Rwanda+Genocide

=**__Tommy Boy Goettlergrad__** =

This investigation will be exploring the question: **Why did the American Government fail to intervene during the 1994 Rwanda Genocide?** The investigation will be focused on the factors that went into the decision to not get involved in Rwanda. It will be investigating: the formation of the ACRI, the assembly of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the events of the Genocide. The process will consist of pulling information from a selection of sources like, Bill Clinton's //My Life// and the Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity to back up my conclusion.
 * A.) Plan of the Investigation **


 * B.) Summary of Evidence **


 * Events Proceeding, During and Following the Genocide **


 * I: Events preceding the Genocide. **
 * “On the same day, mass violence raged in Rwanda. A plane crashed killing the Rwanda president and the president of Burundi sparked the beginning of a horrendous slaughter inflicted by leaders of the majority Hutu on the Tutsi and their Hutu sympathizers” (1).
 * The Tutsi consisted only 15 percent of the population but were thought to have disproportionate economic and political power (2).
 * In Rwanda, the mass killing of the Tutsi by the Hutu was stopped only when the Tutsi defeated the Hutu. The response of the UN was to authorize a tribunal post facto (3).
 * The United States intervened in Somalia six months prior to the Genocide in Rwanda (4).


 * II: Events during the Genocide **
 * The Hutu of Rwanda attempted genocide against their Tutsi countrymen (5).
 * “Within one hundred days, more than 800,000 people in a country of only 8 million would be murdered, most of them with machetes" (6).
 * “We were so preoccupied with Bosnia, with the memory of Somalia just six months old, and with opposition in Congress to military deployments in faraway places not vital to our national interests that neither I nor anyone on my foreign policy team adequately focused on sending troops to stop the slaughter” (7).
 * "Almost daily since the Rwandan genocide began on April 6, broadcast media have aired horrific accounts and the major papers have featured the story on their front pages. The media seldom wavered, however, from their habitual racist portrayal of African strife as atavistic tribal savagery" (8).
 * "Occasionally, deep down in newspaper stories, the political context of the attacks on the Tutsi minority by members of the Hutu majority was acknowledged. But a reader seeking an explanation for Washington's inaction could read on through the end of May and come up empty. Instead of probing U.S. policy, the big media gave the Clinton administration an easy ride" (9).


 * III: Events following the Genocide **
 * Bill Clinton stated after the genocide, “In my second term, and after I left office, I did what I could to help the Rwandans put their country and their lives back together. Today, at the invitation of President Paul Kagame, Rwanda is one of the countries in which my foundation is working to stem the tide of AIDS” (10).
 * “With a few thousand troops and help from our allies, even making allowances for the time it would have taken to deploy them, we could have saved lives. The failure to try to stop Rwanda’s tragedies became one of the greatest regrets of my presidency” (11).
 * An international panel of experts assembled by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) investigated the genocide in Rwanda and concluded that during the period of civil war, genocide had indeed occurred, and a high degree of tolerance for genocidal violence committed by African leaders seemed to exist. In calling its report Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide, the panel drew attention to the possible culpability of the United States and UN in this tragedy (12).
 * "The failure to try to stop Rwanda’s tragedies became one of the greatest regrets of my presidency" (13).

** The Formation of the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) **
 * Purpose was to respond in a timely fashion to humanitarian crises and develop peacekeeping missions on the African continent (14).
 * After the ACRI was formed, these murders continued and the force never officially intervened (15).
 * The formation of the ACRI was interpreted by Nelson Mandela, as a cynical attempt by the U.S. government to repair its image in the wake of the Rwandan genocide (16).
 * Often regarded as the "fastest" genocide in history as it took place over the course of several days. While graphic images of the genocide dominated the media, the U.S. government remained reluctant to even use the term genocide to characterize what was unfolding in Rwanda. It simply declared, "acts of genocide may have taken place" (17).


 * C.) Evaluation of Sources **


 * Clinton, Bill. //My Life.// New York: Alfred A, Knopf, 2004. Print **

This book was written by Bill Clinton after his two terms that he served as president. He looks back on his influence he had on the events that took place in Rwanda, and this adds credibility to the investigation because Clinton had the most say in whether to intervene or not. Bill Clinton’s “My Life” gives explicit reasoning on his actions that he took during the genocide, and his thoughts of those actions afterwards. This source has useful quotes, and gives background information on the Genocide. It is a primary source of America’s involvement, but this book doesn’t discuss a lot in depth about the Rwanda genocide but a few good quotes that will become very useful.


 * [|Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity] **** . Ed. Dinah L. Shelton. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p10-11. From Gale Virtual Reference Library. **

This source is from the Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. Dinah L. Shelton is the only editor for this Encyclopedia, and she is a Professor of International Law at George Washington University. The Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity article is on the purpose of the formation of the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI). This source provides a lot of good research like, giving background information and information on what happened during the genocide. This source offers an alternate perspective on the formation of the ACRI, provides statistics actions taken by the US and UN, and the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). It gives an interesting perspective on how it was the “fastest” and most effective Genocide in history, but was not called “Genocide” by Clinton and the United States. This source is lacking in size, and it doesn’t have an abundance of information.


 * D.) Analysis **

In 1994, in the small Eastern African country of Rwanda, a genocide took place that shocked the world, but to the point where the world did not react. Bill Clinton former United State's president (1993-2001) stated in his book //My Life//, "The failure to try to stop Rwanda’s tragedies became one of the greatest regrets of my presidency" (18). The United States did not make an immediate reaction to give aid to the country in turmoil. This poses the question: why did the American government fail to intervene during the 1994 Rwanda Genocide? Many actions and statements point to the previous intervention in Somalia six months earlier, and other various pressing situations.

