I have been AWOL for a while because of a very heavy workload.  But this is
my two cents on the issue of British involvement in Sierra Leone:

There should be no storm over the involvement of British troops in Sierra
Leone.  In fact, other countries in the West should follow the example of
Britain.  Any aggression by the rebels should be met with overwhelming force,
and the more man power and fire power in Sierra leone, the better. These
Western countries owe it to Africa, particularly Sierra Leone,  not only
because they have reaped handsome rewards from the diamond trade, but because
money from the West has also funded Foday Sankoh and his band of thugs.

This said, I do understand also that a major reason for this problem is the
economic disparity between rich and poor.  The large % of  poor people in
Sierra Leone live in the diamond rich areas of the country, and it is obvious
that their resentment of those who have exploited them has grown tremendously
over the last 30 years or so.  Irregardless of this fact, the destructive
civil war that has ravaged the country should be stopped at all costs, even
if this means bringing in heavy fire power.

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