The Low Bar for US Intervention: Don’t Do ‘Post-Colonialism’ in South Sudan

The list of civil wars, government crackdowns, and pesky militant safe-havens that interventionists demand the United States meddle in seems endless. There is no corner of the Earth that doesn’t call for some measure of U.S. intervention, apparently.

The latest call for intervention is coming from G. Pascal Zachary writing at The Atlantic in a piece unabashedly titled “Post-Colonialism: Why the U.S. Should Help Govern South Sudan.”

There has been some violence in South Sudan in recent months that has taken the lives of about 1,000 people, according to Zachary. The remedy? Zachary calls on the U.S. to “send in more peacekeepers,” “hammer out a power-sharing agreement between the warring parties,” and, mostly boldly, to take over the country by way of establishing “trusteeship” (propping up the government and taking away some of its sovereignty).

What exactly is going on the South Sudan and demands another U.S. intervention? Zachary explains that “the near-civil war in South Sudan stem[s] from that old African bugaboo: tribal enmity.” In other words, none of our business.

Government troops loyal to President Salva Kiir, who hails from the country’s largest ethnic group, the Dinka, are vying for power and greater representation with rebels supporting the dismissed Vice President Riek Machar, who belongs to the second-largest ethnic group, the Nuer. But South Sudan’s disorder cannot be pinned entirely on ethnic differences, just as the solution to the crisis must involve more than persuading the Dinka and Nuer to form a “national unity” government that ostensibly transcends tribal divisions.

Can you imagine a situation less relevant to us or to any government outside South Sudan?

For many national commentators and political sages, the bar for U.S. intervention is so low that relatively minor tribal infighting in a teensy-tiny, far-off country that has absolutely nothing to do with America or Americans is something that warrants launching another military and political nation-building campaign that Zachary cutely describes as “post-colonialist.”

As with almost all arguments for U.S. intervention, there isn’t the slightest consideration of the extremely likely possibility that things will go horribly wrong once Washington’s principals are at the helm. Two things are taken for granted: (1) the U.S. has legitimacy to intervene, and (2) everything will go swimmingly once it does.

3 thoughts on “The Low Bar for US Intervention: Don’t Do ‘Post-Colonialism’ in South Sudan”

  1. Like drug addicts, interventionists just can't seem to resist the compulsion to do more, no matter how catastrophic the results have been in the past. Perhaps we should start a "Just say NO" campaign.

  2. "Can you imagine a situation less relevant to us or to any government outside South Sudan?"
    Since South Sudan has plenty of oil, the situation in the country is highly relevant to the U.S. government. If you don't invade South Sudan, and impose colonial regime, how are your crony capitalist brethren going to extract profits from the situation?

  3. Jesus died for You You will go to Heaven

    What is Prophecy?
    Prophecy is always a promise of God. God gives prophecy-promises of hope to His children. GodWhat is Prophecy?
    Prophecy is always a promise of God. God gives prophecy-promises of hope to His children. God also gives prophecy-promises of judgment to those who disagree wither are indifferent to Him. 

    Can men give prophecy?
    No! Genuine prophecy comes only from God. “No prophecy was ever an act of human will” (1 Peter 1:21)

    Why is prophecy (a great gift from God), avoided today by many? Why do Lutheran pastors often avoid preaching on prophecy?
    In recent years a small group of Baptist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Dispensationalist preachers have predominated television preaching. These preachers claim that the key prophecies of God deal with the state of Israel. These misguided preachers have twisted God’s prophecies and removed Christ from the center of prophetic preaching. By doing this, they replace Jesus Christ with the geographical state of Israel. This misuse of prophecy has cause many Lutheran pastors to avoid teaching about prophecy altogether, thereby leaving their people in the dark and without the hope that God desires to give His people through Christ-centered prophetic preaching. 

    If you were to make a tree diagram of all Old Testament prophecies–with a branch or twig representing each specific prophecy–why would Genesis 3:15 be the root of this big “tree” of many old testament prophecies?
    There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible. Already in the third chapter of the first book, God gives His “root,” His “foundation block,” or His cornerstone prophecy. This cornerstone prophecy on which all other prophecies are built is Genesis 3:15. Every activity of the entire Old and New Testament is tied in some way to Genesis 3:15, just as every branch and smallest twig of a tree is in some way tied to the root. 

    WHY IS GOOD NEWS DEVOTING AN ENTIRE ISSUE TO PROPHECY?
    The primary purpose of GOOD NEWS is to give its readers hope. As You turn these pages and see specific prophecies explained, you will also experience the hope God desires to give you.

    HOW CAN YOU EASILY DETECT THE HERETICAL TEACHING OF TODAY’S TELEVISION PREACHERS AND DISTINGUISH IT FROM THE SOLID AND RELIABLE TEACHING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH HAS ALWAYS USED REGARDING PROPHECY?
    Popular and heretical preachers of prophecy usually focus on the Bible books of Revelation, Daniel, and Ezekiel. These books are then used to explain current world politics, especially current events, and to guess when Jesus will return. The greatest condemnation of these charlatans is the clear teaching of Jesus: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36)

    WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR CHRISTIANS TO KNOW ABOUT THE TWISTED HERESY OF DISPENSATIONALISM?
    As already noted, the Dispensationalist teaching of prophecy takes Jesus from the center of all prophecy and replaces our blessed Lord with the state of Israel. In Luke 24:44, Jesus says, “All things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Dispensationalists, in effect, have recast this section of God’s Word to say, “All things written about the state of Israel in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Furthermore, as Luther points out, Israel, even in the Old Testament, has always referred to those who believed and followed God, not to a particular race of people or to a certain geographical area. 

