The UN Is Planning To Cut And Run From The Congo Conflict

Indian United Nations peacekeepers conduct a night foot patrol in Goma in eastern Congo, February 15, 2009. Photograph by: Finbarr O'Reilly /Reuters, REUTERS

U.N. Mulls Exit Strategy For Congo Troops: Diplomats -- Reuters

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations is quietly preparing an exit strategy for its troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the biggest U.N. peacekeeping mission in the world, diplomats and officials said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, diplomats and U.N. officials said President Joseph Kabila was putting pressure on the U.N. and Security Council ahead of the country's 50th anniversary next year to come up with a plan for ending the peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC.

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My Comment: The UN commitment to the Congo has been an unmitigated disaster. From the earlier reports of UN soldiers raping Congolese women, to news reports that the UN was supporting Congolese military units that have been implicated in civilian massacres, has stained the UN peacekeeping forces for years to come.

A new approach will need to be developed by the UN, but with its many factions and limitations of funds tells me that this "new approach" towards peacekeeping will never get off the ground.