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In Nigeria: It’s About Jobs and Economic Survival
I spent April 15 to 24, 2007 in Nigeria, serving as a member of the International Republican Institute (IRI) election observation team. It was to be a momentous occasion, with President Olusegun Obasango stepping down after two four year terms, as...
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It’s Time for Muslim Nations to Take the Lead
On Tuesday September 30, 2014 I appeared on a segment of Bloomberg TV’s Bottom Line with Mark Crumpton, focusing on the U.S. airstrikes against ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates. Mark asked what the U.S. should have known when our troops left Iraq 2011. I...
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Mali the Epicenter for AQIM Terrorists
On October 12, 2012, Youssoufou Bamba the Côte d’ Ivoire representative to the United Nations stated, “The clock is ticking and every day that passes brings more suffering to the population trapped in the areas controlled by the terrorists”; noting...
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Mali: Democracy Hangs in the Balance
“Unless action is taken immediately Sharia will rule” In my July 10, 2012 Commentary “Mali: A Democracy Destabilized by the Arab Spring”, I noted that the country was in deep trouble, and on the verge of being overrun by Islamists wanting to institute...
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Mali: Not on Clinton’s Farewell Agenda
“Swan Song did not include a solution for the destabilized democracy” On August 10, 2012 Secretary Hillary Clinton ended her ten day trip to nine sub-Saharan African countries: Senegal, Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana...
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Mali: Radisson Blu Hotel Attack to Thwart Peace Accord
The terrorist attack on November 20 at the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital city of Bamako shows that radical Islamists continue to be active in Mali. Reportedly the attack was to thwart the peace accord between the Azawad National Liberation Movement...
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Mali’s Elected President Must Unite the Country
Mali’s second-round presidential election runoff on August 11 ended without major incident. The ministry for territorial administration on Monday reported that the voter turnout was 46 percent, slightly less than voter participation in the first-round....
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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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If one hasn’t experienced certain aspects of life, it is easy to criticize another person’s position. Even though it may be a false premise, repeating it over and over again, it becomes real in their mind. With a lack of experience as an entrepreneur...
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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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Osama bin Laden: Could Have Been Captured Before 1996
The 2012 election campaign has focused on the Executive Order (ExOrd) which was issued by President Obama to kill Osama bin Laden. In writing my book “When the White House Calls”, I reviewed a number of articles, books, media interviews and other...
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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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President Obama must keep the promises he made in Africa
“Poverty’s companion is hopelessness” As most Africans continue to eke-out a living, surviving on $1.25 a day, President Obama and his family are preparing for their August vacation at a $20 million estate on the Massachusetts seashore. This comes on...
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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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Russia’s Military Presence in the Middle East
President Vladimir V. Putin has been waiting for the opportunity to undermine the United States power in the Middle East. Seizing on that opportunity in Syria was in part due to a lack of U.S. policy that allowed the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria...