Islam and America in the 21st Century: "Die Stunde der Demagogen" and the Ground Zero Mosque Debate

"Bataille de Poitiers en Octobre 732" by Carl von Steuben depicting Charles Martel (mounted) facing Abduhl Rahman al Ghafiqi (right) at the Battle of Poitiers (aka The Battle of Tours)

The Battle of Poitiers (CE 732) Reloaded for CE 2010
"God’s Warriors" and spineless politicians raise their swords against the invading Muslim hordes in Lower Manhattan

Author’s Note for Act I:  "I wade exhausted into the fetid swamp of American politics, xenophobia, and religious fear-mongering yet again with sword in hand to battle demons and heretics…"

There is a raging debate taking place in the United States over the construction of a new Islamic community center near the sight of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. It is a planned $100 million dollar building project that before the events of “9/11” would have attracted little attention in New York let alone throughout the whole of the U.S.A. and abroad.

After all, Muslims have been practicing their faith freely in America since the late 1700’s. African Muslim slaves taken to the American colonies in the early 1600’s practiced their faith in secret for fear of severe punishment, and the first known mosques to be erected in the United States were built in Maine, New York, North Dakota, and Iowa in the early 1900’s. Thomas Jefferson, our third president and one of the founding fathers of the new republic, a president who had difficult relations with Muslim countries during his presidency (see the Barbary Wars), kept a copy of the Holy Qur’an (a 1734 edition of the Alcoran of Mohammed translated by George Sale) in his private library.

U.S. Library of Congress
Use of Thomas Jefferson's Koran for Congressional Swearing in Ceremony

The Thomas Jefferson Papers - America and the Barbary Pirates
(American Memory from the Library of Congress)

Slate.com
What Jefferson really thought about Islam by Christopher Hitchens

I was totally unaware of the proposed Park51 Community Center until a few weeks ago when I saw news headlines about the growing controversy in America over the mislabeled “Ground Zero Mosque” and the outpouring of anti-Islam fear-mongering and hysteria from some of America’s best known political, civic, and religious leaders. Upon close examination of what exactly was being said about the proposed Islamic center and mosque in lower Manhattan, it become clear to me that this is NOT about respect for the families of New York’s 9/11 victims as claimed.

This so-called national debate is not about American ‘sensitivities toward Muslims’ who intend to build an Islamic center and mosque near the site of “hallowed ground” (the former NYC World Trade Center), but instead this is about low-down and dirty politics American style___ ahead of the upcoming midterm elections in the U.S. where devious politicians (mainly from the Republican Party but also including many spineless Democrats) are using fear, hatred and ignorance to fan the flames of distrust and fear between American Muslims and non-Muslim citizens. This debate in fact is an impromptu national referendum on Islam and Muslims in America.

FP Magazine’s Stephan M. Walt and Marc Lynch comments on the debate:
What's at Stake in the Cordoba House Debate by Stephen M. Walt

Excerpt___:

“It doesn't take a genius to figure out what is going on here: All you really need to do is look at how the critics of the community center project keep describing it. In their rhetoric it is always the "Mosque at Ground Zero," a label that conjures up mental images of a soaring minaret on the site of the 9/11 attacks. Never mind that the building in question isn't primarily a mosque (it's a community center that will house an array of activities, including a gym, pool, auditorium, and oh yes, a prayer room). Never mind that it isn't at "Ground Zero": it's two blocks away and will not even be visible from the site. (And exactly why does it matter if it was?) You know that someone is engaged in demagoguery when they keep using demonstrably false but alarmist phrases over and over again.

What I don't understand is why critics of this project don't realize where this form of intolerance can lead. As a host of commentators have already noted, critics of the project are in effect holding American Muslims -- and in this particular case, a moderate Muslim cleric who has been a noted advocate of inter-faith tolerance -- responsible for a heinous act that they did not commit and that they have repeatedly condemned. It is view of surpassing ignorance, and precisely the same sort of prejudice that was once practiced against Catholics, against Jews, and against any number of other religious minorities. Virtually all religious traditions have committed violent and unseemly acts in recent memory, and we would not hold Protestants, Catholics, or Jews responsible for the heinous acts of a few of their adherents.

And don't these critics realize that religious intolerance is a monster that, once unleashed, may be impossible to control? If you can rally the mob against any religious minority now, then you may make it easier for someone else to rally a different mob against you should the balance of political power change at some point down the road.”

End excerpt____

More on the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ debate at Foreign Policy:

Criticizing the Lower Manhattan Mosque is pretty stupid; saying such criticism helps Al Qaeda is stupidity squared by Daniel W. Drezner

Why the Clash of Civilizations Won't Go Away by Marc Lynch

Excerpt___

Last evening in New York, I joined a strong panel organized by the UN's Alliance of Civilizations at the New York Times to discuss U.S. relations with the Muslim world. The room was packed to hear Roger Cohen, Joe Klein, Martin Indyk, Reza Aslan, Dalia Mogahed and I talk about a variety of issues. A surprising amount of the discussion ended up focusing on Israel, which perhaps shouldn't be that surprising, with some real sparks between Aslan and Indyk in particular over the possibility of a two state solution. While I took part in a variety of conversations about Israel, Iran, democracy, and Obama's foreign policy more generally, my main concern was the dangerous resilience of "clash of civilizations" narratives in American and global discourse about Islam. For all of Obama's efforts to change that narrative, to move away from a war on terror and focus on partnerships and respect, recent trends only confirm how deeply ingrained the older confrontational narratives really are. Why? What can be done?

The power of these post 9/11 confrontational narratives about Islam has been on full display of late. What I like to call stupidstorms break out with alarming regularity, driven by right wing media: the frenzy around anodyne comments by the NASA director about engaging Muslims, the firing of Octavia Nasr over her Hezbollah tweet, the especially nasty clashes over the Ground Zero mosque complex. The sheer amount of disinformation, vitriol, and agitation against Muslims and Islam in pockets of the right wing media (new and old) beggars belief. Part of the blame also lies with right wing politicians, who cynically (or, more frightening, sincerely) exploit the anti-Islam tropes to drum up votes and to grab attention. And part of the blame lies in the reality of the persistence and terrorist attacks of al-Qaeda affiliates and sympathizers , and the polarizing effects of the escalating arguments over Israel, Gaza, and Iran. It isn't just the right wing echo chamber, though --- the frenzies over the Captain Underpants failed bomber and the Times Square failed bomber show a mainstream media still hardwired to fall back into the comfortable tropes of the war on terror.

End excerpt_____

This so-called debate is an ugly, disgusting thing to watch from the other side of the Atlantic and it angers me beyond words. To see politicians and high-profile public figures stoop to such depths in order win votes, whip up anti-Muslim fervor amongst the American public, frighten/threaten American citizens of the Muslim faith, people who have committed no crime or acts of sedition against the nation, is outrageous. This hysteria reminds me (and I am certain many other people here in Germany) of the rapid rise of the National Socialists (the Nazis) following the collapse of the Weimar Republic.

The situation in America has gotten so out of control that a growing number of Americans surveyed in a recent national poll firmly believe that President Obama is a Muslim! This is not a new phenomenon on the American political right, but the fact that the findings released on August 18th state that a full 18% of Americans polled believe that President Obama is a Muslim is shocking. The report goes on to state that fully 43% of Americans don’t even know what President Obama’s religion is and that only 46% of Democratic Party voters surveyed say that the 44th President of the United States is a Christian. President Barack Hussein Obama has been raised as a Christian, is a practicing Christian along with his wife and two daughters, and to my knowledge has no intention of giving up his faith or changing religions. End of story!

Author’s Note: I personally do not care whether my president is a Muslim, Christian, or Jew, but that so many of my fellow citizens in America could be so ---damn stupid is absolutely un----ingbelievable! And this is the nation that claims to be the light of the world? Think again, America!

Pew Research Center: Forum on Religion and Public Life
Religion & Politics 2010 - News, Analysis and Data on Religion and the 2010 Midterm Elections
Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim (survey report summary and download)

Slate.com (Slate Magazine)
The Republican campaign against a Ground Zero mosque by William Saletan
Why we should build the proposed Islamic center in Lower Manhattan
The dispute over the "Ground Zero mosque" is an object lesson in how not to resist intolerance by Christopher Hitchens

Author’s Warning: Christopher Hitchens is a card-carrying heretic and anti-theist if I ever seen one. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim readers be advised that you might find his views offensive.

