Cleanliness Next to...Somethingness

KIBATI, Congo - Refugees who haven't eaten for days cheered when the first humanitarian convoy in a week arrived Monday at their camp, but the jubilation turned into anger when U.N. workers dumped soap and jerry cans instead of food and sped on past rebel lines. [...] Government troops, who looted and raped in Goma as they retreated on Wednesday, do not venture much beyond Kibati, 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) outside the city, and some live among the refugees there, creating a tense and dangerous situation. Both government and rebel forces are accused of gross human rights abuses although, in this latest fighting, refugees say the rebels are not molesting them. Rebels also seem to be holding a self-imposed cease-fire line 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from Goma. When asked Sunday about the suffering his offensive has brought to a quarter million people, Nkunda replied: "That's the cost of freedom."

A veritable Don Rumsfeld there. "Stuff happens."