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Mali’s Moment: The July 2013 Elections
As the U.S. drove Islamist insurgents from Afghanistan, many migrated to Yemen, eventually reaching the Horn of Africa, which became the “epicenter” for al-Qaeda. Osama bin Laden was indoctrinated by Wahhabist imams in Saudi Arabia, a sect that...
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Mamadou Diabate, a Malian musician, composed the song ‘Bogna’, which means respect: “Respect is the healing medicine of peace. Peace is the healing medicine of love. Love is the healing medicine of life. Life is the healing medicine of hope.” On...
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Mali’s Recovery Depends on International Donors
In Mali’s recent presidential election Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was declared the winner, garnering over 78 percent of the vote. President Barrack Obama in congratulating Mr. Keita noted, “The election was a first step in restoring democracy”. In The Hill...
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My Mission to the Republic of Mali
Yeah Samake, the mayor of Ouelessebougou and I had become acquainted over a year ago. Since then we had met on a number of occasions. I was impressed with him — a breath of fresh air in Africa’s young up-and-coming political leaders. In the...
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Obama to Assad: Weapons Cache Must be Verifiable, or There Will be Consequences
On Friday President Barrack Obama told Kuwait’s Emir Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah that any diplomatic solution in Syria depended on President Bashar al-Assad listing all of the chemical weapons in his arsenal, and signing on to the Chemical Weapons...
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Obama’s Line in the Sand May Prove to be a Quagmire
President Barrack Obama in making his case for a military strike against Syria stated that Bashar al-Assad had used deadly nerve agents against his people. Politicos around the world however are not convinced that the U.S. and UN inspectors have...
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Obama’s Policy Directive on sub-Saharan Africa
On July 30, 2012 the White House Office of Public Engagement hosted a panel discussion on President Obama’s Policy Directive on sub-Saharan Africa. The panel members included Grant Harris, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for...
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Our inconsistent Foreign Policy in sub-Saharan Africa
Africa: Understanding U.S.-Africa Relations During Obama’s PresidencyBY MWANGI S. KIMENYI, 27 FEBRUARY 2012 “The limited U.S. interest in Africa…remain(s) very low. In 2009, of the $282bn foreign direct investment outflows from the US, less than 2...
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Our inconsistent Foreign Policy in sub-Saharan Africa
Note these excerpts from a recent story on allAfrica.com: Africa: Understanding U.S.-Africa Relations During Obama’s Presidency By Mwangi S. Kimenyi 27 February 2012 “The limited U.S. interest in Africa…remain(s) very low. In 2009, of the $282bn...
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Partitioning May Be a Peaceful Solution
The goal of building democratic institutions in North Africa and the Middle East could prove to be futile. The Arab Spring uprisings that brought about regime change in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen did not bring peace to the region. The U.S. push...
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Regime Change Will Not Diminish Al-Qaeda Attacks
In Syria how will the U.S. clearly define moderate opposition groups? That has become a major difficulty as well in Libya. Rebel groups break down into tribes, clans, and broader religious factions—some with fundamentalist beliefs, while others have a...
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Regime Change: Salafi Islamists May Gain Political Control
“Combining differing ethnic and religious cultures into a democratic political structure is most difficult. The principles of power sharing in such a platform are alien in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.” Commentary Part II: North Africa and...
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Secretary Clinton Heads to Africa
On July 30, 2012 the White House Office of Public Engagement hosted a panel discussion on President Obama's Policy Directive on sub-Saharan Africa. The panel members included Grant Harris, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for...
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Somalia: Education is the Best Way to Defeat Al-Shabaab
In Somalia each day dozens of children twelve years and older are recruited into the ranks of al-Shabaab, the local terrorist organization. Killing an Islamist leader or two will not change the attacks they incur at home, in neighboring countries, and...
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Somaliland Archeological Treasure, Transcends Years of Strife and Conflict
Somaliland, the northern de facto autonomous state in Somalia, which has seen strife and conflict since independence in 1960, has a hidden archeological treasure depicting a nomadic history dating back thousands of years. Somaliland is located in one...
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Special Panel on Benghazi Needed for Answers
We could have learned a lesson from the terrorist attacks on the U.S. embassies in Lebanon and Kuwait in 1983. The State Department did not heed these early warnings. In 1998 terrorists again attacked two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The State...
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State Department: Diplomatic Security Service Failed to Protect
“After the U.S. embassy attacks in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983, the ‘Inman Advisory Panel on Overseas Security’, led to the establishment of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in 1985.” We are living in the most crucial time in modern history since the Cold...
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Sub-Saharan Africa - Breeding a New Generation of Leaders
Robert Redford, the well-known actor, director, and filmmaker, had a vision for the Sundance Institute’s Theatre Program that embraced “What Africa can become with artistic endeavor.” My July 2012 commentary “Artistic Endeavor: Can Change the Face of...
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Sub-Saharan Africa Is Losing Ground
Note this excerpt from a story released via EurekAlert: "Warning of unrest, new study shows millions risk losing lands in Africa" Coimbra Sirica Burness Communications Jenna DiPaolo Rights and Resources Initiative “LONDON (1 February 2012)—New studies...
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Sub-Saharan Africa: Obama’s Focus on Agriculture
“Sustainable development, key to Africa’s Food Supply” I have visited over twenty-three sub-Saharan African countries since 1970, and just returned from another trip Kenya. Regardless of reports otherwise, food shortages and child malnutrition are...