Too Many Problems for the US Alone

In class, we have discussed the reasons that countries didn't intervene and stop the genocide in Rwanda. The reason is that there were and are too many problems for the US to handle by itself, but countries, like Belgium, don't want to act without the US government's support. The US had been involved in many previous wars and we've seen with the Iraq war that wars are expensive. Therefore, it's logical to pick and choose which of the many problems in the world that you want to get involved to maximize gains. There were many genocides that happened after world war 2 and the US couldn't stop all of them and while the US is the most powerful country, it shouldn't be the one who has to act. European countries, like Belgium, should act and stay committed towards stopping genocide. In reality people are always going to die in war, so 50 casualties, while tragic, is not a big deal unless you have 500 or less men in the country. Since war has been televised, beginning with the Vietnam War, the public of any involved country has overreacted every time. To minimize the reaction all countries in the UN should pledge a certain amount of troops so one country withdrawing wouldn't make a difference. Until then, the US will continually be ridiculed for acting, the Iraq war, and for not acting, the Rwandan Genocide because there are too many problems in the world and the public always overreacts.