Clinton goes to Africa

The Obama administration has signaled its concern for the Democratic Republic of Congo by sending Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton there last month, but restoring stability will require a long-term commitment of money, education, military training and enough political will to force Central African governments to hammer out a sustainable peace.

Mrs. Clinton promised $17 million in additional U.S. aid and met with victims of rape in eastern Congo, which has been ravaged by competing militaries and rebel groups.

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Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa - For most of her recent African tour, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sounded much like any visiting foreign official, male or female. Except in Congo.

When Clinton ignored security advice and flew to Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, her focus on the region's rape crisis resonated with some of the continent's most powerless people: women.

It wasn't just that she was the first top-level American official to go to the epicenter of one of the world's deadliest wars, nor even the U.S. aid money she promised. It was her reaction to victims' stories of rape -- and the hope that she might do something about it.

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 Recently, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to a place deemed as one of the most dangerous places for a woman to be in Africa-the Eastern Congo.  While there, she is seeing first hand the cruelty of violence and sexual assault on woman-during the time of war. Clinton describes her visit as an “incredibly emotional, overwhelming experience.” The USA has announced that it would pledge $17 million dollars “to stop and respond to gender and sexual violence in the [Democratic Republic of the Congo]”

 In the aftermath of Secretary of State Clinton's trip to Africa, the U.S. has a chance to help bring an end to two of the great unfolding tragedies of the 21st century. Together, Sudan and Congo represent two of Africa's largest countries, two of Africa's richest natural resource bases, two of Africa's longest wars, two of the world's deadliest conflicts in the past half century, two of the continent's most predatory governments, and two of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman or a girl. That is a legacy that deserves and demands a rethink of the international response, which has allowed these wars to burn for years.
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