Congo Cold War Essay

War’s Impact on the Congo War in the Republic of the Congo provided courage to other provinces, who wanted to gain their freedom. The Katanga and South Kasai Provinces benefited from this new hope of independence. These being the first provinces to gain freedom, other countries and provinces became influenced by their actions. The root influence of all of these actions is buried in the history of the Congo. More specifically, the Congo Cold War, and the Congo Civil War. These wars were extremely brutal. War is currently still occurring in the Congo, and all over the world. The fighting in these wars may have been a major factor that started the current conflicts of today’s violent Congolese society. These wars were corley triggered by ongoing conflict with the Congolese government, and the actions of Patrice Lumumba, the Prime Minister of the Congo. It all started when Lumumba was invited to visit Washington so that the United States could influence the Prime Minister. “ Lawrence Devlin, the CIA Chief of

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Station in Leopoldville (Kinshasa), said that the situation in the Congo is identified as a classic communist …show more content…
Mobutu had often served or the administration there as well. “Mobutu’s efforts to revive the Congo’s economy included nationalizing the Katanga copper mines, and encouraging foreign investment” ("Mobutu Sese Seko"). Mobutu was doing all of this, just to gain the loyalty of the CNA. They must have figured that Mobutu was a great guy, and absolutely no threat to their power in the society. Mobutu became known as: “The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake” ("Mobutu Sese Seko"). This man became one of the world’s greatest examples of a selfish, cruel, and inconsiderate personality known to all mankind. Mobutu caused the Congo to go into one of their most intense wars ever; the Congo