Miami Herald - Friday, December 20, 2002
Clyde W. Ford

For Africa, however, this newfound spotlight may be a mixed blessing.

-- As recently as 1995, the Defense Department declared sub-Saharan Africa "of very little traditional strategic interest to the United States." At the time, Nelson Mandela was leading South Africa into the first steps of healing from apartheid through a truth-and-reconciliation process still a model for healing discord worldwide and suggested for addressing long-standing racial discord even here in America.

-- In 1995, health workers and activists were warning of the pandemic spread of AIDS throughout Africa and of the need for rich nations to provide aid for treatment and prevention. But AIDS in Africa was not seen as a "strategic interest" of America, and the large-scale funds needed never flowed.

-- In 1995, civil war raged in countries such as the Congo, Angola, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Liberia, much of the carnage fueled by the scramble for Africas natural resources such as diamonds and oil. But in America, it was then, as it still is now, easy to miss the connection between purchases made in a jewelry store or at the gas pump and the wretched suffering of poor people half a world away.

-- In 1998 came the embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and reports of Osama bin Laden hiding in Sudan. Africas profile was raised as a harbor for terrorists. And since Sept. 11, it has been astounding to watch decades-long conflicts suddenly resolved in Angola and Sudan and several African leaders invited to the Bush White House. Reports of an invisible American hand in the military victories of African governments over their rebel opposition have gone largely ignored, for Africa has now become of great strategic interest to the United States.

U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE

America now has established an unprecedented overt and covert military presence in Africa. In Sudan and the horn of Africa, it's looking for remnants of al Qaeda and staging a probable war with Iraq; in Angola, it's evaluating the offshore waters that, according to a report issued by Vice President Cheney, harbor enough oil to make a significant contribution to Americas hunger for fossil fuel; and in Kenya, where terrorists struck against Israeli targets, it began Operation Edged Mallet, a joint military exercise with the Kenyan navy. Ironically, one challenge facing the U.S. military in Africa is AIDS: African partner armies are riddled with the disease.

The United States needs to see Africa as more than just a strategic asset in President Bushs war on terrorism; more than just the next major filling station. Our most important strategic interest in Africa should be its people, the vast majority of whom have desperate needs.

FIGHT AGAINST AIDS

Also, in Africa, the fight against AIDS needs to be waged with as much vigor as the war on terror. Land mines need to be removed from countries such as Angola, where in a population of 12 million, there is about one land mine for each person. America needs to lead the international community in ensuring that development in Africa creates wealth for the many instead of the elite few.

The United States needs Africa now as never before in the effort to root out terrorism. Will Africa be given the help that it needs in return? If America does not attend to the strategic interests of Africans, their resentment will create a fertile ground for new seeds of terror and anger to grow.

Clyde W. Ford is the author of The Hero With an African Face: Mythic Wisdom of Traditional Africa and a just-completed novel, Fires of the Miombo.

021220
MH021211

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2002. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2002. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .