Month: February 2020

‘Silencing the guns’: AU leaders seek end to regional conflicts

Heads of state and government officials from across Africa have gathered in Ethiopia’s capital for talks primarily focused on ways to end to regional violence, including the conflicts in South Sudan and Libya.
The 33rd African Union (AU) summit, which opened on Sunday in Addis Ababa, is being held under the theme “Silencing the Guns: Creating conducive conditions for Africa’s development”. Continue reading “‘Silencing the guns’: AU leaders seek end to regional conflicts”

US Misreads China in Africa

War on the Rocks published on 3 February 2020 a commentary titled “Africa: The First U.S. Casualty of the New Information Warfare against China” by Caleb Slayton, a U.S. foreign area officer who lived and worked in Africa for 12 years prior to serving as director for the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School, Africa course.

Continue reading “US Misreads China in Africa”

The Curious Absence of Somaliland from The AU Summit 2020

It is famously noted that the African Union (AU) summit is an opportunity for demagogues and dictators of the continent to come together and congratulate each other for surviving yet another year at the helm of pyramids of oppression that subject their people to all forms of political, social, and economic Continue reading “The Curious Absence of Somaliland from The AU Summit 2020”

Nation Building: The State of Intellectualism in Somaliland

Another year will soon come to an end in the life of the Somaliland Nation, so what are we to make of it? Let me begin by saying that, for some, Somaliland has taken a step or two backwards in many ways.  After all, the nation is still not internationally recognized, the quality of the nation’s fledgling democracy Continue reading “Nation Building: The State of Intellectualism in Somaliland”

Forgiving Somalia’s Debt is an Abuse of US Taxpayers

President Trump campaigned against unnecessary U.S. commitments and publicly called out wasteful aid spending. Why, then, is he prepared to bail out Somalia, rated by Transparency International to be the world’s most corrupt country for more than a decade, to the tune of $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds? Continue reading “Forgiving Somalia’s Debt is an Abuse of US Taxpayers”

U.S. Africa Policy Cannot Afford Ignoring Somaliland

“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” President Donald Trump declared in his State of the Union address, even as he redoubled his commitment to “focus on counter-terrorism.” While many commentators describe Afghanistan—the war against which Trump railed—as America’s longest war, the battle against terrorists and warlords in Somalia has now run even longer. Continue reading “U.S. Africa Policy Cannot Afford Ignoring Somaliland”