FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL

We knew

The Rwandan genocide in 1994 was not a problem of unstoppable violence. Nor was it a problem that no one knew what to do about it. Active resistance from the U.S. Government to any effort to stop the genocide, paralyzed the United Nations from acting effectively. The commander of the U.N.'s peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, Canadian Major General Dallaire, stated at the time that with 5,000 soldiers and a mandate to stop the genocide, he could do it. Yet not only was his advice ignored, the Security Council voted on the same day to whittle down the existing peacekeeping force, abandoning the Tutsi population to the genocidaires. According to Gourevitch, "No military analyst whom I've heard of has ever questioned his judgment, and a great many have confirmed it." The Hutu genocidaires killed with machetes and light arms, coordinated by exhortations on regular radio - no match for trained professional soldiers.