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Congo (Kinshasa): Arms Past and Present
Congo (Kinshasa): Arms Past and Present
Date distributed (ymd): 000126
Document reposted by APIC
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: Central Africa
Issue Areas: +economy/development+ +security/peace+
+US policy focus+
Summary Contents:
This posting contains the executive summary of a new report
from the Arms Trade Resource Center of the World Policy
Institute, citing past and present U.S. military connections
to countries involved in the conflict in the Democratic
Republic of Congo. The report calls for greater restrictions
and transparency in U.S. programs of arms sales and military
training, and for refocusing resources on civilian
development.
+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Deadly Legacy:
U.S. Arms to Africa and the Congo War
A Report of the Arms Trade Resource Center
January 2000
William D. Hartung
World Policy Institute
65 Fifth Ave. Suite 413
New York, NY 10003
Tel: (212)-229-5808, ext. 106
Fax: (212)-229-5579
E-mail: [email protected]
Executive Summary
As the Clinton administration moves into the presidency of the
United Nations Security Council, it is declaring January 2000,
"the month of Africa." Hoping to counter criticisms that it
has been engaged in a rhetorical promotion of U.S.-Africa
relations over the past two years without substantive
follow-up, the administration has announced its intent to
prioritize finding solutions to the ongoing conflicts in the
region, including a 30-year civil war that trudges on in
Angola and the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC). It has not, however, accepted its own
responsibility in helping to create the conditions that have
led to these seemingly intractable conflicts.
Over the past few years, the administration has made
considerable effort to put a new and improved face on its
relations with African countries. High-level visits to the
region -- first by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, then
President Clinton himself in the spring of 1998, and U.S.
Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke this past December --
have reinforced the idea of a new partnership with the
continent based on promoting "African solutions to African
problems." The reality, however, is that the problems facing
Africa and her people -- violent conflict, political
instability, and the lowest regional rate of economic growth
worldwide -- have been fueled in part by a legacy of U.S.
involvement in the region. Moreover, the solutions being
proposed by the Clinton administration remain grounded in the
counter-productive Cold-War policies that have defined
U.S.-Africa relations for far too long.
Unfortunately, the ongoing war in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo presents a vivid example of how U.S. policies --
past and present -- have failed the people of Africa. After
more than two years of devastating war, African leaders are
struggling, with little success, to implement the Lusaka peace
accord. Signatories to the treaty continue to call for UN
peacekeeping support even as they prepare for continued
fighting. Despite its demonstrable role in planting the seeds
of this conflict, the U.S. has done little to either
acknowledge its complicity or help create a viable resolution.
Official tours of the region and impressive rhetoric will not
be enough to contribute to lasting peace, democratic
stability, and economic development in Africa.
Major Findings
Finding 1
Due to the continuing legacies of its Cold War policies
toward Africa, the U.S. bears some responsibility for the
cycles of violence and economic problems plaguing the
continent. Throughout the Cold War (1950-1989), the U.S.
delivered over $1.5 billion worth of weaponry to Africa. Many
of the top U.S. arms clients -- Liberia, Somalia, the Sudan,
and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DRC) --
have turned out to be the top basket cases of the 1990s in
terms of violence, instability, and economic collapse.
Finding 2
The ongoing civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(formerly Zaire) is a prime example of the devastating legacy
of U.S. arms sales policy on Africa. The U.S. prolonged the
rule of Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Soko by providing more
than $300 million in weapons and $100 million in military
training. Mobutu used his U.S.-supplied arsenal to repress
his own people and plunder his nation's economy for three
decades, until his brutal regime was overthrown by Laurent
Kabila's forces in 1997. When Kabila took power, the Clinton
administration quickly offered military support by developing
a plan for new training operations with the armed forces.
Finding 3
Although the Clinton administration has been quick to
criticize the governments involved in the Congo War, decades
of U.S. weapons transfers and continued military training to
both sides of the conflict have helped fuel the fighting. The
U.S. has helped build the arsenals of eight of the nine
governments directly involved in the war that has ravaged the
DRC since Kabila's coup. U.S. military transfers in the form
of direct government-to-government weapons deliveries,
commercial sales, and International Military Education and
Training (IMET) to the states directly involved have totaled
more than $125 million since the end of the Cold War.
