BE MY GUEST! (V. BILL - Part 2)

One African-American, 4 Acres and a Mule

4. What do you think about America's current relationship with Africa in general terms?

I think in general terms the American people have a good relationship with the people of Africa. Of course there is room for improvement on both sides. We are living in a period of history where we can learn a great deal more about each other thanks to rapid advances in communication and information technology and the ease of travel between countries. These advances help people to interact with one another in ways that were not possible before. I think that these new opportunities in communication and travel will have an even bigger impact on relations between the people of African countries and the people of America in the next few decades.

A perfect example of this happened just last week. The mother of my three sons from Togo arrived in Germany for a visit. These three young men are not my blood relatives but are three young people who I have built a close relationship with over the past 8-10 years. This was Mama’s first visit to Europe or anywhere else outside of her small West African country and after introductions the conversation between us started flowing like a river. We needed the help of a translator, a duty that was proudly carried out by her youngest son Sassou, because Mama speaks French and the Gbe languages of her homeland (Ewe and Mina). I speak only English and German so it was difficult to communicate with one another directly. I treated their mother with the care and respect that an older person deserves as I explained who I was and my relationship with her sons. I described for her the connection of my own family to West Africa via the transatlantic slave trade and how African Americans are bound through our hearts and minds to her own people’s history.

This brief meeting between an elderly African woman and an aging African American man is an experience that we both shall hold dear for the rest of our lives. It was absolutely precious. This is what I mean when I say that the relationship between Africans and Americans is generally good because I believe that millions of people in America and Africa are anxious to meet and learn more about each other.

{keep reading here}

5. More specifically, in which areas do you think America has or might have a significant contribution to Africa's development?

Hmmmmm___ that’s a tough question which is not easy to answer but I will give it my best shot. In answering your question I have had to go back and review quite a bit of material because “a significant contribution to Africa’s development” can be interpreted to mean many things. Development assistance to a country (or in this case to 53 countries) is not just financial aid and emergency humanitarian relief. Effective development strategies involve the wise use of foreign policy and diplomacy from a government supported by the work of private organizations and foundations and the public. US strategic foreign policy objectives for Africa are very much a work-in-progress. This work involves complicated negotiations and treaties between the U.S.A. and African governments in coordination with the African Union and other regional bodies on the continent. Despite having read many articles and reports about U.S. foreign policy and aid for Africa I remain doubtful about the impact of our foreign aid. It is difficult for the average person and taxpayer to fully comprehend the many arguments and debates about foreign aid to Africa and the rest of the developing world. It would seem that one needs a degree in economics, international development, or political science.
From what I understand the ways in which “donor nations” have delivered foreign aid to Africa is often in contradiction with the advice of the world’s leading economists and development experts, not to mention falling short of the needs of the people that this assistance is supposed to help. So please understand that my views expressed below are from a confused average citizen who like millions of other Americans is wondering “Is U.S. foreign aid and assistance to developing countries in Africa really working? And if not, how do we fix it?”Let’s start with the first part of your question (the past) by reviewing the history and background of U.S.-Africa foreign policy and U.S. official development assistance. I realize that you (the interviewer Ana) have an excellent education in economics and history and do not need a refresher on U.S.-Africa relations. But for the sake of those readers who may not be so well versed on background of this relationship I would like to start at the beginning before talking about the present and the future.

{keep reading here}

U.S.-Africa relations after the end of WWII

A good overview of the history of United States foreign policy toward Africa from 1945 onward is provided by Dane F. Smith, President of the National Peace Corps Association, in a lecture he presented to students at the University of California – Santa Barbara in June 2008. The 58-minute video, “The Making of US Foreign Policy toward Africa”, is available at YouTube.com.The U.S. State Department-sponsored website America.gov published a feature article in June 2007 titled “50 Years of U.S.-Africa Relations” written by Gregory Garland (Chief of Press and Public Affairs, Bureau of African Affairs). Following are excerpts from that article:50 Years of U.S. Africa Relations by Gregory Garland, 06/25/08President Richard Nixon and U.N. Under-Secretary Ralph Bunche Saw the Future of U.S.-Africa RelationsThe Eisenhower administration’s creation of the Bureau of African Affairs half a century ago signaled a bold step away from what had been a Eurocentric, quasi-colonial policy view of Africa.