The New York Times
Is the Mosque Issue a Risk for Obama? - Room for Debate
Editorial: Xenophobia - Fear-mongering for American Votes

The Los Angeles Times
Debate over mosque near 'ground zero' splits Republicans

Politico.com
GOP takes harsher stance toward Islam by Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman

These kinds of underhanded tactics work especially well with Americans who hold a thinly-veiled fear and hatred of Islam and Muslims worldwide. I had thought that these ‘Hetzredner’ (demagogue, hate speech) were just a lunatic fringe of the American political and religious right until I saw a CNN International report that claimed a full 68% of Americans across the US political spectrum, Republicans and Democrats alike, vehemently OPPOSE the Cordoba Initiative Park51 Center in New York. At this point my heart sank as I realized that a majority of people in a country that I love so dearly may be heading down the slippery slopes of religious bigotry and fear that has plagued humankind for millennia.

The tireless efforts by Middle East and Islamic scholars, religious leaders from all major faiths, and efforts by the U.S. Government (under two administrations) to inform and educate Americans about Islam (the faith) vs. Islamist extremist ideology has simply not worked. Even my own humble efforts to reach out and engage with Muslims here in Europe, the majority of which are very fine and decent, hard-working people from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia who live right here in my neighborhood in northern Germany is of no interest to a majority of Americans. That my personal efforts to help build bridges of knowledge and understanding between “the black American guy” and his Muslim friends, from the very young to wise old sages like myself, could be considered a total waste of time for many Americans back home makes me feel somewhat depressed.

The controversy over the building of an Islamic center and mosque in New York near the site of ‘Ground Zero’ is something that we are all too familiar with here in Europe. It is something that German literary figure and Nobel Prize laureate Günter Grass, a man who understands how fast and low an entire society can sink into the abyss of xenophobia and mass hysteria, calls Die Stunde der Demagogen (The Hour of the Demagogues). Günter Grass knows what he is talking about when the subject of demagoguery comes up because he was a teenaged soldier and member of the Waffen-SS in the Deutsche Wehrmacht (the German Army under the Nazi’s).

(Note: see articles about Islamophobia and integration of Muslims in Europe listed below)

Spiegel Online International (Germany, English language edition)
A Would-Be Role Model Hits a Dead End: Criticism of First Turkish-German Minister Grows

The War on Burqas: French Ban only Latest in European Debate

Tilting at Minarets: Germany's Anonymous Mosque Watchers

Following in Switzerland's Footsteps: International Right-Wingers Gather for EU-Wide Minaret Ban

Islam for the Diaspora: Importing Germany's Imams

Muslims in Germany: Life in a Parallel Society

Opinion: Swiss Minaret Ban Reflects Fear of Islam, Not Real Problems

The World from Berlin: 'Germany Would Also Have Voted to Ban Minarets'

Fears of Eurabia: How Much Allah Can the Old Continent Bear?

SPIEGEL Special: Muslims in Europe (all archived articles on this subject)

Foreign Policy Magazine
Europe's Burqa Wars by Kayvan Farzaneh

CSMonitor.com
Ground zero mosque debate echoes Europe's fears of Muslims


My Personal Position on the Cordoba Park51 Islamic Community Center

Therefore I want to state clearly that I strongly support plans to build the Cordoba Park51 Community Center in Manhattan, 2 blocks from the site of 2,819 people from 115 nations around the world who lost their lives on that tragic day in September 2001. I think it is a great idea and can provide a place for people of the Muslim faith (and frankly all faiths) who visit New York City’s memorial to 9/11 to reflect, interact, and pray. I am a proud member of the 29% of Americans (according to a CNN poll) who say that the other 68% of Americans polled are dead wrong on this issue (as if the location and building of an Islamic center in Manhattan were any of our business to begin with). And before anyone gets all bent out of shape, the Cordoba Project for the center is only in the planning stages, there are no architectural plans completed for the center and financing for the center has not been arranged according to some reports.

(Note: see the Der Spiegel article about the Muslim prayer room at 45 Park Place in Manhattan).
Finding Allah at Ground Zero: A New Manhattan Mosque Hopes to Heal
Photo Gallery: Praying to Allah at Ground Zero

I am also appreciative for the stance taken by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. President Barack (Hussein) Obama, and the many enlightened people who stand in support of the Cordoba Park51 Center, a place as described by the project heads Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan is meant to be a sanctuary of reflection, interfaith dialogue and exchange of religious knowledge, and worship modeled after the great medieval centers of learning in the “Cities of Light in 8th Century Spain” (see Al-Andalus and links on Islamic Spain below).

NYC.gov - Office of the Mayor of New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Discusses the Landmarks Preservation Commission Vote on 45-47 Park Place (Cordoba House Community Center)

Whitehouse.gov: The White House Blog
President Obama Celebrates Ramadan at White House Iftar Dinner (text summary and video)
Remarks by President Obama at White House Iftar Dinner (transcript)





What bewilders me is that former U.S. presidents and respected political figures from administrations past and present have NOT come out publicly in favor of the building of the Cordoba Park51 Community Center, especially those leaders who worked so hard after 9/11 to encourage Americans not to hate and seek revenge against Islam and Muslims worldwide. Key members of the Bush administration worked tirelessly to convince Americans that these attacks were the work of extremists and terrorists who misrepresent the tenants and principles of a great faith. Even if some political leaders do not support the building of an Islamic center and mosque near the site of the September 11th attacks in New York, they certainly should be speaking out loudly against all of the hate speech and fear-mongering surrounding this project.

Where are the voices of former U.S. presidents George W. Bush, Clinton, and Carter? Why haven’t former secretaries Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright and James Baker spoken out on this issue? President Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has not said anything about the nasty controversy engulfing the country and electrifying our Muslim allies and friends around the world? Hillary Clinton certainly must be supportive of the work of Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf because the U.S. State Department has sent him overseas as a representative of the United States for conferences on Islamic thought and life in America. Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard and aspiring Republican congressional candidate (California), has spoken out AGAINST the building of the Islamic center (to my great surprise and dismay). Why are we hearing from the far right Republican fringe, people like Sarah Palin and former House Speaker Newt Gringrich, two presidential hopefuls who surely do not represent mainstream America on this issue.

The New York Times
U.S. Sends Muslim Center Imam to Arab World to Promote Religious Tolerance - The Lede Blog





The Washington Post – 44 blog
Newt Gingrich compares 'Ground Zero mosque' backers to Nazis
Daisy Khan - On Faith Panelists Blog at washingtonpost.com

The Wall Street Journal
Mosque Near Ground Zero Sparks Debate That Grows, Splinters

The New York Times
White House Memo - In Defining Obama, Misperceptions Stick
Palin, Shakespeare and the Ground Zero Mosque - The Caucus Blog

PBS Newshour (video and transcript)
Mosque near Ground Zero: Local or National Issue?

Informed Comment by Professor Juan Cole
Palin on the Ground Zero Mosque vs. the Founding Fathers

Yahoo! News (assorted news sources)
White House says Obama is Christian, prays daily (AP)
Mosque debate divides Democrats, especially in NY (AP)
Ground Zero Mosque: Who's For, Who's Against (The Daily Beast)

US News and World Report
Palin’s Unpresidential 'Ground Zero Mosque' Comments

Salon.com
Michael Bloomberg delivers stirring defense of mosque - War Room
How the "ground zero mosque" fear mongering began – Topics: Ground Zero Mosque
Newt Gingrich's summer of imaginary threats – Topics: Newt Gingrich

TIME.com
'Ground Zero Mosque' Park51 Not a Triumph of Radical Islam
Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Moderate Sufi Imam Behind the 'Ground Zero Mosque'
Muslim History Belies Stereotypes in 'Ground Zero Mosque' Dispute
Afghan Women and the Return of the Taliban: Afghan Women Fear Their Fate Amid Taliban Negotiations (TIME magazine cover story July 29, 2010)

Christian Science Monitor
Obama mosque dispute: In backing plans, he parts with many Americans
Is ground zero mosque imam best choice for diplomatic mission to Mideast?


End of Act I – Author exits stage right dragging sword through the murky waters of the fetid swamp singing that old American Negro spiritual “I’m with Jesus, yes I am.”

Part II coming ASAP: A critical look at the history (and myths) about conflicts between Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Europe and the Middle East from the medieval period in al- Andalus (Islamic Spain) right through to the Prostetant Reformation. Don’t miss it!


Information about Islamic Spain, Cordoba, and the Cities of Light

Foreign Policy – FP Passport blog
The other Cordoba initiative (in Cordoba, Spain) by Brian Fung

PBS (USA, Public Broadcasting Service)
Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain

Unity Productions Foundation (official website of the 2-hour documentary film)
Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain

Chicago Humanities Festival 2008
Professor David Levering Lewis: Conversation about his book "God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215" (multimedia and text)

Author’s Note: NYU Historian and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David Levering Lewis talks about his book “God’s Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe 570 to 1215”. This book is one of the most prized possessions in my personal library and I highly recommend it to all readers interested in medieval European history and the relationship between Muslims and Christians and Jews during this important period.

