i would simply add to the points meshack highlights below that it wasn't obama alone whose primary policies in africa is driven by politics, in this case, the war on terror; so too was bush's. completely. bush committed funds to do good things; more than obama, maybe. give him credit for that; but don't forget africom and the entire politics of fighting muslim interests, of preventing africans from determining their own autonomous rule if it was judged to be anti-american. the push for democracy, begun in the 1980s, is only icing on the cake, for the west as for the u.s. it doesn't have primacy in policy at all.
(ask howard french)
ken
On 7/31/15 9:04 AM, 'Meshack Owino' via USA Africa Dialogue Series wrote:
--
This commentary by Howard French captures the problems with the US policy in Africa much better than I tried to do on this forum. Among some of the author's observations that chime with mine are:
"...The Obama message on politics was scarcely better. Here, he spoke of the need for greater democratization, including free and fair elections and respect for presidential term limits. Yet he ended up fatally muddling the message. In Ethiopia, he suggested that the government of his host country was "democratically elected," even though the ruling party there had recently won 100 percent of the seats in parliament, as was once common in a bygone authoritarian era across Africa. Just a few hours before this speech, he had criticized another election, in Burundi, as "not credible" (though there the opposition won 23 percent of the vote).
"This fooled no one in Africa, and conveyed an impression that Washington's commitment to democracy and human rights on the continent is deeply unserious. American policy is heavily driven by security interests, most of which are linked to the struggle against radical Islam. Washington speaks up about democracy only in states where it judges its interests to be marginal, like Burundi or Zimbabwe, or in countries whose leaders it has other reasons to oppose, like Sudan. Meanwhile, a bevy of longtime security partners like Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda, all highly authoritarian, with a history of presidents who stay in office as long as they can, get a free pass. (While he later gave a speech criticizing leaders who stay in office too long, he did not deign to name names.) In other strongly authoritarian countries, like Angola or Equatorial Guinea, where there are important economic stakes tied to oil, Washington is also all but mute about democracy (or corruption, for that matter).
In short, America now confronts a familiar dilemma in its relations with Africa. It involves what I call the "yes, but" problem. Tell Americans the continent is becoming more democratic, as it has been gradually, if fitfully, for years, and they tell you "Yes, but there are dictators and conflicts here and there." Tell them it is growing demographically, and they say, "Yes, but the people there are poor." Tell them that it is growing economically, and they say "Yes, but it's corrupt, and so hard to do business there." Tell them that their closest partners are authoritarians or despots, and they say, "Yes, but their countries are at peace. Isn't that enough?"See Howard French's full commentary at:
Meshack Owino.----------------------
______________________
Meshack Owino, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of History,
Department of History, RT 1319,
Cleveland State University,
2121 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland, OH 44115,
USA.
Tel. 216-523-7264.
Fax. 216-687-5592.
E-mail Address: meshack.owino@yahoo.com; m.owino@csuohio.edu
From: Kwabena Akurang-Parry <kaparry@hotmail.com>
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2015 7:14 PM
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obama failed Africa, yes
Dear Meshack:Greetings! I know that the task of making sense of what Obama does is a political question so pardon my finger-in-the-eye style. But let me just ask why should America be the gatekeeper of our democracies? You sum up my arguments by saying that the "US has always presented itself as a beacon of democracy and a champion of human rights..." Exactly presented herself in the self-gilded costume of democracy and human rights so why should we expect the US to do so in reality in Africa. And whose democracy and human rights anyway! Such concepts/ideologies are applied to assuage hegemonic interests. They are just political minstrelsy used by the powers that be to support their ever evolving domination of the world and tyranny of orthodoxy now called Globalization. Whatever postcolonial victories and developments that Africans will coral will have to be masterminded and incubated by Africans, even if we borrow from outsiders by frog-leaping developments elsewhere. Note that even in the US, Obama could not attain "all" his goals because of divisive national fault lines and interests. US interests in Africa are just a foreign policy of prize-fighting with Asia and Europe for our resources. We have to be our own gate-keepers! Democracy and human rights must be homegrown even if borrowed from outside. Yes, a paradox, but you get my rhetorical drift.
Kwabena Akurang-Parry
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2015 19:27:28 +0000
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obama failed Africa, yes
Dear Prof,
Believe it or not, I completely agree with your sentiments, but there is a reason some of us are complaining about the US commitment to democratic values and human rights in Africa under President Obama. You notice we are not complaining about North Korea's or even China's commitment to democracy in Africa. We are not even complaining about Russia. We are complaining about the US under President Obama --- for a reason.
The US has always presented itself as a beacon of democracy and a champion of human rights. When President Obama entered the White House, he did not lose even a moment to reiterate his government's commitment to these values, while showcasing his connections to the African continent. That is why we are asking the US questions, and not China or Russia or North Korea.
We are not asking the US under President Obama to do what it has not undertaken to do; we are simply asking, if you are a champion of democracy and a defender of human rights as you claim to be, what concrete steps have you taken to promote those values in, for example, East Africa---Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda? That is all we are asking. We are just saying, show us the money. Action, not just words, words.
You believe in democracy and you tout your connections to the African continent? What did you do about it the last time an East African president sent a death squad to kill an opposition leader in a foreign country? Or the last time a long-serving East African dictator arrested an opposition leader for daring to oppose him for the presidential nomination ticket of his party? Or the last time a brutal regime refused to implement electoral reforms in his country?
We are simply asking, if your government is so committed to democratic ideals, where are the concrete steps your government is taking to help promote those values you claim to believe in, in the African continent?
