ZAIRE: Saving a Country from Itself

ZAÏRE

Once again the West tries to shore up Mobutu's regime

It is a debatable proposition that Zaïre, the former Belgian Congo, is the most ungovernable of African states. Having staved off the latest threat to its existence —an invasion of Shaba region by Angola-based Katangese secessionists—the U.S. and its Western allies turned to a larger problem: how to save the huge, resource-rich land from its awesome problems, and from itself.

A gigantic rescue operation was already under way. Early last week, U.S. Air Force C-141 StarLifters began to arrive in Lubumbashi, the capital...