President Trump is on the verge of doing what 30 years of diplomats, UN resolutions, and billions in aid never achieved: ending the deadliest war since World War II — the Congo–Rwanda conflict that has taken over six million lives — while flipping $24 trillion in critical minerals, including the largest coltan reserves, from Beijing’s grip into America’s hands.
If the final pieces fall into place, this will be Peace Through Strength at its finest without the need for U.S. troops. His diplomacy-first breakthrough is securing the coltan, cobalt, lithium, tantalum, and rare earths needed for smartphones, missiles, AI chips, and American manufacturing.
But the Trump administration’s “day-after” plan will be just as important as the signatures on the peace deal.
A minerals-for-peace agreement will only become permanent if the people living on top of those minerals feel the upside, and fast.
History shows that, while revenue shares and infrastructure commitments often sound good to all parties involved in the beginning, such deals often take years to have a visible impact on the ground. The long waiting period that ensues can sometimes sour the opinion of the parties involved over time, causing them to renege on agreements they signed.
In other words, to ensure the peace holds, the Trump administration needs to ensure the people of Rwanda and DRC see quick, tangible improvements — because long-term success depends on local support and regional stability.
One of the core drivers of instability in the mining region is the collapse of basic education services — the fact that many children remain out of school. Most disenchanted youths in the area can’t even read or compute basic mathematics problems and feel they don’t have any prospect for a job other than holding a gun.
In North and South Kivu, more than 42 percent of children have never attended school; nationwide, nine in ten ten-year-olds cannot read a simple sentence. Weak governance means there is no reliable state presence delivering them services.
The U.S. should take note of this problem and seize on the opportunity to make a difference and boost the region’s public perception of the United States of America. Putting accountable structures in place to fix this education crisis will help to hold the peace and secure long-term support for American investment and mineral extraction.
When Congolese and Rwandan youth are able to attend public schools powered by private-sector innovation, the U.S. will effectively turn potential saboteurs into a pro-American workforce, all while ending the trap of forever aid.
This spark of limited, targeted assistance will guarantee critical mineral access for us and a real future for them, killing the humanitarian crisis at its root, and locking in President Trump’s deal for the years to come.
No, we don’t need to rely on the failed, unaccountable foreign-aid industrial complex that’s been burning billions for decades with zero results. We already have a proven American private-sector model ready to deploy.
For example, in Rwanda, a U.S. education-technology company, NewGlobe Education, has already partnered with the government to deploy AI-powered accountability and data-driven teaching across the cellular network. The result has been nearly one million kids leap-frogging an entire grade level in learning. Math gains have doubled, teacher absenteeism has been reduced, and every classroom now runs on live dashboards – all at a fraction of normal costs and fully financed by Rwanda itself.
The bottom line is that a spark of day-after American policy-aligned foreign assistance will ensure that, instead of growing up illiterate and unemployed (and becoming easy recruits for the next militants), the next generation of Congolese and Rwandans become literate, skilled, and employable. These children and their parents will respect America and be proud of their country’s partnership with the U.S.
This is how we can turn a Trump diplomatic breakthrough into a permanent victory and a core administration legacy item. This is how we can show the people living above the coltan that when you partner with America, you get economic growth; promises made, promises kept; and better futures for your children — all as America gets secure mineral access. Both sides win at the same time.
Let’s applaud the President of Peace — the man who actually delivers results instead of talking about them, and who is on the verge of ending Africa’s deadliest war. But let’s also get a plan in place so that Trump’s historic flipping of the global minerals race in America’s favor remains that way permanently.
The administration is already on the two-yard line. Now it just needs to follow through.
Col. Robert L. Maness (Ret.), host of The Rob Maness Show, is a 32-year United States Air Force combat veteran, where he served as commander of the 377th Air Base Wing, Kirtland Air Force Base. He was a member of the Trump Campaign’s Veterans and Military Families for Trump Coalition. Follow him on X @RobManess.