The Foreign Service Journal, May 2008

To capitalize on this opening, the Bush administration has created the Africa Command to focus exclusively on the continent. However, AFRICOM will not become fully operational until Oct. 1 and, for now, its headquarters will remain in Stuttgart, Germany. Some innovative aspects of AFRICOM include a co- deputy commander position, reserved for a senior FSO (currently Ambassador Mary Yates) responsible for civic action, and a “zero option” policy that emphasizes the pre- vention of conflict as the best guarantor of stability. The excessive hype by the Pentagon surrounding the initial announcement of this initiative caused some African leaders, as well as quite a few officers in State’s and USAID’s Africa Bureaus, to express concern about the potential for the militarization of U.S. policy. Some of them cited the total focus on the terrorist threat in Somalia’s renewal of civil war in 2006 as evidence that Washington was beginning to lose interest in promoting reconciliation and democracy. Pres. Bush tried to lay this concern to rest during his February visit to five African nations by declaring that the U.S. was not planning to establish a permanent military presence anywhere on the continent, and would continue to emphasize economic development. A cynical view of Bush’s one-week trip to Africa would say that Africa is the only part of the world where he could find a little affection in his last year in office. Indeed, Bush was sincerely and highly acclaimed by both the leadership and populations of the countries he visited. The warm welcome reflected the personal attention that he has paid to the formulation of Africa policy, as well as the many creative initiatives emanating from Washington during his eight years in office. There was the very intensive and successful U.S. effort to bring about the comprehensive peace agree- ment between the government of Sudan and the Southern People’s Liberation Movement during Bush’s first term. He also launched a new initiative on debt relief, including the adoption of a new policy increasing the grant content of World Bank lending to Africa’s poor- est nations. Bush’s efforts to promote democracy and market-based economic growth were showcased in Benin, Tanzania and Ghana, while his stopover in Liberia reminded everyone that it was he who gave the monster Charles Taylor the ultimatum to get out and stay out. Against the panoply of all the positive news, the Bush administration’s virtual helplessness in the face of the mas- sive atrocities being committed in the Sudanese province of Darfur during his second term certainly tarnishes his record, but does not substantially diminish it. The entire international community must bear collective guilt over its failure to intervene meaningfully there. Staying Engaged Fifty years after the establishment of the Bureau of African Affairs, the United States continues to be heavily engaged in Africa. This is remarkable considering the many disappointments the U.S. and other international donors have experienced, including the failures of so many of their initiatives designed to spur economic growth and to end conflicts. Africa’s propensity for snatching defeat out of the hands of victory, especially in former success stories like Côte d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe and, lately, Kenya, has been particularly depressing. Yet Republican and Democratic administrations alike have persisted in the belief that African nations are capa- ble of self-sustaining economic growth, given the right mix of internal reforms and foreign aid. At the present time, African countries are playing an increasingly important role as suppliers of primary commodities to an expanding global economy. It may not be long before a half-dozen or so of them take advantage of today’s favorable markets to achieve an Asian-style economic breakthrough by implementing the right policies, as Ghana and Tanzania have done. Like everyone else in the world, Africans are following the 2008 U.S. presidential election process with great interest. The candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who has paternal family links to western Kenya, has cer- tainly created a special focus of interest on the continent. If he turns out to be our next president, African expecta- tions of closer ties will likely grow exponentially. For his part, Obama has not been reluctant, as during his recent trip to Africa, to talk tough about corruption and anti- democratic practices. Whoever moves into the White House in 2009 will continue to balance U.S. interests in Africa as a source of oil and other important commodities, and our worldwide efforts to combat terrorism and corruption, rigged elec- tions, the absence of transparency, and the continuation of human rights abuses in too many parts of the continent. American tolerance of continued African leadership fail- ures is likely to decrease considerably, as well. F O C U S 24 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 8