In the wake of the Rwandan genocide, it is only natural that humanity searches for ways to prevent a recurrence, especially when a glance around the globe makes it abundantly clear that all the elements for a repeat performance are present in at least a dozen flashpoints. Alas, there are no easy solutions. One must start with the affected peoples themselves, as only they can ultimately resolve their tensions by overcoming fear and hatred and assuming responsibility for the destinies of their countries-no amount of external force can substitute for national reconciliation. In this respect, whatever its political flaws, the government of President Kagame deserves credit for its Herculean efforts to rebuild the devastated social fabric and to promote the reintegration of Hutus and Tutsis-even the breakdown of official statistics by ethnic identification is nowadays prohibited.

Nevertheless, more is required. While the major powers, especially the United States which is the superpower in the post-Cold War world, cannot be realistically expected to intervene in every humanitarian tragedy, especially when no vital interests are at stake, the international community is not above the fray, no matter how remote a given conflict may appear to be. In an increasingly globalized world, tragedies like Rwanda affect the entire international system-and not just morally. In this regard, American policymakers face a particularly difficult quandary. The extraordinary political, economic and military power of the United States-especially the latter-is likely to remain unchallenged, at least in the intermediate term. Hence U.S. leadership is a prerequisite for any international intervention in future Rwandas. On the other hand, there are limits to even America's diplomatic, financial and military resources. Hyperactivity, especially in areas where a core geopolitical or strategic interest of the United States is not at stake, will not only fail to garner the support of the American people, it may well undermine the global hegemony that the country currently enjoys by dissipating its relative and absolute might. The resolution of this dilemma will require discourse and dialogue within the U.S., as well as concertation and coordination with allies abroad-processes that, sadly enough, have hardly begun a full decade after the machetes began cutting the road to hell through the peoples of Rwanda. 

Dr. J. Peter Pham, a former diplomat, is the author most recently of Liberia: Portrait of a Failed State (Reed Press, 2004).

^[i] Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (New York: Random House, 2003).

^[ii] Eyewitness to a Genocide: The United Nations and Rwanda (Ithaca, New York/London: Cornell University Press, 2002).

^[iii] "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide (New York: Basic Books, 2002).