The Foreign Service Journal, May 2008

criteria. It is still too early to judge the MCC’s true value for African development, but it is considered to be one of the most creative foreign aid initiatives in a long time. The Bush administration has also introduced innovative and well-financed programs designed to reduce the preva- lence of HIV/AIDS and malaria in Africa. Although the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has gotten several million African victims into treatment, and helped reduce HIV prevalence in several countries, it has been criticized for the significant amount of funding that has been earmarked for the largely ineffective education of young people to practice abstinence before marriage, as well as for rules that prohibit health organizations that practice abortion counseling from participating. Both poli- cies are considered to be counterproductive and wasteful. Nevertheless, this unprecedented program has been both popular and effective in Africa, and condom distribution has been substantial, notwithstanding all other policies. As far as Islamic extremism and associated terrorist threats are concerned, African governments have become strong allies of the United States in efforts to anticipate, prevent and thwart attacks designed to exploit vulnerabil- ities in security and administrative capabilities. U.S. mili- tary trainers have expanded their programs from peace operations to counterinsurgency in those countries imme- diately south of the Sahara, where al-Qaida terrorists from Algeria have started to become active. In the very dan- gerous Horn of Africa, which is only a stone’s throw from the Arabian Peninsula, U.S. Special Forces are based in Djibouti for the purpose of preventing and interdicting terrorist activity. Approximately half of the Sub-Saharan African popula- tion are Muslims. Although most are devout in their reli- gion, they tend to adhere to Sufism, which stresses toler- ance of non-Muslims, a less restrictive attitude toward women, and the separation of religion and politics. Their fear of the extremist variety of Islam has created a favor- able environment for enhanced U.S.-Africa counterterror- ism cooperation in both military and non-military sectors, such as money laundering and commodity smuggling. F O C U S M A Y 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23