Far from being a decision made in a bureaucratic vacuum, the birth of the State Department’s Africa Bureau resulted from the interplay of three of the great forces of the mid-20th century: the civil rights movement, the Cold War and decolonization. Ralph Johnson Bunche of the State Department and Richard Nixon, who served two terms as Eisenhower's vice president before becoming president, exemplified these forces and, in a very important sense, are the intellectual godfathers of the Africa Bureau.

These towering and very different men of the mid-20th century embodied the many, often contradictory threads of U.S. foreign policy toward Africa. Their paths rarely crossed, but the power of the ideas and interests they personified to a large extent determined and help explain the course of America’s relationship with the continent for decades to come.Interestingly, both men hailed from early 20th-century Southern California, a kind of post-frontier open society far from the racial castes of the segregated South and the class tensions of the industrial North. Both rose from humble backgrounds with the aid of academic scholarships to college.

{keep reading here}

Listing the various programs and projects and initiatives showing how the American people have attempted to help in the positive development of Africa would be a very long list indeed. But what is of utmost importance is that the assistance works and that Americans and others work in close partnerships with the African people (the stakeholders). It is also important that aid has a positive impact on the lives of people, that it is easily measurable and has transparent goals and objectives. I hope that someday the people of the U.S.A. working together with Africans and with our international partners can help African countries reach the goal of not needing foreign aid to survive, but for some countries that day still seems a very long way off.So for the past 50 years the U.S.A. along with some economically developed nations in Europe and Asia and the Middle East have contributed billions in financial aid and development assistance to African countries. And what did they get in return for their good deeds? Several donor nations received favorable trade relationships and slick business deals for strategic natural resources, political support at the United Nations and other intergovernmental bodies and commissions, and for all of the humanitarian assistance and relief aid donated some people are able to sleep better at night.Recent studies carried out by leading economists and development experts on the effectiveness of aid has shown that some foreign aid is not working for the people of Africa. Foreign assistance in the form of grants, loans, and food has too often been squandered and stolen bringing little if any benefit to target groups. Aid effectiveness is a hotly debated topic among some of the world’s leading economists and policy makers and is the focus of the September 2008 meeting of international development ministers and organizations in Ghana (Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness).

{keep reading here}

The Aid vs. Trade Debates: some quick facts and figuresIncreases in trade between Africa and the U.S. have been primarily for the import of oil and natural gas, minerals for manufacturing, and forest products (wood, timber). U.S. trade with African countries today still represents only a very small fraction of our total trade with countries in Europe and developing countries in Asia and South America. U.S.-Africa trade needs to improve in ($$$) volume and in the diversity of products and services as was intended in the passing of the U.S. government act AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act). Here are a few facts and figures from the 2008 AGOA Report published to the website of the U.S. Trade Representative.

{keep reading here}

U.S. Foreign Assistance and AFRICOM: The militarization of U.S. foreign aid?AFRICOM, the new U.S. military command for Africa; this is one of my specialty topics in the blogosphere. “Semper Fi, Marine!” (Semper fidelis, Latin) is the USMC motto, “always faithful to the end”. The fine young men and women who serve in the U.S. military today work damn hard to live up to their proud service traditions. Yet service in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines is not just about fighting and combat readiness; it is also about providing assistance to people and helping them to rebuild their towns and villages and restore dignity to their lives. Being part of an overseas mission to support people working hard to help themselves is the most rewarding job a professional soldier can ever do.I think the new U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) could be one of the great success stories in U.S.-Africa relations history if given a chance. Intensive training of Africa’s professional armies and national police can improve security for millions of Africans who live in or near weak and failing states. This type of assistance by the U.S. military is already making a difference for people in African countries recovering from years of conflict and war; Liberia is one example that comes to mind and there are several more countries involved in U.S. military training assistance programs.