The New Yorker magazine review of Professor Lewis’s book
A Better Place by Joan Acocella – Feb 04, 2008

The Economist – Democracy in America (blog)
Ground Zero mosque: The symbolism of Cordoba

Got Medieval (an excellent blog on European medieval history and the media)
Professor Newt's Distorted History Lesson

Sudan Elections: Obama's Message to Sudan's Pharoah "Redemption? Legitimacy? Respect? You shall have none of it!"

While reviewing and and organizing the flood of global news and commentary centered around Sudan's historic polls, I came across some outstanding news coverage and writing by ordinary citizens and professional journalists on the ground in Sudan.  Anyone who has carefully followed news and events in Sudan over the past 5-7 years (much of it dominated by the violence and exterminations which have taken place in Darfur and South Sudan, and the International Criminal Court's indictment and arrest warrant for Sudan's President)... anyone who has a deep interest in African affairs will tell you that these elections in Sudan are really important not only for this vast country but also for the many efforts and programs to establish democracy and good governance all across the African continent.

As the Obama Administration, the Sudan Troika (U.S.A., Norway, and the U.K.), and a handful of democratic governments and international organizations struggle to come to terms with what has transpired in these openly fraudulent, manipulated polls across Africa's largest country___ each day that passes while Sudan's National Election Commission withholds the election results (cooking the votes), a new scandal emerges.

As the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (The Jackal) visits his ace-boon-dictator buddy President Robert Mugabe (The Crocodile) for celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Republic of Mugabe Inc. (formerly known as Zimbabwe and Rhodesia), as well as being honored at a state dinner and having talks about Iranian investments in Zimbabwe, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley made the following comments regarding Sudan's elections:

U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing - April 20, 2010
(Hat Tip to Martha Bixby over at the Save Darfur Coaltion blog for the lead)

MR. CROWLEY (State Department): New topic.

QUESTION (Reporter): New topic? Sudan. When the U.S. came out – when the Obama Administration came out with its policy on Sudan, it talked about incentives and disincentives in the process. And I’m wondering – I’ve seen the statements on the elections, but I’m wondering if there are any consequences for Bashir’s government for carrying out such a marred election process.

MR. CROWLEY (State Department): Well, I think, Michelle, we have to put that in a little broader context. As the international monitoring groups have indicated, the recent elections – and the results are still pending – did not meet international standards. There are a number of reasons for that, some based on the fact that elections have not occurred in Sudan for some time and some because the government did not create the appropriate atmosphere and did not take the steps it should have taken to insure a free, fair, and competitive election. So – and we’ve expressed those concerns before the election and we have expressed those concerns since the election. That said, we also recognize that Sudan is facing vitally important decisions and referenda in the coming months that will shape, literally, its future. And we will work with the Governments of North and South Sudan to continue to press them to fulfill all of their obligations under the comprehensive peace agreement. They have to do – there are many things they have to specifically do with respect to different parts of Sudan from Darfur to Abyei to the south of Sudan. To the extent that the Government of Sudan was looking for redemption or legitimacy in what happened here, they will get none of it. But we recognize that there are specific things that we have to do in Sudan to prepare the country for the referenda early next year. There are very important things that need to be done to insure full implementation of the CPA and to, among other things, prevent Sudan from slipping back into conflict. So we will engage North and South on that basis and prod them, push them, support them as they take steps leading to the referenda next January.

End excerpt from U.S. State Department Press Briefing - April 20, 2010

So there you have it.  According to the U.S. State Department spokesman, as far as Omar al Bashir and his regime getting any redemption (from alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, etc.) or legitimacy as the democratically-elected government of Sudan___ the present Khartoum regime will NOT receive official recognition from the Obama Administration , from the U.S. Congress, and especially no support from the people of the United States of America.  "No respect!"  "Nothin' but the sharp end of a stick!"

The National Congress Party and Bashir had a chance to finally do something right for all the people of Sudan by holding free-and-fair elections and peacefully accepting the outcome.  Instead they chose to cheat, lie, and steal___ defying the wishes of millions of voters and honest citizens in Sudan yet again so that the regime could retain power and control over the country's resources (vast untapped oil reserves), land, and people.  Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir: modern-day Pharoah of Sudan, the Land of the Blue and White Nile.  The true Black Pharoahs of Sudan (the ancient kingdoms of Nubia and Kush) must be turning in their crypts just thinking about this guy.  If all else fails to remove Bashir and his cabel of thugs from power and bring them to justice, there is a last resort:  the curse of the pharoahs.
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In addtion to this week's breaking news about Sudanese election officials being caught red-handed stuffing ballot boxes with falsified votes, Alex de Waal's SSRC blog "Making Sense of Sudan" has an article from Sudanese contributor Hafiz Mohammed describing in detail how the ruling National Congress Party (NCP, formerly the National Islamic Front) has been systematically buying-off candidates, voters, and votes all across North and South Sudan to the tune of hundreds of millions in Sudanese Pounds, choice government jobs, new cars and houses.

Here is an excerpt from Hafiz Mohammed's post titled "Corruption and the Election":

There is one very important issue which has not been raised by anyone, as I have listened to all reports from the election observers , until now , that is the buying and selling of votes and loyalty. According to my estimate this has amounted to not less than one billion US dollars over the last two years.

For the last year and in every Sudanese region, the issue of buying the loyalty of tribal and community leaders has been happening. This has not been by investing in their communities in terms of health, education and other services but instead in a crude way, by bribing them with cash or other material resources or jobs. Above all, it is cash. That has occurred not only for traditional leaders, but political parties also. The recent row about the amount given to the Umma Party, just two days before the election is one example. This amount was given in cash , and not through bank transfer or cheque and without any signature from the recipient. Until now we don’t know whether it was two million Sudanese pounds (US$ 800,000) or four million (US $1,600,000). It was a bribe for the Umma Party to participate in the election. We don’t know from where this amount was paid and what was the budget line, whether it was from the public purse or not.

In the run up to the election, people were talking about putting up your candidateship for election and then bargaining to withdraw it. If you stand down in favour of the NCP candidate, you will be paid. The price normally depends on the expected number voters who might vote for you. Tens of candidates withdraw their candidateship in favour of the NCP candidates and people were talking about the price they were paid for this.

End excerpt from Hafiz Mohammed's article. Read the complete post at Making Sense of Darfur.

So that's it regarding updates on the Sudan elections for today.  I'll work on completing my list of links to news articles, commentary, and blog posts about these elections as promised to readers in my previous blog post on the Sudan Elections 2010.  I've edited it down to only 13 pages of "must-read" stuff___ do you think that thirteen pages is a bit too much to go to print, er to go to post?  Bis bald.

Technorati tags: (still in beta)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Africa: the 'Super Size Me' tour

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has returned to Africa for an 11-day, seven-country tour of the continent. I use the term “returned to Africa” because Hillary Clinton has been to Africa before, most recently accompanying President Obama during his visit to Egypt in May and in her role as the U.S. ‘First Lady’ during former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s administration. Some readers may not remember the 1997 whirlwind tour through Africa by Hillary Clinton together with her daughter Chelsea. They visited a record six African countries___ Uganda, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Africa, and Senegal.

Following is an excerpt from Ebony Magazine’s coverage of the 1997 trip to Africa:
Ebony Magazine – July 1997 issue (source: findarticles.com)

Hillary Clinton's triumphant trip to Africa; historic voyage marks the most extensive visit by a U.S. first lady

In the most extensive African trip ever undertaken by a U.S. first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton visited six African countries and praised the largely untold story of the continent's social, economic and political progress. Donning African gowns and participating in African dances and ceremonies, the first lady, accompanied by daughter Chelsea, was greeted with the enthusiasm usually reserved for heads of state and movie stars.

Among the highlights of the trip were a visit with President Nelson Mandela to Robben Island, a tour of Soweto, and major speeches in South Africa and Uganda. She also visited Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Africa's newest country, Eritrea. Her first stop in Senegal was at Goree Island, where she peered through "The Door of No Return," through which slaves passed on their way to the dreaded Middle Passage of the Slave Trade. When she arrived in Dakar, Senegal, the first lady was greeted by Senegalese who danced and serenaded her with lyrics written especially for the occasion.