Finding 4
Despite the failure of U.S. polices in the region, the
current administration continues to respond to Africa's woes
by helping to strengthen African militaries. As U.S. weapons
deliveries to Africa continue to rise, the Clinton
administration is now undertaking a wave of new military
training programs in Africa. Between 1991-1998, U.S. weapons
and training deliveries to Africa totaled more than $227
million. In 1998 alone, direct weapons transfers and IMET
training totaled $20.1 million. And, under the Pentagon's
Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program, U.S. special
forces have trained military personnel from at least 34 of
Africa's 53 nations, including troops fighting on both sides
of the DRC's civil war -- from Rwanda and Uganda (supporting
the rebels) to Zimbabwe and Namibia (supporting the Kabila
regime).
Finding 5
Even as it fuels military build-up, the U.S. continues
cutting development assistance to Africa and remains unable
(or unwilling) to promote alternative non-violent forms of
engagement. While the U.S. ranks number one in global weapons
exports, it falls dead last among industrialized nations in
providing non-military foreign aid to the developing world.
In 1997, the U.S. devoted only 0.09% of GNP to international
development assistance, the lowest proportion of all developed
countries. U.S. development aid to all of sub-Saharan Africa
has dropped to just $700 million in recent years (roughly
one-third the cost of one B-2 bomber!).
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
By restricting the flow of weapons and training and
increasing support for sustainable development policies, the
U.S. could help create the conditions needed for peace and
stability to take root. Although Congress recently passed
legislation requiring the President to begin negotiations
toward an international arms sales code of conduct based on
human rights, non-aggression, and democracy, the U.S.
continues to exempt its own exports from these same standards.
The Clinton administration should make good on its acclaimed
commitments to human rights and democracy by supporting
passage of the bipartisan McKinney-Rohrabacher Code of Conduct
on Arms Transfers (HR 2269), a measure which would take U.S.
weapons out of the hands of dictators and human rights
abusers.
Recommendation 2
All U.S. military training programs should receive
congressional oversight and approval, with effective
mechanisms in place for reviewing and assessing their impact
on human rights and democratic consolidation in the recipient
countries. Despite congressional action to restrict military
training from units engaged in human rights abuses, the
Pentagon still carries out largely unmonitored Joint Combined
Exchange Training (JCET) operations under a special forces
exemption. Congress should take immediate steps to close the
loopholes in JCET and other training programs by passing the
International Military Training Transparency and
Accountability Act (HR 1063). This bill, introduced by Rep.
Chris Smith (R-NJ) and supported by a strong bi-partisan
coalition, would prohibit all forms of military training and
services to countries that are already ineligible for
International Military Education Training.
Recommendation 3
The Clinton administration should provide increased
unconditional debt forgiveness to African nations and
encourage them to shift resources away from military build-up
and toward human development. The U.S. should immediately
forgive the hundreds of millions of dollars in military debt
accrued by governments in Zaire, the Sudan, and Somalia. It
should also take steps toward further debt relief by passing
the HOPE for Africa bill introduced by Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
(D-IL) in the House (HR 772) and Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI)
in the Senate (S 1636). President Clinton should also commit
to the Jubilee 2000 campaign's call for developing a plan, in
conjunction with local non-governmental organizations and
civil society, for full and unconditional debt relief this
year.
Recommendation 4
The U.S. should provide increased development assistance to
Africa and encourage civil-society building. President
Clinton and Congress should restore the previous level of $800
million in development assistance to Africa in the FY2001
budget and work to increase funding to a more responsible
level in coming years. The U.S. should strive to raise
African development funding to $2 billion by 2003, and consult
directly with non-governmental institutions to ensure that
these funds are dispersed and used appropriately.
For a copy of the full report, contact Frida Berrigan
(212-229-5808, ext. 112, or [email protected]); or
consult our website, http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary
objective is to widen international policy debates around
African issues, by concentrating on providing accessible
policy-relevant information and analysis usable by a wide
range of groups and individuals.
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