The war in Democratic Republic of Congo (formally Zaire) was but one demonstration of the emptiness of the promises of a post Cold War political and economic renaissance for Africa. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. relations with its client 'kleptocrat', President Mobutu, fizzled as Mobutu was no longer deemed necessary as a Cold War ally. His opponents within the country stepped up demands for reform. This atmosphere contributed to Mobutu's declaring the Third Republic in 1990, whose constitution was supposed to pave the way for democratic reform. The reforms turned out to be largely cosmetic.

If a storm can be described as perfect, then the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the second half of the 1990s was the "perfect war". Precipitated by the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the war in Democratic Republic of Congo was dubbed Africa's First World War.

It directly involved the armed forces of various neighboring states. It drew in factions and rebel groups from other African wars, the remnant armies of defunct neighboring regimes, and the usual crowd of international profiteers, would-be peacemakers and humanitarians. It was closely connected with armed conflicts in several neighboring countries, including those in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, and Angola. Mobutu's rule continued and he sought revenge over his opposition. Eventually conflict forced him to flee Zaire in 1997. The name of the nation was returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the name Zaire carried strong connections to the rule of Mobutu.

According to one estimate published in 2003 the war may directly and indirectly have caused the deaths of over 4 million people in Democratic Republic of Congo since 1996. As has become increasingly common in Africa the victims were almost all civilians and refugees. Sudan has recently become allies with the U.S. and other peace keeping countries and offered their border to fleeing refugees to further reinforce its commitment and solidify its own economic endeavors.

United States law making sympathizers, wrestled with their own moral and ethical conflicts about the situation, contemplated on sending large scale military assistance into the brewing cauldron they helped lit in central Africa...

"Democratic Republic of the Congo." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2 Feb 2008, 10:09 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 6 Feb 2008.

"Resolving African Conflicts" Tom Porteous Crimes of War Project: War in Africa. Oct 2004, W. W. Norton & Company, July 1999.