The US-French conflict in the Congo, and in Central and West Africa

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The following is can be viewed as a reminder of the real nature of French
imperialism when it gets the chance.  At the same time, we should look for
confirmation of the UN proposal that France send troops, which, unless it
turns out to be part of a broader, US-supported operation, would be an
almost unprecedented taking of sides by the UN apparatus against the US in
interimperialist conflicts.And I wonder whether this could be done without
Security Council, which means US, acquiescence.  Another question I have
about the article is the assertion that France has close ties with the
Rwandan government, which Clinton visited in his tour of U.S. "model"
governments in Africa.

At the same time, the Congo situation can be cited, regardless of the facts
above, as a situation where the U.S.-French interimperialist conflict
offers, as yet at least (since the French empire in Africa has not yet been
completely smashed by popular uprisings or its US rival) ,no basis for
lesser evil choices by antiwar fighters and revolutionaries. This is unlike
the situation in Iraq, where the French had long since lost any element of
control, and were reduced to simply opposing in the Security Council the US
drive to take Iraq for itself alone.

A recent issue of the Militant described the war in Iraq as most
fundamentally an interimperialist fight for "control" of Iraq. At the same
time the Militant took the seemingly contradictory but nonetheless correct
position that Iraq was to be supported against the US invasion, which is not
what we are supposed to do when interimperialist conflict is the dominant
factor, at least as I understand the historical positions of the Communist
movement.  Still, I certainly don't propose that the Militant change this
position in order to be more consistent.  Logical consistency is not worth
class treason.

But "control" was not the issue in the interimperialist conflict.  France
had no illusions that they could win control of Iraq, nor did they control
the government of Saddam Hussein, with whom they were informally allied.
The issue for France was specific investments and loans and sales made to
Iraq under Hussein.  Washington did not overthrow French domination and
replace it with Washington's -- there was no French domination of Iraq or
realistic aspiration to achieve it.  Washington has, for now, overthrown the
national sovereignty and independence won by the Iraqi people through the
great revolution of 1958, as well as the control of the national bourgeoisie
or the wing of it represented by Saddam which was established in a national
counterrevolution.  The US did not have to smash French domination since
there was none.

West and Central Africa are very different indeed.  There the US-British
allliance and French rulers are the main imperialist actors in devastating
civil wars and national wars that are costing millions of lives.  The wars
involved the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory
Coast, Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina Faso and, less directly, Libya. The French
and US  aren't the only actors by any stretch.  In Burkina Faso and Liberia,
relatively direct imperialist rule  has been replaced (in Burkina as a
consequence of revolution and counter-revolution) by relatively independent
bourgeois national regimes.  Burkina still remains in the broad French
imperial orbit however.

The actors also include  gangs in these regions (the Revolutionary United
Front in Sierra Leone and Charles Taylor  in Liberia) who are fighting their
way into top bourgeois status in these countries by primitive accumulation
methods of plunder and slaughter.  This is also a big factor in the Congo.

At issue are such issues as challenges (in which France has a stake) to
US-British control of the world diamond market.  The UN campaign against
"war" diamonds is a reflection of their interests.

At any rate, my judgment is that there may be practical "lesser evil"
choices to be made between French and US interests in Iraq, especially when
France is forced to oppose US war resolutions in the Security Council or
NATO measures to support Turkey in doing US bidding -- which was rejected
for the time being -- in Iraq.

But there is no "lesser evil" in the bloody inter-imperialist competiton
taking place in central and West Africa.

They should both get the hell out, period.
Fred Feldman



From: "Stasi" <stasi@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Subject: [Peoples War] French Troops in DRC: Another Battle in the Making -
Stratfor

Stratfor

French Troops in DRC: Another Battle in the Making
====================================
May 14, 2003

Summary

A U.N. official has asked France to send troops to the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. The measure is meant to end ethnic clashes but only will
inflame tensions and distrust among the rivals.

Analysis

The United Nations has asked France to send a battalion of troops to end a
crisis in the troubled northeastern Ituri Province in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC). The French Foreign Ministry announced on May 13
that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan had asked French officials for help,
and reportedly has asked other countries to match the requested French
battalion. The United Nations already has 4,300 troops in the war-torn
country.

However, stationing more foreign forces in the country will further
aggravate rather than quell the conflict. Because of its colonial history in
central Africa and its current ties with the government in Rwanda, France
hardly is seen as an impartial third party. The deployment of French troops
to Bunia, the capital of Ituri, might even push Uganda to reverse its
withdrawal policies and consider redeploying forces to the region; the
nation recently withdrew a reported 1,650 troops from the area.

Fighting between the rival Hema and Lendu ethnic groups has raged for days,
following the withdrawal of Ugandan forces. On May 13, the Hema's militant
Union des Patriots Congolais (UPC) seized Bunia. The Ugandan-backed Lendu
militia, which tried to hold Bunia after Ugandan forces pulled out, alleges
that Rwanda is backing the Hema UPC.

Rwanda and Uganda compete for control of the eastern portion of the DRC.
Both support rival rebel groups and have forces -- exact figures are not
available -- deployed in the country.

Beyond the outsiders' rivalry, the DRC's government in Kinshasa hopes to
gain some measure of control over the northeastern region, which has been
under the control of foreign powers or rebels for the past several years. Ki
nshasa recently deployed 700 security personnel and 200 Uruguayan U.N.
troops to Bunia. The move has done little to halt clashes or strengthen
Kinshasa's hold on the northeast.

A French battalion, while not enough on its own to stop the fighting, could
be perceived as an advantage for Kigali. Kampala, in turn, will try to
counter this. Though embroiled in its own internal power struggle and
rebellions, the Ugandan government has too much vested in northeastern DRC
to just walk away. It relies on the region's mineral riches and timber to
finance military operations and keep military leaders happy. While Uganda
might want to publicly reduce its presence in the northeastern region of the
DRC, it will need to ensure that its rival, Rwanda, doesn't gain the upper
hand.



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