The Ebony magazine article went on to say…

As on all of her foreign trips, Clinton participated in roundtable discussions with prominent women and non-governmental organizations that are helping to build a new civil society. Famous all over the world for the African motto she used for the title of her book, It Takes A Village, Clinton visited for the first time some of the African village-models that inspired the motto. She later praised the efforts of villagers who have constructed their own houses and created health clinics and businesses.

The goodwill tour, undertaken at the request of President Clinton and the U.S. Department of State, was designed, according to her aides, "to underscore the United States' commitment to continued active engagement with the continent and to highlight the progress of democracy . . . women's empowerment and social investments in education, health care (including fighting AIDS), and our collective commitment to the survival and well-being of children." The first first lady to make an African trip of this kind, Clinton deliberately highlighted the positive. Although she did not ignore the massive and continuing problems of poverty, refugees and AIDS, she focused on models of hope.

"I want more Americans," she told reporters, "to know more about what is going on in Africa beyond what is often in the headlines, so if my coming here can bring more attention to the continent . . . I hope that will help Americans have a broader understanding of Africa and understand more fully the real stake we can have in a successful, prosperous, stable Africa in the future."

End excerpts from Ebony Magazine. Read the full article using link below.
Hillary Clinton's triumphant trip to Africa; historic voyage marks the most extensive visit by a U.S. first lady


Fast-forward to July 2009 (12 years later)

In a U.S. Department of State press release issued on July 27, 2009 Ian Kelly issued the following brief statement about the Secretary’s upcoming Africa trip:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's Travel to Africa

Ian Kelly
Department Spokesman
Bureau of Public Affairs
Washington, DC
July 27, 2009

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will begin a seven-nation trip to Africa on August 5 at the 8th U.S. – Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (known as the AGOA Forum) in Nairobi, Kenya.

This trip will highlight the Obama administration’s commitment to making Africa a priority in U.S. foreign policy. This will be the earliest in any U.S. administration that both the President and the Secretary of State have visited Africa.

While in Kenya, Secretary Clinton will discuss new approaches to development, including an emphasis on investment and broad-based economic growth. The Secretary will be joined in Kenya by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson.

During the visit to Kenya, the Secretary will deliver a speech at the Ministerial Opening Ceremony for the AGOA Forum, participate in bilateral meetings with Kenya’s senior leaders, discuss global hunger and agricultural issues at a major research institute, and engage with Kenyan citizens. She will also meet with Sheikh Sharif Amed, the President of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government.

The Secretary will continue her travel with stops in South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde. In each nation, she will emphasize Africa as a place of opportunity, built on an ethic of responsibility. She will underline America’s commitment to partner with governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and private citizens to build societies where each individual can realize their potential.

In her bilateral meetings and other events, she will encourage new solutions to old challenges, harnessing the power of innovation and technology to provide a foundation for future stability, human development, and sustainable economic growth. She will stress the importance of facilitating social and economic entrepreneurship, encouraging a new generation of young African scientists, small business leaders, entrepreneurs and civic leaders who are solving real problems and establishing new models for economic success and social advances, with women as full partners in this progress. And she will discuss ways to foster good regional governance, partnering with regional leaders to band together to prevent conflict and violence, including gender-based violence, democratic erosions, and transnational threats.

Following her visit to Cape Verde, the Secretary will return to Washington, DC.
End PRN: 2009/782

Note: The errors appearing in the official State Department press release above (dates, spelling) are not mine. The links to external websites have been added to the original document in order to provide bios of respective U.S. government officials.

The fact that Secretary Clinton will be traveling to the continent so shortly after President Obama’s visit to Ghana gives her an opportunity to further promote and clarify U.S. strategies and policies toward key sub-Saharan African countries during the Obama Administration and beyond (long term). This trip should also give the Secretary an opportunity to counter some of the criticism expressed by some African journalists, bloggers and news commentators over President Obama’s keynote speech to Africans delivered in Accra, Ghana on July 11th.

I believe that it is good that Hillary Clinton is finally coming out from under the pervasive shadow of President Obama’s huge popularity abroad (especially in Africa) and ‘struts her own stuff’ to America’s friends and allies in Africa. Let’s face it, Hillary is no pushover and she is also no greenhorn when it comes to foreign affairs and international (and domestic) crises and challenges.

Some contributors to Foreign Policy Magazine (i.e. David Rothkopf) have been giving the secretary a pretty hard time lately re: her life in the shadow of President Obama. To be fair much of the criticism one reads in the press about Hillary’s leadership style at the State Department is unfair. However, the fact that her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, is visiting North Korea and has met with the reclusive leader Kim Jong Il on the same day that Secretary Clinton is to deliver an opening address at the 8th AGOA Forum in Nairobi is yet another PR blunder by planners at the White House and the State Department, similar to the President’s alleged upstaging of Clinton’s major foreign policy address at the Council on Foreign Relations earlier this month.

Madam Secretary – an obsessive FP blog about Hillary Clinton
Clinton is going to Africa next week 07/28/09
Clinton: New reality demands different 'global architecture' 07/15/09
Excerpts from Secretary Clinton’s major foreign policy address at the Council on Foreign Relations

The Cabe by Laura Rozen – reporting inside the foreign policy machine
Clinton to Africa 07/27/09
Holbrooke trumpets Clinton leadership after address 07/15/09
Excerpts from Clinton's foreign-policy speech (at the Council on Foreign Relations) 07/15/09
With foreign-policy speech, Clinton plans to raise her profile 07/09/09

David Rothkopf
Ker-plunk: why Clinton’s big speech didn’t make a big splash 07/16/09

It will be interesting to hear what Hillary has to say to African leaders and especially to the all of the people of Africa while on tour on the continent. As with the President’s visit to Ghana, ‘digital diplomacy’ via the use of social media, blogs, YouTube, and other forms of interactive online tools may play a large role in the success or failure of the Secretary’s trip.

CNN International - CNN Video
Clinton’s Digital Diplomacy at the U.S. State Department 08/03/09

PBS MediaShift with Mark Glaser
Public Diplomacy in the Digital Age, Part 1 by Mark Hannah 02/23/09

TED Blog – official blog of the Technology, Entertainment, and Design Conferences
http://blog.ted.com/2009/06/tedstate_today.php 06/03/09
A first-of-its-kind conference between the U.S. Department of State and leading thinkers and speakers at TEDTalks

The American Prospect
The Next Diplomatic Cable by Nancy Scola 07/27/09

Diplopundit
The State Department’s Digital Diplomacy Footprint 06/05/09

DipNote – the U.S. Department of State official blog
Secretary Clinton launches virtual student foreign service initiative 05/13/09

MSNBC.com (Associated Press)
Hillary Clinton: E-diplomat 03/23/09

Which reminds me: Just the other day a staff member of the U.S. State Department’s new media team left a comment to my previous post about President Obama’s visit to Ghana and reactions to his foreign policy speech to Africans. The global feedback to President Obama’s speech has been substantial and it is still continuing. There is absolutely no shortage of dialogue, opinions, and viewpoints from people about how to improve U.S.-Africa policy and relations. Here are just a few of the many articles, editorials, and online forums surrounding President Obama’s Ghana visit and speech that I feel may be of interest to my readers:

America.gov
Live Chat While Watching President Obama’s Speech in Ghana 07/11/09
Transcript of global webchat on President Obama’s speech in Accra, Ghana
Note: Thanks to Mark, the CO-NX webchat moderator for the U.S. Department of State and the Whitehouse during the President’s visit to Africa, for providing us with this information.

