Hey Austin, long time no speak; I'm a fellow River City resident. Re your post, and in reply to these others, I believe any action by the West will be in response to either moral (a la Kosovo) or economic (a la Desert Storm or perhaps the Panama conflict) pressures. I sense that some moral question is building in regards to Africa, maybe the question "Lord, those people are falling even further behind than before, can't we do something?" The post about the ravages of AIDS reflects this sentiment. Your question about repairing the political boundaries somehow is, I think, further ahead than either moral or economic questions, and I think less likely to be a topic of concern. If, however, it could be shown that health/education/economic issues will go nowhere without a political solution, then you might get John Doe to buy into the idea. Also, of course, Africans themselves will have to push for this.

Sorry if my post on the AIDS problem in southern Africa lead you to think I am sentimental and think that "we ought to do somethine". Far from it. I do not think that any action by out side groups will be anything more than a spit in ocean. Particulary if a western government attempts some great humanitarian effort, there will be more resentment than now exists to the developed world. Frankly my position is that the situation must degrade over a number of years until there is total break down of the present ethic. This includes a drastic population decrease due to all manner of disease and war. At that point there will be an opprotunity for meaningful reconstruction of political boundaries and a new ethic to cope with the natural endimic problems present.