The UN also seems to have a failure to understand or function in an effective way when lives are in the balance and immediate action is needed during a war. At one point Dallaire needed a decision made by the Security Council, but the body was divided between China, France, and the non-aligned nations vs. The U.S., UK, Russia, and their supporters. The weekend was coming up, so it was decided that the nations should reconvene on Monday. "How many Rwandans would die that weekend," wondered Dallaire in exasperation as well as horror (Dallarie 301).
Given the constant stream of murders he witnessed, which he was virtually powerless to stop, due to his meager forces, it is easy to see why Dallaire experienced post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) upon returning home. However, his reaction seems inevitable and unpreventable. Granted, he could have received better debriefing and counseling upon his integration back into society. The guilt he felt was overwhelming. He had the sinking knowledge that he failed in a mission that...
His only cold comfort was that he tried far harder than any of the representatives of UN member nations, comfortably sitting in their chairs far away. "I am still certain that I could have stopped the madness had I been given the means" (Dallaire 374).
History will continue to repeat itself, writes Dallaire, unless the UN shows that it is committed to back up its resolutions with force, and does not merely use watered-down language to attempt to prevent atrocities from happening. Rebel groups and bloodthirsty dictators alike both know that the UN is hesitant to intervene in areas that are not considered strategically important. The allied force's recent actions against oil-rich Libya in the Middle East seem to support rather than disprove Dallaire's contention that no Western nation wishes to sacrifice its countrymen's lives for Africans residing in an area of little tactical or economic importance.
References
Dallaire, Romeo. Shake hands with the devil. Da Capo, 2004.
