Where US Policy Came From: Crash Course US History # 9
19th century foreign policy of France failed in 2014.
Under the pretext of saving the world another genocide, France has deployed 1,600 soldiers in the Central African Republic CAR late last year Sangaris Since the operation was launched, however, the French army proved powerless to stop sectarian violence which took more than a thousand lives in Bangui last month now that it is clear that the humanitarian crisis is beyond the french control, the President Hollande faces the question of whether Paris should have intervened in CAR, where a significant percentage of the country's citizens see the intervention of France as a form of 21st century neo-colonialism France was clearly naive to believe that the deployment least 2,000 men to a nation destabilized the edge of anarchy and awash with weapons restore stability.
While the first French brigade to enter the car last month were welcomed as liberators, not all citizens have welcomed the presence of former military colonial ruler - thousands of Seleka supporters protested against the intervention true, the french military commanders did not imagine they simply waltz and be greeted by a shower of rose petals But at the same time, it seems clear that they did not anticipate such strong opposition and were not prepared what awaited them.
The French military spokesman Colonel Gilles Jaron said that France has acted impartially in CAR, but this view was not shared by the former rebel coalition-- Séléka-- Muslim majority that overthrew the Bozizé government Since last year the identity of France and historical role in the region, many in the Muslim community for the RCA France as an ally of the Christian militias in the country, rather than a neutral arbitrator the resulting tension was highlighted by Seleka-led attacks against French troops during the last two months to turn some Christian militias have targeted the troops of the African Union mainly from Chad, the display of these forces as defenders activists Muslims CAR.
Throughout 2014 France will have difficult decisions to make about his military campaign there is no indication that the CAR sectarian violence is down, despite the hope that the election of parliament transition Catherine Samba-Panza as interim president will result carnage in fact, the daily acts of revenge killings that involve scenes of lynching have become the new normal Samba-Panza has an almost impossible task on his hands.
The severity of the violence, including the beheading of children is troubling experts warn, and last month, we addressed, which could become a genocide in CAR John Ging, director of the UN Office of the operations for the coordination of humanitarian Affairs OCHA said that CAR has all the elements that we have seen elsewhere, in places like Rwanda and Bosnia, and the elements are there, the seeds are there for genocide.
In addition to CAR, recent military intervention of France in other African countries, including Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Mali and Niger highlights the role of Paris more assertive and activist in some of its former African colonies While Europe has many interests in Africa, France is Africa's foreign policy highlights how it remains the EU's first power on the continent given the French demand for African oil and minerals, the presence of hundreds of thousands of french nationals across the continent, and the french entrenched business interests across the country, the stakes are indeed high for France in Africa.
However, the extent to which France CAR sacrifice his own blood to defend these interests remains to be seen It would not be hard to imagine President Hollande declared victory and the withdrawal of French troops if the situation deteriorates much the s admission Paris the french government has underestimated the level of hatred between CAR Christians and Muslims, and its assessment of the crisis almost impossible to manage, indicates that Holland may not have fully considered the options of his government.
CAR's crisis poses a major challenge for the Netherlands administration If more French troops die in what appears to be a genocide looming, and the French army is powerless to stem the growing violence, it would certainly be a blow the French Government, it does not seem that in such circumstances, the French government will have good options on the table.
After deploying troops in CAR for the stated purpose of saving the genocide Africa, Paris will look weak internationally for not achieving its objective in this case it will not be the first country to have experienced a such a result neither Africa nor the West wants another Rwanda in the end, the CAR crisis and the failure may force operation Sangaris French to pursue more realistic goals in Africa and abandon the romantic dreams export of civility in Africa barrel of a gun.
Daniel Wagner is CEO of Country Risk Solutions, a consulting company in cross-border risk, and author of Country Managing Risk Giorgio Cafiero is a research analyst with CRS based in Washington.
19th century foreign policy of France fails 2014 The Huffington Post, France, 19th century.