{keep reading here}

One African-American, 4 Acres and a Mule

4. What do you think about America's current relationship with Africa in general terms?

I think in general terms the American people have a good relationship with the people of Africa. Of course there is room for improvement on both sides. We are living in a period of history where we can learn a great deal more about each other thanks to rapid advances in communication and information technology and the ease of travel between countries. These advances help people to interact with one another in ways that were not possible before. I think that these new opportunities in communication and travel will have an even bigger impact on relations between the people of African countries and the people of America in the next few decades.

A perfect example of this happened just last week. The mother of my three sons from Togo arrived in Germany for a visit. These three young men are not my blood relatives but are three young people who I have built a close relationship with over the past 8-10 years. This was Mama’s first visit to Europe or anywhere else outside of her small West African country and after introductions the conversation between us started flowing like a river. We needed the help of a translator, a duty that was proudly carried out by her youngest son Sassou, because Mama speaks French and the Gbe languages of her homeland (Ewe and Mina). I speak only English and German so it was difficult to communicate with one another directly. I treated their mother with the care and respect that an older person deserves as I explained who I was and my relationship with her sons. I described for her the connection of my own family to West Africa via the transatlantic slave trade and how African Americans are bound through our hearts and minds to her own people’s history.

This brief meeting between an elderly African woman and an aging African American man is an experience that we both shall hold dear for the rest of our lives. It was absolutely precious. This is what I mean when I say that the relationship between Africans and Americans is generally good because I believe that millions of people in America and Africa are anxious to meet and learn more about each other.

{keep reading here}

5. More specifically, in which areas do you think America has or might have a significant contribution to Africa's development?

Hmmmmm___ that’s a tough question which is not easy to answer but I will give it my best shot. In answering your question I have had to go back and review quite a bit of material because “a significant contribution to Africa’s development” can be interpreted to mean many things. Development assistance to a country (or in this case to 53 countries) is not just financial aid and emergency humanitarian relief. Effective development strategies involve the wise use of foreign policy and diplomacy from a government supported by the work of private organizations and foundations and the public. US strategic foreign policy objectives for Africa are very much a work-in-progress. This work involves complicated negotiations and treaties between the U.S.A. and African governments in coordination with the African Union and other regional bodies on the continent. Despite having read many articles and reports about U.S. foreign policy and aid for Africa I remain doubtful about the impact of our foreign aid. It is difficult for the average person and taxpayer to fully comprehend the many arguments and debates about foreign aid to Africa and the rest of the developing world. It would seem that one needs a degree in economics, international development, or political science.
From what I understand the ways in which “donor nations” have delivered foreign aid to Africa is often in contradiction with the advice of the world’s leading economists and development experts, not to mention falling short of the needs of the people that this assistance is supposed to help. So please understand that my views expressed below are from a confused average citizen who like millions of other Americans is wondering “Is U.S. foreign aid and assistance to developing countries in Africa really working? And if not, how do we fix it?”Let’s start with the first part of your question (the past) by reviewing the history and background of U.S.-Africa foreign policy and U.S. official development assistance. I realize that you (the interviewer Ana) have an excellent education in economics and history and do not need a refresher on U.S.-Africa relations. But for the sake of those readers who may not be so well versed on background of this relationship I would like to start at the beginning before talking about the present and the future.

{keep reading here}

U.S.-Africa relations after the end of WWII

A good overview of the history of United States foreign policy toward Africa from 1945 onward is provided by Dane F. Smith, President of the National Peace Corps Association, in a lecture he presented to students at the University of California – Santa Barbara in June 2008. The 58-minute video, “The Making of US Foreign Policy toward Africa”, is available at YouTube.com.The U.S. State Department-sponsored website America.gov published a feature article in June 2007 titled “50 Years of U.S.-Africa Relations” written by Gregory Garland (Chief of Press and Public Affairs, Bureau of African Affairs). Following are excerpts from that article:50 Years of U.S. Africa Relations by Gregory Garland, 06/25/08President Richard Nixon and U.N. Under-Secretary Ralph Bunche Saw the Future of U.S.-Africa RelationsThe Eisenhower administration’s creation of the Bureau of African Affairs half a century ago signaled a bold step away from what had been a Eurocentric, quasi-colonial policy view of Africa.

