THE U.S. AND THE CONGO

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

This letter is submitted as a means of protest against the United States involvement in the recent Congo tragedies. The press in this country has focused much attention on the inhumane torture and execution of white hostages by the rebels. To a lesser extent it has also mentioned the large scale slaughter by the rebels of native Congolese loyal to the central government. Both equally deserve complete condemnation.

However, relatively little has been said about the equally unjust execution of rebel prisoners by the white mercenaries. By its involvement, the United States is partially responsible here. The US action cannot be defended as "an act of mercy" unless mercy be defined as the butchering of one group in place of the butchering of another.

While United States involvement in not morally justifiable, neither is it any kind of an effective foreign policy. Any possible benefits of this policy will be of the shortest run. By its involvement, the United States has alienated many African governments as well as compounding the problem of the settlement of the UN Congo debt. Nor can the use of Cuban exile pilots help the current difficulties in US-Cuban relations. Probably Chinese involvement with the rebels is as unjustifiable as the US intervention. But is should not be used as an excuse for our actions in the Congo. Rather, the US should guard against being drawn into hopeless quagmires of the type we are involved in with South Vietnam. The triumph of the Tshombe government in the Congo will not mean the end to internal turmoil.

The Organization of African Unity must achieve some reasonably effective solution to the Congo problem. No successful solution will be furthered by American, European, or Chinese intervention. Arthur P. Schmidt, Jr. '65