To New York's Long Island now, where Newsday has serious doubts about the efficacy of this Congolese rescue mission. President Bill Clinton must think long and hard before committing the nation to a mission of uncertain scope and duration which could turn into a heartbreaking quagmire. For the past three years, Congo has been wracked by a vicious civil war that has sucked in half a million troops from neighboring nations and now threatens to destabilize Africa's Great Lakes region, with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda backing Congolese rebel factions. He has argued that it is crucial to make sure the conditions for such a mission are in place and its scope, duration and exit strategy are clearly defined before Washington agrees to it. Moving on to the Horn of Africa, where the rainy season is ending, and troops are massing on both sides of the Ethiopian - Eritrean border, the Chicago Tribune agonizes over the prospect of renewed fighting.
War is seasonal there.
The rains have passed, followed by a season of major arms buying and now the dry season. Chicago Bears chairman Michael McCaskey, who taught school in Ethiopia for the Peace Corps in the 1960s, has joined other prominent former Peace Corps volunteers promoting a peaceful solution. Negotiations continue, but in the end, the dispute may well erupt into war again until both sides fight to a stalemate or tire themselves out. And lastly, to Nelson Mandela's recent effort to get peace talks going within Burundi, to stop the inter-tribal warfare there. The San Francisco Chronicle hopes his enormous, worldwide prestige can force the government and the rebels away from the battle lines, and over to the conference table.