The U.S. military presence in Africa: A global top cop revives the Cold War
Being a global economic power is no longer necessary if you are the world’s gendarme, or policeman. Looking at the U.S. and its increasing global military presence, including NATO and U.S. Africa Command (Africom), the world’s largest distributor of corporate manufactured weapons of mass destruction is looking at military might as more important than economic might. Serving as a global cop...
Will South Africa’s president survive ‘Farmgate’ until national elections?
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, an anti-apartheid figure—once suggested as Nelson Mandela’s successor to the presidency—has been mired in a scandal that involves undeclared money. Recently, a stash of U.S. currency was discovered in the cushions of a couch on a farm owned by the president. According to several media reports, Ramaphosa declared he is innocent of charges that he...
Economic woes, sexual violence increasing as civilians in Sudan caught in middle of warring factions
Three months and counting of ongoing conflict in Sudan continues across the capital city Khartoum and the cities of Bahri and Omdurman, while fighting intensifies in Darfur and in the Kordofan State. There is no end in sight to this ever-increasing conflict pitting the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against those of his deputy of sovereign council-turned-foe Mohamed...
UN envoy to Libyan leaders: Resolve impasse, do not fail the people
Despite recent legislative progress, Libya’s political landscape remains fraught with power struggles, as key figures attach conditions to taking part in crucial talks, the UN envoy to the north African nation said on December 18. Abdoulaye Bathily, UN Special Representative for Libya, told ambassadors on the Security Council that the mood in the country “is ripe for a new political deal, a...
Kenya, Haiti and America’s ‘repackaged’ Africa policies
Two years ago, at the second-ever U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, President Joe Biden, said that he was “all in” on the continent. He told the 49 seated African leaders at the summit that, “There’s so much more we can do together and that we will do together.” Additionally, Biden promised to visit the continent, but Africa is still waiting for that...
The historical impact of African musicians on the geopolitical stage
When it comes to appreciating the power of African artists and their historical impact on geopolitics there is no shortage of icons from which to choose. A recent documentary produced by France24 focusing on the legacy of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie is a case in point. His historic 1963 speech to the United Nations General Assembly inspired reggae legend Bob...
Angry Nigerian President Obasanjo lashes out at religious leaders over violence
LAGOS, Nigeria (PANA) - Seemingly frustrated that his government's efforts to curb Nigeria's spiraling sectarian and communal violence has not yielded the desired results, President Olusegun Obasanjo has vented his anger on religious leaders in central Plateau, which has been a hotbed of such crisis since 2001. On the heels of tit-for-tat killing by Muslims and Christians in the...
Anger, condemnation follow South Africa violence
LAGOS, Nigeria (PANA) - Widespread and varying reactions have greeted the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, with Africans and non-Africans alike pondering what could have led to African-on-African violence at a time the continent is pushing on with plans to form the United States of Africa. Though Zimbabweans, Malawians, Mozambicans and Nigerians have borne the brunt of the...
U.S. military contracting out operations in Africa
(FinalCall.com) - The number of recruits graduating from boot camps built with U.S. taxpayer dollars and staffed by State Department contractors in Africa is on the increase. According to World Political Review (WPR), “U.S. contractors will train three quarters of the 18,000 African Union troops deployed to Somalia, and the U.S. government has spent $550 million over the past...
Politics and the U.S. food aid program
President Dwight Eisenhower created the Food for Peace program in 1954 to send massive amounts of surplus food, produced in the U.S., to the developing world and to countries still recovering from World War II. The program has been politically popular among farmers in the Midwest, shipping companies, dock workers' unions and food processing plants, as well as...