Foreign Policy Magazine
The Best Worst Country in Africa
Why Obama is going to Ghana, and why he should push for more progress when he arrives by E. Gyimah-Boadi 07/10/09
E. Gyimah-Boadi is the Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development

Photo Essay: The Obamans Abroad by James Downie 07/24/09
A focus on the recent overseas travel of Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

FP Column – Argument
Obama’s Trash Talk
Why Obama gets it wrong on Africa by Andrew M. Mwenda 07/15/09
Andrew M. Mwenda is Editor-Chief of The Independent newsmagazine (Kampala, Uganda)

Our reply to Obama by O. Natty B. Davis 07/16/09
Liberian government minister responds to Obama’s Ghana address to Africa

Nigeria, a Violent Window of Opportunity by Mark Schneider and Nnamdi Obasi 07/17/09

FP Column: Interview
Aiding the Future: Does U.S. foreign assistance really work? by Michael Wilkerson 07/20/09 – the FP/Oxfam America panel discussion on aid effectiveness

FP Column: Letters
What’s Ailing Africa? by Chanda Chisala 06/22/09
A countrywoman of Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo reflects upon the ill effects of foreign aid to Africa. See related article The Next Big Thing: Africa by Dambisa Moyo, May/June 2009

NPR – National Public Radio (USA)
Foreign Policy: He's Not Our Savior by Andrew Mwenda

C-SPAN (Washington DC, USA)
Washington Journal program, July 11, 2009: President Obama Travels to Africa
Interview with economist George Ayittey (American University, Washington DC) and Q&A with C-Span viewers (video, approximately 30 minutes with Professor George Ayittey – ‘Hat Tip’ to Shay over at Booker Rising for the lead on the Ayittey video)

Newsweek – Newsweek Voices with Fareed Zakaria
Africa's New Path 07/18/09
Interview with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Rwanda’s successes 15 years after the 1994 genocide and his views on President Obama’s speech in Ghana

The Root (TheRoot.com)
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka on Obama in Africa: Obama's Choice 07/14/09
The Nigerian author and Nobel laureate dissects Obama’s trip to Ghana and the message it should send to the corrupt and failing states of Africa


Kenya and the AGOA Forum

The visit to Kenya by senior U.S. government officials including the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, the U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and U.S. Secretary for Agriculture Tom Vilsack along with an entourage of more than 250 American business leaders and government officials from the Department of Commerce, Transportation, and others is unprecedented in the history of U.S.-Kenya relations. This will be Hillary Clinton’s first (official) visit to Kenya and to the capital Nairobi, which is the location of the 8th AGOA Forum and the Kenyan Private Sector Forum.

Of course senior U.S. government officials have been attending opening ceremonies at AGOA forums since the first AGOA Forum opened in Washington D.C. back in October 2001. That’s correct, the first AGOA Forum was NOT hastily cancelled after the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001, a fact that some people conveniently overlook. Former U.S. President George W. Bush along with key members of his cabinet was in attendance. President Bush delivered the opening address at that first AGOA conference.

Note: Read more about the U.S. Government’s AGOA program including speeches, remarks, and economic and trade data from previous AGOA conferences by following the links provided in Additional Resources at the end of this post. Pay particular attention the articles and resources at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the AGOA website, and the AGOA Info website.


Back to the future: Has U.S.-Africa policy really changed?

When you compare the June 1997 article from Ebony Magazine to the State Department press release of July 27, 2009 it is evident that Secretary Clinton will be dealing with many of the same issues and themes that she championed 12 years ago. This is interesting when you consider how much has changed on the African continent and around the world since the year 1997. Something that I will be looking for in Secretary Clinton’s statements and speeches will be signs of continuity and consistency in U.S. foreign policy toward African countries in comparison to the policies of previous U.S. administrations.

The Wall Street Journal
Eliot Cohen: What’s Different About the Obama Foreign Policy?
Editorial from Eliot Cohen (John Hopkins University) on the striking continuities between the Bush and Obama administrations on U.S. foreign policy

The Economist
Barack Obama and Africa: How different is his policy? 07/16/09

History News Network
The Moderometer: Charting Obama’s Zig-Zag ... Step Left Domestically, Gesture Left Globally, but Keep Your Foreign Policies Somewhat Centered by Gil Troy 08/03/09

TIME.com
Barack Obama's Foreign Policy: The Five Pillars 07/13/09

I shall also be watching for a major policy statement regarding security concerns in the Horn of Africa and in East African countries, especially how the U.S. government plans to work with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and the leaders of the autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland. As Clinton speaks with the Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in Nairobi, I do hope that she will also be meeting with African Union leaders regarding the struggling AMISOM mission in order to help counter the growing threat by Islamic extremists and militias in Somalia (BBC News: Meeting Somalia’s Al-Shabab).

Security worries and the growing Somali refugee crisis should be a major concern in Kenya while in other East African countries like Tanzania and Uganda everything is (relatively) peaceful. Which makes you wonder, why was Nairobi selected as the venue for this year’s AGOA Forum in the first place? Why didn’t they choose a much safer East African city like Arusha or Dar es Saalam (Tanzania) or Uganda’s capital city (Kampala)?

It is also interesting to note that five countries (Eritrea, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Senegal) previously visited by ‘First Lady’ Hillary Clinton in 1997 have been left off the itinerary of Secretary Clinton’s 2009 Africa tour. Only one African country apparently deserved a repeat visit (Clinton will make three stops in South Africa). Perhaps one shouldn’t read too much into that little factoid, but nonetheless, I wonder why she is returning to South Africa and not visiting Rwanda or Botswana, both countries are good examples of how democracy is taking hold and working in Africa.

Here is some recommended reading material for Madam Secretary Clinton while she is country-hopping around the African continent this week:

The New York Times
Radical Islamists Slip Easily Into Kenya by Jeffrey Gettleman 07/21/09
Al Shabab and Al Qaeda may be crossing the border from Somalia into Kenya

Fears in the West about Al Qaeda Affiliate’s Boldness in Africa 07/09/09
The U.S. military (AFRICOM) is helping train West and North African soldiers to fight against the rise in terrorist activity and attacks by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

Letter from China - U.S. Finding Its Voice in Africa Again by Howard French 07/17/09
Howard French was a former bureau chief (Shanghai, West Africa) for the New York Times. He now teaches at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Op-Ed Contributor (Kofi Annan) - Africa and the International Court 06/29/09
Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the ‘responsibility to protect’ and the responsibility of African leaders to support the International Criminal Court in bringing to trial leaders charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity

An Interview with Joseph Kabila by Jeffrey Gettleman 04/03/09
A rare interview with the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Washington Post
Clinton to meet Somali president in Africa trip 07/27/09
Corruption Cop: A Conversation with Nigerian Anti-Corruption Crusader Nuhu Ribadu 05/24/09

PBS Frontline World
FRONTLINE/WORLD: The Business of Bribes: Lowell Bergman Investigates – Part 5
Former Nigerian anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu talks to Frontline World about corruption in Africa 05/15/09

Global Post
Worldview: Africa's moment? by Mort Rosenblum 07/07/09
Opinion: hints of light in a not so dark continent
Interview: Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga by Mark Scheffler 07/21/09 (Updated)
An interview with the Kenyan PM during his U.S. visit in May 2009

(The East African)
Kenya: U.S. Embassy Boosts Anti-Graft Book As Smug Kenya Government Looks On 07/27/09
The explosive exposé ‘It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistleblower’ about the life of former Kenyan anti-corruption chief John Kithongo and how corruption works at the highest levels of Kenyan politics and business.

The Daily Nation (Kenya)
Secrets of book about John Kithongo ‘It’s Our Turn to Eat’ 02/15/09
The groundbreaking book about the life of former Kenyan anti-corruption chief John Githongo and corruption in Kenyan politics and business

Royal African Society (UK)
It’s Our Turn to Eat. The Story of a Kenyan Whistleblower
An editorial on the release of the book by the author Michela Wrong

U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs – Public Hearings
New Challenges for International Peacekeeping July 29, 2009
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Susan E. Rice, gives testimony on America’s commitment to international peacekeeping operations and conflict resolution in Africa (Sudan, DR Congo, and Somalia)

Sudan: U.S. Policy and Implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement July 29, 2009
John Prendergast (co-founder of the Enough Project), SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum Okiech, former U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Richard S. Williamson

U.S. Department of State YouTube Channel
Video of Ambassador Susan E. Rice’s July 29th testimony on international peacekeeping before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Associated Press (source: Google News)
US warns Eritrea over activity in Somalia 07/29/09

BBC News
Mugabe calls US envoy 'an idiot' 07/06/09
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe insults Obama’s lead diplomat for Africa on the sidelines of the 13th African Union Summit in Sirte, Libya. There have been no apologies to date from the African Union leadership about this embarrassing incident.
Summit takes AU back to its roots 07/01/09
A report about the 13th African Union Summit in Sirte, Libya


Country-hopping around Africa

The list of African nations that Secretary Clinton will be visiting is impressive, especially the selection of Liberia (America’s closest ally in Africa), Nigeria (the giant of Africa), the Democratic Republic of Congo (Yes Lord! Secretary Clinton is scheduled to travel to the eastern DRC to learn what’s been going on with her own eyes and ears). I am assured that Clinton’s visit to Goma in the eastern DR Congo, her talks with the female victims of incredible sexual violence at the hands of the Interahamwe (Hutu militias) and regular Congolese army soldiers, the poverty and hopelessness she will see in the eyes of women and children of the many refugee camps spread across the region, will change her outlook on life___ forever.

