Views of Rwanda and What Soft Power Might Have Done

John Berry, who served in both the Peace Corps and USAID, tells an astonishing tale about the time he (plot spoiler) fell into a well in Niger, but all's well that ends well! He also describes how striking Rwanda's beauty was--before the genocide began, leading to the deaths of 800,000 people. He relates the horrendous story of Sister Gertrude's complicity in the killings. This episode compelled me to look further into what soft power might have done if the US, chastened by its unsuccessful intervention in Somalia, hadn't weakened the United Nation 's mission in Rwanda.