There are many people already fighting for democratic rights in African countries believing that the US will come to their aid when they come face to face with the full force of the African dictators, but many of these people have been shocked to find the US looking the other way when they face persecution in their countries. When the rubber meets the road, they find the US nowhere to be seen, at best, or on the other side, at worst, even as the same US continues to tout its commitment to democratic values and human rights.
Meshack Owino.-----------------------______________________
Meshack Owino, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of History,
Department of History, RT 1319,
Cleveland State University,
2121 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland, OH 44115,
USA.
Tel. 216-523-7264.
Fax. 216-687-5592.
E-mail Address: meshack.owino@yahoo.com; m.owino@csuohio.edu
From: Kwabena Akurang-Parry <kaparry@hotmail.com>
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2015 7:59 AM
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obama failed Africa, yes
Do American Presidents operate in Africa based on their kinship impulses and/or personal inclinations, or do so within constructive frameworks of national foreign policies? We have said enough about the depredations of slavery, colonialism, neocolonialism, dependency, globalization, etc. From my considered opinion, it is about time Africans do things for themselves and stop day-dreaming that American Presidents, etc. are divinely mandated to help Africans. Come to Ghana and see the opulent and thievery lifestyle of the people I call educated pen-armed robbers and you would be ashamed of them, not Obama. The masses have been benighted and marginalized by the pen-armed robbers, the latter bloated in Mercedes, BMWs, etc. and puffing in palaces purchased with stolen wealth. Paradoxically, in this day and age, we have pupils who go to school under trees. Our hospitals are dilapidated. Our roads are death-traps! Come to the streets of Accra and you would encounter some millions of hungry-looking school-going age kids peddling all sorts of made-in-China items. What are our politicians, aka pen-armed robbers, doing? Yes, filling their pot-bellied banks with cocoa, oil, diamond, timber, bauxite, etc. money. Yes, stealing and leading the good life. Don't get me wrong here. Hard work and consequent riches are ok, but not when whole systems are at the mercy of pen-armed robbers. Ironically, the benighted masses adore and worship such big wo/manism syndrome. My dear friend let us ask new questions and stop talking about being ashamed of Obama! We should be ashamed of ourselves for not training our guns on our political elites aka pen-armed robbers and casino-ed academics with bogus PhDs parading in the corridors of corrupted power.
Kwabena Akurang-Parry
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2015 05:15:32 +0000
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obama failed Africa, yes
"I agree 100 percent. I am a card carrying dyed in the wool Democrat, I am proud to say that I applaud George W. Bush. Obama seemed ashamed of Africa when we needed help. Now he is trying to right his legacy in the winter of his tenure. I love him like a brother but he failed Africa. Yes."
I also agree 100%. Under President Obama, the US commitment to democracy and human rights [with the exception of gay rights] in Africa has taken a back-burner. President Obama and his government only seem to talk about democracy and human rights as an afterthought. President Obama has become a huge disappointment. We see him freely consorting, laughing, dancing, and breaking bread with leaders whose hands are dripping with blood of innocent fellow citizens, and whose pockets are bulging with stolen public resources.
Apart from giving high-sounding but empty lectures about leaders ignoring constitutional term limits, President Obama's government has done nothing concrete to punish leaders who ignore or trample on human rights and democracy. Today, one of the oldest and longest-serving presidents in Africa comes from East Africa---with no end in sight to his regime. Two leaders seeking to change their countries' constitution to prolong their stay in power are from East Africa. One of the most brutal thugs who has managed to kill his way to power while using a sophisticated PR regime to sanitize his regime in the eyes of the international community is from East Africa. And there are civil wars in South Sudan and Somalia. All these are happening without serious, thoughtful, and meaningful engagement from President Obama.
As an aside. During his recent trip to Kenya, President took a moment to meet with his Kenyan relatives. There are reports --- I don't know how accurate the reports are --- that President Obama's Kenyan relatives took him to task over his indifference to their welfare while in office. Now, while I do not necessarily support the President's relatives' expectations and demands on him, what I found very telling and very significant was his response to their questions, demands, and expectations. He reportedly told the relatives, "I cannot help you now because there are rules and regulations limiting my ability to help you now while in the White House, but don't worry, I will help you once I am out of the White House." Think about that, Africa!
Meshack Owino.-----------------------------______________________
Meshack Owino, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of History,
Department of History, RT 1319,
Cleveland State University,
2121 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland, OH 44115,
USA.
Tel. 216-523-7264.
Fax. 216-687-5592.
E-mail Address: meshack.owino@yahoo.com; m.owino@csuohio.edu
From: 'xokigbo' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
To: USAAfrica Dialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 7:02 PM
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obama failed Africa, yes
--
"Obama has a hard time measuring up to the accomplishments of Bush's development agenda when it comes to Africa. Bush started the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to provide antiretroviral treatment and care for HIV/AIDS patients primarily in Africa – a program credited with saving millions of lives. He also increased development funding for the continent across a number of sectors, like education.
"[The U.S. Agency for International Development] went from $150 million when I started to $800 million by the time [Bush] left office in assistance, and much of that was to Africa," says Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator from 2001 to 2006. "When I started at [US]AID the total development program, not including food aid and or emergencies for civil wars, … it went from $1.2 billion when [Bush] started in early 2001 to $7 billion when he left office. So it was 600 percent increase. That's a massive increase.""
I agree 100 percent. I am a card carrying dyed in the wool Democrat, I am proud to say that I applaud George W. Bush. Obama seemed ashamed of Africa when we needed help. Now he is trying to right his legacy in the winter of his tenure. I love him like a brother but he failed Africa. Yes.
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