is a good counter example. 800+ languages, only half of them are related. All against all kinds of warfare in different areas. Admittedly, it's quite a lot smaller.
There is something to be said for a disinterested third party to come in and run affairs, hopefully at some profit to themselves (although most British-held areas were actually money losers for the mothership) if it can give you some standardized rule of law, court system, transportation network etc., but those days are gone I'm afraid. If nothing else, Mikhail Kalashnikov has seen to that.
My own personal feeling is that nations (as opposed to countries) that are inhabited by a culture that has it's act together can be the best examples of human progress, but modern politics and ease of transport have decided to grind them up.
Somalia is a breeding ground for Islamic extremists. Somali pirates regularly take over US and other allies' ships, taking hostages. And Al Shabaab, with bases in Somalia, regularly conducts terrorist attacks in other East African countries.
...
It seems to me that reducing the hassles emanating from Somalia would cost a lot less than actually trying to stabilize and run the country. Anti-piracy measures (complete with yardarms) combined with the random destruction of any terrorist base would certainly be less expensive than active management.
The whole continent is bound to blow up due to demographic pressure, so you'll have to pick and choose your battles.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.