4 June 2011
Scott A Morgan
This past week the US State Department once again placed the Country in a position where it appears that Hypocrisy and even expediency triumph over both the Rule of Law and even Common Sense.
The Bureau of African Affairs announced that it had awarded a Contract to DynCorp a Private Security Firm based in the DC suburb of Falls Church, Virginia. This Contract to train FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is good for one year and has options for two more. The total price tag for the American taxpayer will be just over 17 Million Dollars if all three years are met.
There is a problem with the Congolese Army without a Shadow of a Doubt. Units Based in the Eastern Part of the Country have been documented in being involved with both the Conflict Minerals Problem and the Systematic Rape of the Congolese Women. And this past April DynCorp itself reached an out of court Settlement with the State Department over the Charges of filing false paperwork regarding its efforts to Train Police Forces in Iraq. Terms of the Settlement required the Company to pay $7.7 Million to the State Department.
The Contract was awarded under the AFRICAP (African Peacekeeping Program). The order calls upon the Firm to provide basic leadership and Specialty training in Communications, Engineering and Logistics. On this side of the coin it makes a modicum of sense as the large Country has a poorly defined Infrastructure.
The other side of the coin is why award this contract to a Company that you reached an out of court settlement with several weeks ago? There is a vocal Activist Community here in the United States that has been critical with the laissez-faire attitude regarding the situation in the DRC. There is a Law (Public Law 109-456) which was written by President Obama while He was in the Senate which several key provisions are being ignored.
Some of the Provisions that are being ignored include: Appointing a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, Placing Sanctions on those entities who are causing problems in the Country ( Both Uganda and Rwanda have Military Units in the Country and have links to various Militias that have been documented as being behind the Rapes and profiting from the illicit sale of Conflict Minerals.)
The timing of this contract is crucial as well. Presidential and Parliamentary Elections are scheduled in the Congo to occur on November 28th of this year. Earlier this year “Electoral Reforms” were made to streamline the Process. However detractors and Opposition Members claim that these efforts were made to ensure the reelection of Joseph Kabila.
Oh what a tangled web that is being woven at the State Department….
The Author Publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet which monitors US Policy toward Africa. It can be found at confusedeagle.livejournal.com
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