Hillary Clinton will also be visiting the nation of Angola, America’s (and China’s) largest African supplier of petroleum. Angola was formerly a self-declared Marxist state and a ‘bitter enemy’ of the United States during the Cold War years. Angola (historically called the Kingdom of Kongo – 15th century) was also a major source of black African slaves to the New World during the transatlantic slave trade. The first African slaves to arrive at a permanent settlement in Colonial America (Jamestown ca.1619-20) were from Angola. Today, Angola is America’s newest partner in sub-Saharan Africa for private capital investments. The Cape Verde Islands (cool those aching, tired feet of yours Hillary in the beautiful sand and surf of this West African paradise) will be the last stop on Madame Secretary’s 2009 Africa tour.

According to the State Department Secretary Clinton plans to meet not only with senior government officials and business leaders in the countries she will be visiting, she will also meet with African community leaders and activists, young entrepreneurs and students, and ordinary ‘working class’ folks. I believe that Secretary Clinton will hold a series of public town hall-style meetings, debates and forums. If this is true, exactly who has been invited to these events and how were they selected? I’m fairly certain that Secretary Clinton’s staff at the State Department along with staff from respective U.S. embassies have helped to select the attendees for these planned forums and roundtable discussions.

However, in case the invitation lists have not been finalized, here are a few of my tips for State Department staffers who are involved with the selection process. These are people that I feel Clinton should invite and listen to during her visit to Africa, people who have earned and enjoy respect and admiration not only from various online communities of bloggers and social networks, but who also deserve to be bathed in the spotlight of the international news media that will be following Secretary Clinton’s every word and move on this journey to Africa.

Kenya
Ory Okolloh (Harvard educated lawyer, activist, and author of Kenyan Pundit)
TED Global Africa Conference June 2007

TEDTalks video: Ory Okolloh on becoming an activist
Ushaidi – a crisis mapping and online communication networking platform ‘Made in Kenya’

Daudi Were (Nairobi, Kenya) profile at Generation Kenya
Mentalacrobatics (the popular blog authored by Daudi Were)
Kenya Unlimited – an award-winning network of more than 600 Kenyan bloggers founded by Daudi Were that operated from 2005 thru 2007

Transcript of webchat with US Ambassador to Kenya 01/21/09
On the eve of President Obama’s inauguration, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael E. Ranneberger hosted a webchat with citizens of Kenya on U.S.-Kenya relations

Kelele.org – Kelele 2009 Pan-African Blogger Conference
Kelele: First African Bloggers' Conference Scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya 07/22/09

James Shikwati (IREN, The African Executive)
Kenyan economist and publisher of The African Executive business magazine

Wangari Maathai
Founder of the Green Belt Movement and 2004 Nobel laureate

Angola, South Africa
Ana F. Santana (Angolan-born economic historian and educator, a graduate of the London School of Economics, and author of the K Faktor blog)

Ana on the growing economic and political relationship between Angola and China
REVISITING ANGOLA AT A TIME OF ECONOMIC CHANGE 07/28/09

Ana on the July 2009 speech by President Obama delivered in Accra, Ghana
BREVES NOTAS SOBRE O DISCURSO DE OBAMA NO GHANA 07/23/09

Nigeria
Sokari Ekine (London, UK, Nigeria) – Nigerian activist and prolific writer, author/editor of the award-winning Black Looks group blog and online news editor at Pambazuka News (Oxford, UK)
G20 Voice – a citizen media project at the G20 Summit in London April 2009
Meet the G20Voice bloggers: 50 leading blog authors from around the globe

CNBC Africa video (source: VPod)
Live at 2009 G20 Summit in London: Bob Geldof, Daudi Were and Sokari Ekine

Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo
Cédric Kalonji (DR Congo, France) – a former journalist at Radio Okapi and one of the DR Congo’s top blog authors, presently living and studying in France. He was the first of 50 blog authors selected for the G20 Voices project at the 2009 G20 Summit in London. Cédric Kalonji’s personal blog and his work at Congoblog.net

Rosebell Kagumire (Kampala, Uganda) – Rosebell is an investigative journalist working presently at The Independent, a weekly news magazine published by Ugandan journalist/editor Andrew M. Mwenda. Rosebell’s personal blog (Rosebell’s Blog) was one of the winners of the 2008 Waxal Blogging Award for African Journalists. A profile of background can be found at McGill University Law School website for the 2007 Global Conference on the Prevention of Genocide.

Andrew M. Mwenda (publisher of The Independent weekly newsmagazine)

Pan-African Voices on U.S.-Africa Policy
Global Voices Online
Obama in Africa (Ghana) 2009 archives
Africa: Winners of the First African Blog Award for Journalists Announced 03/02/09

2008 Waxal Blogging Awards for African Journalists
A joint project sponsored by The Panos Institute – West Africa, Highway Africa (South Africa), and Global Voices Online (founded at The Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University School of Law)


Related articles, editorials, and additional resources

DipNote – the U.S. Department of State official blog
Travel Diary: Secretary Clinton Departs for Africa 08/03/09
A New Era of Engagement 07/15/09
Summary of Secretary Clinton’s foreign policy address at the Council on Foreign Relations (full video and text)
Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) 07/14/09
Secretary Clinton address U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid reform at the USAID
A New Moment of Promise by Shanique Streete (U.S. Embassy in Accra, Ghana) 07/13/09
President Obama in Ghana 07/12/09
Townhall meeting by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to announce the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review 07/10/09 (text and video)

America.gov – Engaging the World
Briefing on Assistance to Somalia Transitional Federal Government 06/26/09
Opening Statement by Assistant Secretary-Designate Johnnie Carson 04/29/09
Testimony (confirmation hearing) by the new Assistant Secretary for African Affairs before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee
America.gov – Africa news and features

U.S. Department of State
Briefing on Secretary Clinton's Upcoming Trip to Africa by Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary - Bureau of African Affairs (text, video) 07/30/09
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Travel to Africa 07/27/09

U.S. Department of State – Bureau of African Affairs
“Confronting Drug Trafficking in West Africa” (PDF) 06/23/09
Testimony of Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson (Bureau of African Affairs) before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs

AGOA – African Growth and Opportunity Act (USA)
AGOA Forums: Information, speeches, remarks and videos from the 1st through 8th AGOA Forums
Introduction: the 1st AGOA Forum held in Washington DC October 29-30, 2001
AGOA News and resources
The 8th Annual AGOA Forum official website (Nairobi, Kenya August 4-6, 2009)
AGOA Forum Seeks to Expand U.S.-Africa Trade and Investment (America.gov) 06/30/09
U.S.-African Trade Profile 2009 (PDF)

Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) - Ambassador Ron Kirk
"Toward a New U.S.-African Partnership on Trade and Development" by US Trade Representative Ron Kirk 08/03/09
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Florie Liser Speaks About AGOA Forum (video and text) 08/01/09
"Trade Is Key to Africa’s Economic Growth" (USTR blog) 07/23/09
An interview with Assistant USTR for Africa Florizelle Liser ahead of the 8th AGOA Forum to be held in Nairobi, Kenya
Report Shows AGOA Continues to Grow and Diversify U.S.-Africa Trade (Office of the United States Trade Representative) – May 2008

AGOA Info (a portal operated by the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa)
Envoy hails Clinton’s trip to Africa, focus on hunger, AGOA (America.gov) 08/01/09
Eighth AGOA Forum more critical than ever, says Ambassador Carson (America.gov) 07/29/09
Africa: Enhanced US market access critical (America.gov) 07/24/09
Kenyan farmers reap gloom from American market (Business Daily Africa) 07/23/09

The Corporate Council on Africa (Washington DC)
7th Biennial U.S. - Africa Business Summit Sep 29 – Oct 1, 2009 - Washington DC
CCA 2008 US-Africa Infrastructure Conference

VOA News
Clinton Leaves on a Seven-Nation Africa Visit 08/02/09
Article includes an audio interview with Professor Okey Onyejekwe – UNECA Director of Governance
Supporting The Somali People 08/03/09
An editorial reflecting the views of the US Government
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Visit Africa 07/28/09


Technorati tags:Africa business news USA America politics Barack Obama Hillary Clinton foreign policy US foreign policy global trade foreign aid AGOA commerce global voices

Obama in Africa: Placing the President's Ghana visit and speech to Africa under the microscope

Note: This post is a draft only version to see if my readers are paying attention. Final release version is coming ASAP.
----------------------

It would be quite silly to publish a timely piece previewing the thoughts of President Obama and his leading Africa diplomat before the president’s trip to Ghana without doing a follow-up post. Sorry about the delay but it took some time to review all of the commentary and analysis surrounding Obama’s first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States. The visit and the much anticipated presidential address to the African people was a success according to the White House foreign policy team. Many Africans were delighted about the visit and what President Obama had to say about his policies and vision for Africa (but not all). The global reactions and opinions are in and I’m ready with my roundup.

