The unexpected night at Hemingway’s resort in Nairobi refreshed and rejuvenated everyone. I love Hemingway’s. I thought of Raffles in the Seychelles, an over-the-top property specifically marketed as a “fancy resort and spa.” I like Hemingway’s better. The rooms are bigger, the bathroom is just aw large and gorgeous, the woodsy grounds with flowered landscaping…Continue reading
Western fixation with terrorism at the expense of poverty and basic human rights is finally coming home to roost in Africa. New or reinvigorated democracies supported by the U.S. and France are imploding. Military coups are rearranging the rubble. A decade or so ago this would have represented serious political backwardness. But now it’s quite…Continue reading
Trump is not only recalling our military willy nilly, he is kneecapping our few diplomats left as he strews mayhem in Africa. Tensions are on a sudden rise in Ethiopia, Egypt and Somalia, and best I can tell it all leads back to reflexive tweet-like actions by Trump since his defeat.
Populism is not some lonesome social condition. Populism controls democracy, and populism brings down and sets up autocratic regimes. It’s not conservative or progressive, capitalist or communist. It’s not necessarily based on truth. It’s knee-jerk support for – or against – individuals wielding power. Why? How is it harnessed? East Africa gives us some insight:…Continue reading
The #2 of top stories in Africa for 2017 is that a lot more innocent Africans are being killed and maimed by the U.S. military than ever before. Americans may have an impression that our military is the one arm of Trump’s government that’s not in complete dysfunction. Even putting aside a few gigantic megalithic…Continue reading
This morning I listened to all sorts of estimates of how many soldiers we have in Africa. We’ll never know: It’s classified. But I would be surprised if there were fewer than 50,000 soldiers, private contractors, and even National Guard troops. This is a lot more than being reported in conjunction with the current tragedy…Continue reading
Last night Trump took a “fun trip” to a “ a dystopian land of terror… a city so, so, so out of control, so dangerous.” “France is no longer France,” Trump recently pronounced. It’s hard to believe that someone who confuses WWI with WWII and can’t even name the advisories of either one is joining…Continue reading
2016 was one of the most peaceful years in Africa in decades. Both the UK and American governments reduced their travel warnings for most of the continent. There’s more to this than a good score card on the war on terror, and of course peace is rarely reported so there are fewer news stories about…Continue reading
Obama leaves office having created the largest American military complex in Africa in history with operations in at least 22 African countries. The incredible size and scope of the American military in Africa was first reported in Mother Jones in 2013, but gained no wide audience. I was surprised then and remain surprised, today. Is…Continue reading
Astounded. Shocked. No mainstream or even maincreek media covered today’s military conference in Arusha called by and hosted by the U.S. Even the Army’s own publications buried the story. Talk about a society burying its head in the sand… First, the news… General Mark Miller, head of Obama’s Africom, hosted 37 of Africa’s land chief…Continue reading
I don’t like it but it’s good news. Should a private foundation in Somalia be doing what really should be the responsibility of the U.S. government? Developing Somalia’s fishing industry is critical to sustaining peace in the region. Piracy was expertly developed as al-Shabaab’s principal source of revenue by enlisting former fishermen who had been…Continue reading
Americans have grown so complacent about war and so uninterested in their own country’s military involvements that few have any idea how much fighting America has been doing in Africa. This is my Number 2 story for 2013, America’s huge military involvement in Africa. And that involvement was not by a Congressional declaration or even…Continue reading
Obama turned down a game drive with his family while in Tanzania, Africa’s most famous safari country, because if he went on one his security would have to be beefed up “to carry sniper rifles with high-caliber rounds that could neutralize cheetahs, lions or other animals.” This little tidbit provided by the Washington Post –…Continue reading
Last night a prominent African businessman chastised Obama for “disengaging” from Africa, even as American military involvement grows ominously large. Obama as reflecting the “United States” is a curious shadow box of a troubled society. Are we (is Obama?) pulling inwards, constrained (perhaps by Congress?) to few good acts except our own security? Yes to…Continue reading
France’s liberation of Timbuktu and defeat of Malian Islamic revolutionaries is right on schedule and demonstrates perfectly the American/French axis routing world terrorism. Sunday’s Meet the Press roundtable was in contrast the perfect example of how fooled and even bamboozled old guard American media personalities still are. Andrea Mitchell excepted, the remaining two old men…Continue reading