The Belgian government has also said it would send 600 troops. This is not the first attempt by Washington and other imperialist forces to militarily intervene in Zaire in recent months. Underlying the wrangling over this plan was Washington's maneuvering to attempt to replace Paris as the dominant power in the region. Washington has a long history of supporting the dictatorship of Mobutu Seso Seko. There are very material reasons for this interest.
Zaire is a large country that is extremely rich in mineral resources.
Some 60 percent of the earth's cobalt and much of the world's supply of industrial-grade diamonds are there, as are large amounts of zinc, copper, manganese, and gold. Some 13 percent of the world's total hydroelectric potential is in Zaire. Prices rose by an average of 23,773 percent, the highest inflation rate ever recorded anywhere, while industry runs at 10 percent capacity. Some 80 percent of the population can not find jobs. Real wages in Zaire in the early 1990s were less than 10 percent of those in 1960.