Today, a very good friend of mine who hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo is on her way from Berlin over Paris to Kinshasa accompanied by her daughters and a granddaughter. She is returning to her home for only the second time after a very long absence of about 10 years. When the bloody, violent Second Congo War broke out she was able to escape Kinshasa during the mass killings and chaos created by marauding militias under the command of former DRC President Laurent Kabila and his son, the present democratically-elected President Joseph Kabila Kabange.

In earlier conversations she described what it was like in May 1997 during a visit to her home when troops of Laurent Kabila finally took the capital city Kinshasa, sending the longtime, despotic ruler of Congo (Zaire) Mobutu Sese Seko into exile. She explained the horror of being held at gunpoint by several young rebel fighters, fearing rape and death for herself, her two small daughters and other members of her family in their house in Kinshasa, when suddenly out of nowhere a military truck full of Mobutu’s soldiers pulled up in front of the house frightening away Kabila’s marauding fighters. She was able to later escape across the Congo River to Brazzaville and catch a flight on to Europe to live with friends in exile.

This post is dedicated to my friend and her daughters who are big fans of President Barack Obama. I wish them Godspeed on their journey to the sprawling jungle metropolis on the banks of the mighty Congo River. I hope that President Obama will soon say more about what he will do to help the people of the DR Congo, especially how America can assist Congo’s young people and help to empower women and girls in this vast central African country.
---------------------------------------------------

Another friend, the editor/publisher of the African Loft asked me about my opinions of Obama’s speech before the Ghana Parliament on July 11th. I have been feeding a few updates and analysis about the speech to him and another buddy Ethan Zuckerman over at My Heart’s in Accra. Ethan, who is the co-founder of the hugely popular and influential blogger community Global Voices Online, was traveling in West Africa at the time of President Obama’s visit to Ghana. Ethan has a number of recent posts about his visit to Abuja (Nigeria) and a very touching series of posts about his return to his beloved (adopted) home Accra, Ghana. I recommend that you checkout Ethan’s latest posts to get a picture of how much Accra has changed and improved over the past 10 years. Global Voices Online has yet another very good roundup post from African bloggers re: the Obama visit to Ghana and his speech to the African people.

Global Voices Online
Ghana: Global discussion of Obama’s visit to Ghana 07/15/09

Ethan Zuckerman (My Heart’s in Accra)
Accra, fifteen years later 07/20/09
After Obama in Ghana 07/20/09

As far as my own reactions to the speech I am basically satisfied with what the President had to say and how he delivered the address. I think that President Obama said what many Americans have on their minds regarding several issues affecting African countries and the United States: from responsible governance to better aid and trade strategies, improving bilateral ties and cooperation between the U.S. and our allies on the African continent, combating poverty and working closely together during the global financial crisis, health issues, crime and security issues, and the empowerment of young people and women to help African countries build a better future for all citizens. The President spoke about all of these issues in general terms without making any major boo-boos in content or style. Now it remains to be seen how the President of the United States and his foreign policy team turn his eloquent words into actions that are measurable, effective, and make a difference in the lives of people in African countries.

America.gov – Engaging the World
Special feature: President Obama in Ghana – July 10-11, 2009
Obama Calls on Africans to Claim Their Future 07/11/09
President Obama’s Speech in Ghana (transcript) 07/11/09
President Obama Visits Ghana: Your Thoughts (global web-chat transcript)
President Obama: Taking Africa’s Questions (podcasts, video, interactive map)
America.gov – Africa news and features

By the People blog (a citizen-led conversation)
African Online Communities Buzzing about Ghana Visit – Part 1 07/09/09
African Online Communities Buzzing about Ghana Visit – Part 2 07/10/09
African Online Communities Buzzing about Ghana Visit – Part 3 07/12/09

USAU – United States Mission to the African Union
Screening of President Obama’s Accra Speech and Panel Discussion at the African Union 07/11/09

VOA News
Full coverage of President Obama's visit to Ghana (video, text, audio)
Specialists Debate How US Aid to Africa Can be More Effective 07/17/09
OXFAM USA/Foreign Policy Magazine conference on aid effectiveness
Ghana President Previews President Obama's Visit in VOA Interview 07/08/09
AU Summit Stumbles over Gadhafi Proposal 07/02/09
African Union Begins Summit in Libya 07/01/09

Foreign Policy Magazine - The Blogs
FP Passport – a blog by the editors of Foreign Policy Magazine
Obama's video response to questions from Africa 07/15/09
Over 5,000 questions were submitted and only 3 questions were answered
Grading Obama's speech in Ghana by Elizabeth Dickinson 07/13/09
Why Nigeria is miffed at Obama 07/10/09
Charles Taylor says U.S. helped him break out of jail 07/17/09

Chris Blattman’s blog
Grading Obama's Africa speech 07/13/09

Aid Watch (by NYU economist William Easterly)
Grading Obama's Africa Speech 07/13/09


However, there are a few things that I wanted my president to cover in more detail and there are one or two issues with the visit that I found rather disturbing:

Ghana Parliament Address - Broadcast Video Problems

Who was in charge of the (terrible) broadcast video transmission from the conference center in Ghana? How is it possible that several major television networks (including CNNI, BBC, Al Jazeera) could transmit clear video signals from Accra and the Cape Coast Castle during the visit while the Ghanaian authorities were struggling with ‘technical difficulties’?


Where are all of the questions for President Obama submitted by African citizens from around the world?

The White House team and the U.S. Department of State requested that questions for President Obama be submitted online and via special mobile phone lines (SMS messaging) before his visit to Ghana. President Obama answered a stingy 3 questions from the more than 7-10,000+ questions submitted by admirers (and detractors) from Africa. When is the White House staff (or the President’s foreign policy team) going to answer at least a dozen or so more questions from the many thousands submitted? At least share with us some of the questions that were rejected and why? You committed a big boo-boo with that exercise, Yogi.


Good Governance in Africa

Good governance is a pretty broad topic and how the U.S. can help African nations practice more responsible governance and achieve democracy is some pretty contentious stuff for debate. What is good governance and how do we help other nations to achieve it? Do we use the benchmarks for good governance championed by The Mo Ibrahim Foundation and Harvard University’s Belfer Center (John F. Kennedy School of Government) or do we abide by what the African Union defines as ‘good governance and democracy’ under the leadership of the present AU Chairman Libya’s Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi?

Belfer Center at John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University)
Governance and Leadership in Africa: Measures, Methods, and Results by Robert Rotberg (Chatham House UK International Affairs Journal, Spring/Summer 2009)
Strengthening African Governance: Small States and Islands Top 2008 Rankings
Researchers at Harvard University’s Belfer Center release results of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation 2008 Index of African Governance


Security, crime, growing terrorist threats and conflict resolution

The Ghanaian President, John Atta Mills, addressed the growing problem of organized criminal activity threatening countries in West Africa: drugs and contraband smuggling, human trafficking, small arms smuggling, diamonds and gold smuggling, and so forth. The problem has driven the West African states of Guinea-Bissau and Guinea to the brink of ‘failed state’ status. The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson recently testified before the U.S. Senate Committee for Foreign Affairs about this growing threat in Africa and how it is endangering the whole world, especially countries in Europe and North America.

And then there is the unspeakable violence taking place in Somalia under the tutelage of Al Shabab and Al Qaeda. Its no wonder the U.S. President decided not to visit his father’s homeland (Kenya) on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa. It’s just too damn dangerous with a full-blown failed state right across the border of Kenya. Good Luck to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visits Kenya with a delegation of 300 Americans for the AGOA Forum in August and make sure that you take along ‘a U.S. delegation’ of about 1,000 security personnel.

BBC News
Crime lords 'ruining West Africa' 07/08/09
New report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says organized crime is ‘plundering West Africa’ as illicit goods flood the region

The New York Times
Fears in the West About Al Qaeda Affiliate’s Boldness in Africa 07/09/09
The U.S. military (AFRICOM) is helping train West and North African soldiers to fight against the rise in terrorist activity and attacks by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and in the African Sahel


Darfur! Darfur! For God’s Sake, What About Darfur…and Congo, Uganda, and...?

