Nick Checker, head of African Affairs at the US State Department, spoke to Semafor and explained the tactic for Africa, with a focus, for example, on Health support programs. There is a concern, despite all of President Trump’s nonsense, in “refreshing” the trampled image that America and Americans currently have, in Africa, precisely through the cancellation of USAid programs.
Checker, in essence, exposes the big picturestarting from the obvious: Africa needs China and Americans will only go to the market to haggle, if it’s worth it; they will not compete dollar for dollar for the construction of roads, bridges and cities; rather, they will have a “lynx eye” on rare metals and the non-disruption of supply flows/lines. In this context, this “official American” specified the ongoing efforts to refocus the attention of Angola, South Africa and Kenya on the United States and not on China!
On the other hand, aggressive commercial diplomacy, with demands for the resolution of small conflicts, with the capacity to become large ones. They do not contribute to peace, they hold the “partner” responsible for peace, with the carrot of the deal, the preferential tariff.
In other words, Africa presents itself as a “transition hemisphere”, shareable and with clusters of imperative interest, such as rare earths, uranium and geography! This is the importance of Angola, with strategic depth up to the “mines of conflict” and a coastline halfway to the Indian Ocean and a few strokes from the Pacific. The NATO panic is, in fact, a Chinese naval base, in the deep waters of Angola, plus the “guys” submarines!
Returning to Health and the American image in Africa, they announced in January, numerous deals com a lot of countriestotaling 11 billion dollars over the next 5 years. Tremendousyou will say, a drop compared to the pre-hemisphere world.
The amendment, regarding the image issue, was also “worse than the sonnet”, because there is always a leakfor every good deed. In this case, Checker sent a e-mail to the network of American diplomats in Africa, recommending that they remind the countries approached of “American generosity in the fight against HIV and hunger on the continent”!
Trump gives with one hand, takes away with the other, burps at the end and says: “Do you see my trophy?” while holding on to the void! Africa represents exactly what Trump’s friends once had: a free territory, where they arrive, settle, wipe their hands and leave, the quickest way to lose influence to China and others.
It’s not American money that buys, it’s the African heart that decides!
Political scientist/Arabist
www.maghreb-machrek.pt
Write according to the old spelling
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