    WHY IS IT ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL FOR CHRISTIANS TO KNOW WHAT THE WORD ‘ISRAEL” MEANS TODAY?
    Over the centuries, in its worship services, the Christian church has always used the Psalms. The Psalms regularly refer to Israel. When the Psalmist is referring to Israel, he is pointing to those whom God has promised to bless. In their false understanding of Scripture, the Dispensationalists have misled millions to believe that the Psalms are referring to God blessing the state of Israel, when, in fact, the Psalms refer to a blessing God wants to give to all who are worshiping him. In other words, the heretical Dispensationalist theology twists and redirects God’s promises of blessings from children who are His through Baptism to those they believe are His through geography.
    So, the bottom line is this. When people in your congregations are hoodwinked into believing Dispensationalist theology, they do not experience the blessings that God has to give them as His New Israel! (Romans 9:1-8)

    WHERE ARE THE CHIEF THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS THAT TEACH DISPENSATIONALISM?
    Among themselves Dispensationalists would agree that the leading schools teaching their interpretation of the Scriptures would be Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, and Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas. One of the founders of Fuller Theological Seminary was also a major promoter of Dispensationalism.

    WHO HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE LEADING AND MOST POPULAR TEACHERS OF THE TWISTED THEOLOGY OF DISPENSATIONALISM?
    The most popular teacher of dispensationalism has been Hal Lindsey, the author of The Late Great Planet Earth which sold some 35 million copies and was translated into over 50 languages. In more recent years, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins authored the Left Behind series of books, which netted each author over fifty million dollars. These figures demonstrate how widely this 19th-century American heresy has been spread and the threat that it poses to Christ’s church. Jesus says, “Many will … mislead many” (Matthew 24:5). 

    WHY DO THESE RELIGIOUS FICTION BOOKS, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT DEAL WITH PROPHECY, SELL SO WELL?
    All people, even those committed to secularism, are interested in getting a peek into the future. Thus, when a charlatan comes along who claims to be interpreting present and future events ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, there are many buyers! Even members of the U.S. Department of Defense were known to be reading The Late Great Planet Earth in the hope of seeing the future of world political and military movements. One author noted that reading The Late Great Planet Earth was like getting an advance copy of tomorrow’s newspaper!
    Finally, on e could read many, many books explaining how the twisted theology of Dispensationalism has impacted politics in the United States and other parts of the world. But politics is not our mission at GOOD NEWS. While we have taken some space to point out the deadly menace of Dispensationalism, you can see that the greater percentage of this issue is devoted to the true and correct Biblical understanding of prophecy, a great blessing God wants you to have! 
    Dispensationalism is effectively exposed in volume XIII of Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics: Escatology by John R. Stephenson. p. 83-97, in the essay titled, “Fictitious Signs of His Coming: Sundry Dreams of the Dispensationalists” (Published by the Luther Academy, Fort Wayne, IN. 1993).

    For Bible Study questions about this page, turn to page 41 and use questions 43 through 45.

    43. The heresy of Dispensationalism has been promoted by many popular evangelical preachers on television and radio. Major schools of theology, such as the Moody Bible Institute, promote Dispeationalism. Bestselling books like The Late Great Planet Earth, and even the series, sow the tares of dispensational thinking in the minds of million of Christians (Matthew 13:24-30). Nevertheless, Dispensationalism is not a God-Pleasing doctrine. Jesus warns us: “Many will come in My name … and will mislead many” (Matthew 24:5).

    44. Jesus claims that the entire Old Testament speaks of Him (Luke 24:44). Dispensationalism removes Jesus from the center of Biblical prophecy and replaces Him with the modern state of Israel. Dispensationalists base their teaching on obscure passages while ignoring the Bible’s clear teachings, such as: “But of that day and hour no one knows” (Matthew 24:36). Finally, Dispensationalism robs God’s children of the comfort of their Baptism. By focus-ing on bringing back the political state of Israel, Dispensationalism denies God’s promise that, through Baptism, He has established the Christian church as His New Israel (Romans (:1-8)

    45. No matter how persuasive and exciting television preachers or popular books may be, always remember: Christ, not the state of Israel, is the center of all Scripture (Luke 18:31). When you hear novel interpretations drawn from books such as Revelation or Daniel, keep in mind: “No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20). Search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), and compare the claims of Dispensational teachers to God’s clear testimonies, such as Matthew 24:36 and Romans 9:1-8. Fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), knowing that the entire OLd Testament speaks of Him (Luke 24:44). And bear in mind that all prophecy springs from the root of Genesis 3:15. When you are armed with these clear Biblical teachings, and refreshed by God’s forgiveness in Word and Sacrament, you will be able to “stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

    (Good News Magazine Prophecy Issue 35, Concordia Mission Society, P.O. box 8555 St Louis MO 63126)

Comments are closed.