“...mass violence raged in Rwanda. A plane crashed killing the Rwanda president and the president of Burundi sparked the beginning of a horrendous slaughter inflicted by leaders of the majority Hutu on the Tutsi and their Hutu sympathizers” (19). The Tutsi consisted only 15 percent of the population but were thought to have disproportionate economic and political power (20). The Hutu followed through and "attempted genocide on their Tutsi countrymen" (21). “Within one hundred days, more than 800,000 people in a country of only 8 million would be murdered, most of them with machetes" (22). The horrors were not left unreported, "Almost daily since the Rwandan genocide began on April 6, broadcast media have aired horrific accounts and the major papers have featured the story on their front pages. The media seldom wavered, however, from their habitual racist portrayal of African strife as atavistic tribal savagery" (23). There was a public disinterest with Genocide in Rwanda, in reality the population cared about the death toll, but did not want to risk American lives to stop it. "Occasionally, deep down in newspaper stories, the political context of the attacks on the Tutsi minority by members of the Hutu majority was acknowledged. But a reader seeking an explanation for Washington's inaction could read on through the end of May and come up empty. Instead of probing U.S. policy, the big media gave the Clinton administration an easy ride" (24). Possibly the lack of pressure from the population to act in the foreign affair was the reason why the government did not give aid. The American public would've outraged if President Clinton occupied Rwanda, with all that was already going on. “We were so preoccupied with Bosnia, with the memory of Somalia just six months old, and with opposition in Congress to military deployments in faraway places not vital to our national interests that neither I nor anyone on my foreign policy team adequately focused on sending troops to stop the slaughter” (25).

The slaughter finally came to an end by the Tutsi, but not before the death toll hit upwards of 800,00 deaths. An international panel of experts assembled by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) investigated the genocide in Rwanda and concluded that during the period of civil war, genocide had indeed occurred, and a high degree of tolerance for genocidal violence committed by African leaders seemed to exist. In calling its report Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide, the panel drew attention to the possible culpability of the United States and UN in this tragedy (26). Bill Clinton said, “With a few thousand troops and help from our allies, even making allowances for the time it would have taken to deploy them, we could have saved lives. The failure to try to stop Rwanda’s tragedies became one of the greatest regrets of my presidency” (27).

Bill Clinton stated after the genocide, “In my second term, and after I left office, I did what I could to help the Rwandans put their country and their lives back together... Rwanda is one of the countries in which my foundation is working to stem the tide of AIDS” (28). Even before the he left office he helped for the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI). It's purpose was to respond in a timely fashion to humanitarian crises and develop peacekeeping missions on the African continent, yet the ACRI never took action to stop any sort of mass murdering (29). After the ACRI was formed in 1994, these murders continued and the force never officially intervened and as of mid-2004, with the mass murders occurring in the Darfur province of Sudan, the U.S. government had yet to deploy the ACRI force to put an end to genocide in Africa (30). The formation of the ACRI was interpreted by some African leaders, such as South African Nelson Mandela, as a cynical attempt by the U.S. government to repair its image in the wake of the Rwandan genocide (31). Often regarded as the "fastest" genocide in history as it took place over the course of several days. While graphic images of the genocide dominated the media, the U.S. government remained reluctant to even use the term genocide to characterize what was unfolding in Rwanda. It simply declared, "acts of genocide may have taken place" (32).


 * E.) Conclusion **

The United States could've easily intervened in Rwanda, but they failed to do so. It's impossible to say what the right move was, but from Bill Clinton's autobiography, and other sources points to the conclusion that Bill Clinton said himself, “We were so preoccupied with Bosnia, with the memory of Somalia just six months old, and with opposition in Congress to military deployments in faraway places not vital to our national interests that neither I nor anyone on my foreign policy team adequately focused on sending troops to stop the slaughter” (34).


 * F.) List of Sources **

Word Count: 1,985

Clinton, Bill. //My Life//. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. Print.

[|Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity]. Ed. Dinah L. Shelton. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p10-11. From Gale Virtual Reference Library.

[|Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity]. Ed. Dinah L. Shelton. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p925-933. From Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Hodge, Carl C., and Cathal J. Nolan. "William Jefferson Clinton." U.S. Presidents & Foreign Policy. N.p.: ABC CLIO, 2007. Print.

Hunter, Jane. "As Rwanda Bled, Media Sat on Their Hands." Editorial. //Fair//. N.p., July 1994. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. < [] >.

Neumann, Caryn E. "hate crime." //American Government//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.

"Tutsis." //Daily Life through History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.


 * __ Endnotes __**

1.) Clinton, Bill. //My Life//. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. Print. 2.) ibid 3.) [|Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity] . p925 4.) Clinton 593 5.) Neumann, Caryn E. "hate crime." //American Government//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. 6.) Clinton 593 7.) ibid 8.) Hunter, Jane. "As Rwanda Bled, Media Sat on Their Hands." Editorial. //Fair//. N.p., July 1994. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. < [] >. 9.) ibid 10.) Clinton 593 11.) ibid 12.) [|Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity]. p11 13.)Clinton 593 14.) [|Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity]. Ed. Dinah L. Shelton. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p10-11. From Gale Virtual Reference Library. 15.) ibid 10 16.) ibid 17.) ibid 11 18.) ibid 19.) ibid 20.) ibid 21.) ibid 22.) Neumann 23.) Clinton 593 24.) Hunter 25.) Clinton 593 26.) [|Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity]. p11 27.) Clinton 593 28.) ibid 29.) [|Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity] . 30.) ibid 31.) ibid 32.) Clinton 593