In Liberia a bloodbath threatens. The cease-fire has broken down and, with rebels bombarding the capital, President Charles Taylor can be relied upon to fight to the death. He cannot flee abroad; an international arrest warrant for war crimes awaits him wherever he might go. The best that can be hoped for is that he flees to the bush, but in that event he will almost certainly start a new guerrilla campaign against the new regime, which means indefinite war in Liberia.
In view of the gravity of the situation, the British ambassador to the UN has suggested a peacekeeping force — led by the US. There is some merit in the suggestion. Across the world, the armies of Western states are busy carrying out peacekeeping operations. Those armies are in the main from France and the UK. There are French peacekeeping forces in Cote d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo and British forces in Sierra Leone, in Iraq and Cyprus. Both are heavily involved in the Balkans. But both are over-stretched. A peacekeeping force is desperately needed in Liberia, and the US has the capacity, even if it lacks something of the specialist skills — as has been seen in Iraq.
But even if the Americans say yes, the world should be extremely careful about calling on it or any state to send in peacekeepers every time there is a problem somewhere. This could be the slippery path to a new imperialism.
It is fashionable to see 19th-century European imperialism as a conscious land-grabbing exercise. As with most generalizations, there is an element of truth in it. But in many cases, the French and British found themselves creating empires by default — because a ruler wanted their support against a local enemy or because action was seen to be required after some merchant adventurer got himself killed or kidnapped. The potential is here again — through peacekeeping. States on the brink of destruction by civil war will, of necessity, rely wholly on their peacekeeping saviors.
There is already widespread concern that the US presence in Iraq is resulting in American companies winning the lion’s share of reconstruction contracts there. The process of neoimperialism is also evident in Sierra Leone, where UK companies are picking up contracts they would not have won but for the political situation. The same sort of benefits are likely to go to France if French peacekeeping efforts succeed in DR Congo.
Peacekeepers are needed the world over as never before. But the use of national forces, no matter how good or well-intentioned they are, is a dangerous path to political and economic subservience. It is time to create an international peacekeeping force, not beholden to any government. That has to mean a standing UN force, able to respond at a moment’s notice.
