africa
Return to Common Sense
Section:
Foreign –
“The
Philosophy (Background, Issues, Objectives):
Africa is the world’s second largest and second most populous continent.
- It is composed of
11.7 million square miles and 20.3% of total land area.
- It contains 840
million people in 61 territories which is more than 12% of world’s
population.
- By most estimates,
Africa contains well over a thousand languages.
- Approximately 46.3%
of all Africans are Christians and another 40.5% are Muslims.
- The climate of
Africa ranges from tropical to subtropical.
- Failed government
policies and political corruption have marked Africa’s history.
- Africa is the
world's poorest inhabited continent.
- Global climate
change have resulted in many widespread famines with inadequate
distribution systems.
o These third world countries have been exploited and
underdeveloped.
- Political mismanagement has doomed many
countries economies to poverty.
o Foreign aid has been diverted by corrupt
and incompetent regimes to buy military equipment, pay off cronies, and keep
oppressing people, while funding off shore accounts..
- An estimated 30 million Africans are infected
with HIV/AID and 20 million have already died.
Islamo-fascists
are exploiting African unemployment and poverty to take over weak countries.
- Islamic extremists in
- Eritrea and Ethiopia enable Islamic terrorists
in other countries.
- Terrorists are trying to undermine the oil
production in
- AFRICOM formed to focus military operations on security
in the African theater, and integrate terrorist response with Global War
on Terrorism.
In 2003 the
- 1.5 million people,
scattered across 15 countries in
- 10 million new cases of mother-to-child HIV
transmission have been prevented.
- Initiative has been expanded to tackle malaria
with a goal to cut malaria deaths in half.
The developed
world has committed to help
- G-8 has agreed to double aid to $50 billion by
2010, half of which to
- In 2005 15 members of UN agreed to commit .7%
aid/GDP target.
- In 2005 there was agreement to cancel $55
billion of debt to 18 countries, 14 of which in
- Africa Financial Sector Initiative (AFSI)
provides technical assistance and private equity funds for underserved
markets.
Principles:
Shift US focus
from one of benefactor to one of partnership.
Recommendations:
Redefine the
conflicts in
- Educate American public on true
nature of Muslim religion.
- De-legitimize the immorality
and hypocrisy of Islamic fundamentalists.
- Label terrorists as the cowards
and “useful idiots” that they are.
- Promote the values of Western democratic modernity.
- Encourage moderate Muslims to condemn terror as
a tactic and Islamo-fascism as the cause.
Develop a
comprehensive strategy toward
- Increase the diplomatic profile of the
- Encourage grass roots economic development and
peer-to-peer assistance programs.
- Encourage human rights, democratic principles,
and good governance.
- Coordinate strategy with military forces,
AFRICOM.
- Increase security engagement.
Increase trade
and economic ties to
- Target businesses by country, by sector, and by
business.
- Encourage efforts to root out corruption.
- Help develop energy resources.
References:
“Ten Things that
“An African Taliban” by David McCormack dated
“A Hard Wound to MEND” by Kyle Dabruzzi
dated
“What is
“The Crisis in
“A Private War on Poverty:
Peer-to-Peer Development” by David Rusin dated
“Horn hotbed” by Peter Brookes dated May 2007 published by Armed
Forces Journal at http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2007/05/2670146
.
“Genocide Doesn’t Just Happen” by Nina Shea
dated
“Profit for the Poorest” by Apoorva Shah
dated
“What Bono doesn’t say about
“Defeating Terrorism in
“Into
“Only Africans Can Solve
“
“Into
