Africa

Nigeria is a case study in oil-based wealth being squandered by poor governance and internal strife. Instability in Nigeria merits U.S. attention because it is a major non-Middle Eastern oil producer (accounting for 3 percent of global oil production in 2001) and was America's fifth largest (9.6 percent) source of crude oil… Read more

Sudan, Africa's largest country, has been convulsed for 18 years by a brutal civil war that has claimed 2 million lives. Once dubbed "the forgotten war," Sudan's internal conflict has attracted growing international attention because of mounting evidence that Sudan's radical Islamic regime has resorted to systematic bombing of civilians, starvation, slavery,… Read more

Delivered on February 9, 2007 Amid festering concerns about China's burgeoning global power, Beijing has firmly set its sights on expanding its influence in Africa. In a throwback to the Maoist revolutionary days of the 1960s and 1970s and the Cold War, Beijing has once again identified the African continent as an area of strategic… Read more

The United States has demonstrated considerable dedication to promoting economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. America has provided about $51.2 billion (in 2003 dollars) in bilateral official develop­ment assistance to sub-Saharan Africa since 1960.[1] Under President George W. Bush, America has dou­bled… Read more

(Archived document, may contain errors) 64 October 20, 1 978 Revised from August 31, 1978 NAMIBIA: SOUTH AFRICA, SWAPO AND THE SETTLEMENT SUMMARY The apparent settlement of the conflict in South-West Africa now called Namibia, rapidly unravelled in September and early October as the United Nations attempted… Read more

The situation in Sudan's western province of Darfur, currently the world's worst humanitarian disaster, continues to deteriorate. Sudan's radical Arab dictatorship, which has been battling a popular rebellion in Darfur since early 2003, has unleashed Arab militias to murder, terrorize, and forcibly exile the predominantly non-Arab ethnic groups of that region. Khartoum's campaign… Read more

When Somali pirates seized the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, taking the ship's captain hostage, resulting news coverage focused U.S. public attention on piracy and lawlessness in Somalia. Piracy is a growing problem that benefits from the instability in Somalia. In the near term, effectively safeguarding maritime traffic requires a balanced public/private effort with the use of force limited… Read more

Ending genocide and massive human rights abuses in Sudan and preventing it from becoming a hotbed of terrorism are key U.S. policy objectives in Africa. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama criticized the Bush Administration's policy for inaction and promised to confront Khartoum. Since entering office, however, his Administration has primarily engaged in… Read more

President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Accra, the capital of Ghana, for a brief one-day visit on July 10. According to the White House, the President will give a "major speech in Ghana, setting the tone for his policy towards Africa over the coming years."… Read more

The recent news coverage of pirates has focused U.S. public attention on Somalia more than at any time since the confrontation between U.S. forces and Somali fighters detailed in the movie Black Hawk Down. Numerous suggestions have been made on how to deal with high seas piracy, but failing to adopt a strategy that resolves… Read more

When Somali pirates seized the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, taking the ship's captain hostage, resulting news coverage focused U.S. public attention on piracy and lawlessness in Somalia. Piracy is a growing problem that benefits from the instability in Somalia. In the near term, effectively safeguarding maritime traffic requires a balanced public/private effort with the use of force limited… Read more

Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been inaugurated as the prime minister of Zimbabwe, but many remain pessimistic about the country's prospects for political stability or economic recovery. If the power-sharing deal brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is going to help average Zimbabweans, the international donor community must… Read more

Deadly clashes resumed in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) just one day before the African Union-sponsored Nairobi summit aimed at ending the crisis was convened. The shaky cease-fire declared by the renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda and his National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) broke down in… Read more

The ascendancy of Africa in U.S. foreign policy reflects not only the continent's growing importance to U.S. national interests but also President George W. Bush's determination to join compassion with resources. U.S. accomplishments with its African part­ners are undeniably positive and will be a central theme in the Bush Administration's overall legacy. The 2008 presidential election… Read more

Africa is an increasingly important region to the U.S. It is a growing source of U.S. energy imports, a rising economic and trade partner, and an influential region that can use its representation in international organizations to support or frustrate U.S. policy priorities. Africa has also been beset by instability and conflict that can affect… Read more

South African President Thabo Mbeki has finally been ousted by his political rivals in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), and for many the move comes none too soon. Mbeki leaves a less than stellar legacy: He is perceived broadly as an arrogant pseudo-intellectual who endangered the country's fight against HIV/AIDS, disingenuously promoted black economic… Read more

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which has enhanced U.S.-African trade and investment relations since its inception in 2000, will have its seventh annual forum in Washington, D.C., July 14-16. Under the theme of "Mobilizing Private Investment for Trade and Growth," a focal point for this year's AGOA forum… Read more