Far from being a decision made in a bureaucratic vacuum, the birth of the State Department’s Africa Bureau resulted from the interplay of three of the great forces of the mid-20th century: the civil rights movement, the Cold War and decolonization. Ralph Johnson Bunche of the State Department and Richard Nixon, who served two terms as Eisenhower's vice president before becoming president, exemplified these forces and, in a very important sense, are the intellectual godfathers of the Africa Bureau.

These towering and very different men of the mid-20th century embodied the many, often contradictory threads of U.S. foreign policy toward Africa. Their paths rarely crossed, but the power of the ideas and interests they personified to a large extent determined and help explain the course of America’s relationship with the continent for decades to come.Interestingly, both men hailed from early 20th-century Southern California, a kind of post-frontier open society far from the racial castes of the segregated South and the class tensions of the industrial North. Both rose from humble backgrounds with the aid of academic scholarships to college.

{keep reading here}

Listing the various programs and projects and initiatives showing how the American people have attempted to help in the positive development of Africa would be a very long list indeed. But what is of utmost importance is that the assistance works and that Americans and others work in close partnerships with the African people (the stakeholders). It is also important that aid has a positive impact on the lives of people, that it is easily measurable and has transparent goals and objectives. I hope that someday the people of the U.S.A. working together with Africans and with our international partners can help African countries reach the goal of not needing foreign aid to survive, but for some countries that day still seems a very long way off.So for the past 50 years the U.S.A. along with some economically developed nations in Europe and Asia and the Middle East have contributed billions in financial aid and development assistance to African countries. And what did they get in return for their good deeds? Several donor nations received favorable trade relationships and slick business deals for strategic natural resources, political support at the United Nations and other intergovernmental bodies and commissions, and for all of the humanitarian assistance and relief aid donated some people are able to sleep better at night.Recent studies carried out by leading economists and development experts on the effectiveness of aid has shown that some foreign aid is not working for the people of Africa. Foreign assistance in the form of grants, loans, and food has too often been squandered and stolen bringing little if any benefit to target groups. Aid effectiveness is a hotly debated topic among some of the world’s leading economists and policy makers and is the focus of the September 2008 meeting of international development ministers and organizations in Ghana (Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness).

{keep reading here}

The Aid vs. Trade Debates: some quick facts and figuresIncreases in trade between Africa and the U.S. have been primarily for the import of oil and natural gas, minerals for manufacturing, and forest products (wood, timber). U.S. trade with African countries today still represents only a very small fraction of our total trade with countries in Europe and developing countries in Asia and South America. U.S.-Africa trade needs to improve in ($$$) volume and in the diversity of products and services as was intended in the passing of the U.S. government act AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act). Here are a few facts and figures from the 2008 AGOA Report published to the website of the U.S. Trade Representative.

{keep reading here}

U.S. Foreign Assistance and AFRICOM: The militarization of U.S. foreign aid?AFRICOM, the new U.S. military command for Africa; this is one of my specialty topics in the blogosphere. “Semper Fi, Marine!” (Semper fidelis, Latin) is the USMC motto, “always faithful to the end”. The fine young men and women who serve in the U.S. military today work damn hard to live up to their proud service traditions. Yet service in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines is not just about fighting and combat readiness; it is also about providing assistance to people and helping them to rebuild their towns and villages and restore dignity to their lives. Being part of an overseas mission to support people working hard to help themselves is the most rewarding job a professional soldier can ever do.I think the new U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) could be one of the great success stories in U.S.-Africa relations history if given a chance. Intensive training of Africa’s professional armies and national police can improve security for millions of Africans who live in or near weak and failing states. This type of assistance by the U.S. military is already making a difference for people in African countries recovering from years of conflict and war; Liberia is one example that comes to mind and there are several more countries involved in U.S. military training assistance programs.

{keep reading here}