The ongoing crises in Darfur and South Sudan (an almost fully completed genocide and battles over land rights and oil and gas resources), threats against civilians in northern Uganda (Joseph Kony and the LRA are still at-large), and the eastern Democratic of Congo (disarming the FDLR, stopping the plunder and pillage of rural villages and towns and the mass rape and violence against women and girls, halting the unabated exploitation of Congo’s minerals and timber) are all problems that deserve more attention and public comment from President Obama. This is especially ture when he is addressing all the people of Africa in a major, televised speech. I expect to hear more from President Obama and his national security and foreign policy teams about these ‘challenges’ in the coming weeks and months.

The Enough Project to end genocide and crimes against humanity
Enough Said – official blog of the Enough Project
Leading Organizations Sound the Alarm on Eastern Congo 07/21/09
Countdown to the Abyei (Sudan) Ruling: A News Round Up 07/20/09
STRATEGY PAPER: Abyei: Sudan’s Next Test 07/20/09
Eastern Congo: An Action Plan to End The World's Deadliest War by John Prendergast and Noel Atama 07/16/09
Obama in Ghana: U.S. is On Africa’s Side but Future Up to Africans 07/11/09
Obama, Africa, and Peace: reframing the overall approach to U.S. relations with Africa by John Norris and John Prendergast 01/13/09

Special projects and campaigns (Enough Project)
Raise Hope for Congo – protect and empower Congo’s women
Conflict Minerals: Raise Hope for Congo Project


Development aid and poverty reduction in the midst of a global financial crisis

It is evident that countries that donate large amounts of aid and humanitarian assistance to countries in Africa need to better coordinate their efforts with African governments and civil authorities and civil society organizations (NGO’s). It is also true that during a massive global recession foreign aid and direct foreign investment to developing countries may decline due to economic and financial constraints at home. The ‘aid vs. trade’ and aid effectiveness debates are well known to all who follow these important global issues closely, and yet we are no closer to a mutual global agreement on how foreign aid should be distributed and administered: how much aid and who should receive it, what are the conditions for receiving and distributing foreign aid, and so forth. Is Aid Dead like the controversial young Zambian economist Dambissa Moyo (and several others) say? If so, that’s great. Wow, what a big savings bonanza that would be to the U.S. Treasury and American taxpayers.

The whole global debate on aid and trade with developing nations in Africa is simply a merry-go-round spinning round and round and ending up nowhere. This impasse is not good for people in Africa who desperately require the assistance that aid should provide, and it is not good for the millions of taxpayers in richer nations (donor countries) whose tax dollars and Euros finance government aid, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. In America more than 7 million jobs have been lost due to the economic and financial meltdown of the past few years. Where is all of this increased development aid ($$$) that the President has promised in his recent statements at the G8 Summit in Italy and his speech in Ghana supposed to come from? Obama and his foreign policy and finance chiefs need to address this question with more clarity and transparency___ for the American people and for the African recipients of U.S. development aid. Show me the money, Mr. President.

Aid Watch (a group blog edited by NYU economist William Easterly)
Don’t say colonialism! the debate on economist Paul Collier 07/08/09

CGD – Center for Global Development
CGD Views from the Center blog
State Department Launches Inaugural Review of Diplomacy and Development by Sheila Herrling 07/13/09
Obama Right to Highlight Ghana’s Success, But Will Oil Be the Spoiler? By Todd Moss 07/06/09
A Wish List for The G8 Summit by Ben Edwards 07/08/09

Africa's Private Sector: What's Wrong with the Business Environment and What to Do About It (CGD publication) 03/23/09
The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President by Nancy Birdsall 08/22/08
Global Development Matters – a special website on development issues for U.S. citizens, civic, business, and political leaders and decision makers
Center for Global Development : Research Topics: Aid Effectiveness
US foreign aid and development policies, aid effectiveness, CGD blog


Another point I’d like to make about increased U.S. aid and trade with Africa:

The growing influence of China, India, and Middle Eastern countries on African politics, resource exploitation, business and trade is often times in direct conflict with the development policies and poverty reduction initiatives of the United States and European countries and our closest Asian allies (Japan, South Korea, and Australia).

Programs to support entrepreneurship, business partnerships between U.S. companies and African companies, and direct foreign investment, improving the competitiveness of American companies who want to do business in Africa are sorely needed. And I am not talking about only helping organizations like the CCA (Corporate Council for Africa) which represents about 80% of all U.S. trade with African countries. What is the Obama Administration doing about The Red Dragon and other mythical creatures from the East who have descended upon the Black Continent in grand style as of late building roads, dams, schools, hospitals, and government buildings in exchange for cheap access to oil, timber, and minerals?

To date the U.S. remains the largest single (per country) trade partner with Africa followed by the European Union member states (27 in total), and yet more than 90% of our import trade with African countries is in petroleum products (oil and gas) under AGOA – African Growth and Opportunity Act. Chinese trade with African countries has increased from approximately US$10 billion in 2001 to more than US$ 100 billion in 2008. Chinese, Asian, and Gulf State countries are buying up farmland and open natural reserves (suitable for national parks, resorts, and game reserves) by the million of square acres all across Africa WITHOUT the consent and approval of African citizens. In many cases it is occurring without the knowledge of the people who have lived upon these lands for generations.

China and India alone account for more than 70% of the infrastructure construction projects awarded by African governments to foreign contractors. The billions of dollars (or Yuan) in shaky low-interest loans provided by the state-owned China Ex-Im Bank (and other Chinese ‘private’ banks) which often finances these less than transparent, no-bid transactions almost never trickles down to African-owned and operated companies and African labor (workers). When is the Obama Administration and the politicians on the Republican side of the aisle going to jointly confront our global trade allies (the Chinese, Russian, Indian, and African governments) about this unfair competition? How can U.S. companies and entrepreneurs increase their investments in Africa and compete in such an environment?

The Economist
Equatorial Guinea’s durable president: Oil makes friends of us all 07/16/09
Three decades at the helm isn’t long, says a pitiful place’s ruthless president
The United Arab Emirates and Sudan: An odd deal over land 07/09/09
Are gulf Arabs taking a chunk of South Sudan for themselves?
Chinese aid to Africa: Spreading its bets, and its gold 07/02/09
Beijing finds news friends in Zimbabwe
Land deals in Africa and Asia: Cornering foreign fields 05/21/09
The Chinese and Arabs are buying are buying poor countries’ farms on a colossal scale. Be wary of the results.

Foreign Policy Magazine - The Blogs
FP Passport – a blog by the editors of Foreign Policy Magazine
Why is Saudi Arabia buying up African farmland? 07/15/09

Human Rights Watch
Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea (press release) 07/09/09
A new report by HRW shows that the dictatorial regime of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasongo, a longtime ally and major oil exporter to the U.S.A., has reached new lows in political and economic malfeasance in the handling of billions of dollars in oil exports revenue.


Recognition of prior U.S. administrations’ work and successes in improving U.S.-Africa policy and bilateral relations

As many a foreign policy wonk has correctly pointed out, the Obama Administration has a hard act to follow in Africa due to the initiatives and programs of the previous U.S. administration under the leadership of President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary Colin Powell, and Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer___ just to name a few.

Interestingly, President Obama has yet to acknowledge (in public) the successes of his predecessors in dealing with African leaders, crises and issues that threaten and challenge not only the people of Africa but the people of America too. It’s time to stop playing politics re: the advances made on U.S.-Africa policy over the past many years and give credit where credit is due. It may help the Obama Administration and the Democrats with problems they are having with the loyal opposition re: domestic issues such as health care reform and selecting the next Supreme Court Justice. Then again, these people are politicians so just forget that brilliant idea.

The Economist
Barack Obama and Africa: How different is his policy? 07/16/09

End of Part 1 of the Obama Speech in Ghana Global Reaction Roundup


Additional articles, editorials, and resources

CSIS – Center for Strategic and International Studies
‘U.S. Africa Policy beyond the Bush Years: Critical changes for the Obama Administration’ by Jennifer G. Cooke and J. Stephen Morrison
(CSIS book release, multimedia, roundtable event) – April 10, 2009
CSIS Press Briefing: President Obama’s Trip to Russia, the G8, and Ghana 07/02/09
AFRICOM: Rationales, Roles, and Progress on the Eve of Operations 07/23/08
China in Africa: Implications for U.S. Policy 06/04/08

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR.org)
Publications
Beyond Humanitarianism: What you need to know about Africa and why it matters edited by Princeton N. Lyman and Patricia Lee Dorff – September 2007
Princeton N. Lyman is an adjunct senior fellow for Africa Policy Studies at CFR
A ‘must-read’ in depth report on U.S.-Africa policyPrepared Testimony on Strengthening U.S. Diplomacy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Conflict in Africa by Princeton N. Lyman – April 21, 2009


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