In Romeo Dallaire’s book Shake Hands With the Devil he writes:
What is the reason for this marche seul by the developed nations? In the last decades of the twentieth century, self-interest, sovereignty and taking care of number one became the primary criteria for any serious provision of support or resources to the globeÂs trouble spots. If the country in question is of any possible strategic value to the world powers, then it seems that everything from covert operations to the outright use of overwhelming force is fair game. If it is not, indifference is the order of the day (520).
The only conclusion I can reach is that we are in desperate need of a transfusion of humanity. If we believe that all humans are human, then how are we going to prove it? It can only be proven through our action. Through the dollars we are prepared to expend to improve conditions in the Third World, through the time and energy we devote to solving devastating problems like AIDs, through the lives of our soldiers, which we are prepared to sacrifice for the sake of humanity (522).
I think this is a strong statement coming from a guy that actually did risk a lot for the Rwandans. I think that we need to look we in the States should be thinking more than our self-interests and I agree with what this guys is saying. However, I do struggle with this because I don’t think we should be an international police force, but I do think he is right on by suggesting that the UN revive their peacekeeping efforts and that the global community should support this endeavor.
