Combating The Spread Of Extremism In The Third World (Part I)

Links A. Impact Of The Repudiation Of Third World Debt
          B. Council On Foreign Relations Comments Regarding Terrorism And Debt


Frequently, I include links that present a viewpoint with which I disagree.  I am convinced in the efficacy of this strategy in fully understanding the issue at hand.  If you aren't prepared to give fair consideration to all perspectives, that don't expect anyone to listen to whatever bullshit you have to offer.  Attentively considering the opposing viewpoint will invariably provide you with more information about the subject, which will strengthen your ability to craft a useful and reasonable opinion.  Having spent many years in Africa, I have a strong opinion regarding the issue of African Debt (to banks, related financial mechanisms, and countries).  Very few on the list of donors can seriously argue that their motivation for providing financial assistance was anything more than a means to acquire more money/resources or influence.  In fairness, I must say that my research has uncovered a few organizations that have absolutely no motivation for personal gain in their efforts to provide aid.  Most of these organizations have a religious support network, which introduces the problem of "conversion coercion through the alleviation of hunger" (I invented that phrase, thank you).  If I were starving, would I convert to being a Baptist instead of a Roman Catholic?  I can't say, but I have no doubt that if Boko Haram were threatening to chop off my head, I would be memorizing lines from the Quran in a heartbeat (God knows your heart.  He also expects you to value the gift of life.  A temporary "fib" about personal religious conversion won't condemn a person's eternal soul, at least not in my mind's Judgment Day).

But I digress.  Recently a U.S. government spokeswoman (can't recall if she was an administration official or from Foggy Bottom) slid off the edge of her talking points a bit by rambling on about "giving ISIS jobs" to discourage them from committing acts of terror.  Note to State Department:  No one uses a guillotine anymore, and public executioners for the State of Texas usually need some medical background.  I do appreciate the sentiment, though.  It reminds us that the young people volunteering for ISIS are doing so in a vacuum (tell the truth: how many of you just had a mental picture of a bunch of Middle-Eastern types, stuck inside of a Hoover?); the international culture that our generation in particular has fostered, that eschews anything faintly religious or moral, promotes the importance of "feeling good" over just about everything else, creates heroes out of criminals, and sexualizes everything from a Big Mac to a chainsaw.  Oh how I long for the days of my youth, when an individual was admired for getting a job at sixteen, avoiding children before marriage, finishing college, respecting old folks, and loving the United States of America.  But again I digress.  This is a tough subject.  The truth is, we need to be more successful in creating jobs and the opportunity for a future for young people, regardless of the language they speak.  There is no "one solution fixes all", but lets take a look at Africa, where ISIS and Al-Qaeda have been so successful recently at recruiting young people.

Actually, economic conditions have greatly improved in a number of African countries (for the purposes of this post, Africa is south-of-the-Sahara).  Success stories include Botswana, Gabon, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique (hey, remember how bad it was BEFORE?), Zambia and even Rwanda (I refuse to add Uganda to the list, regardless of their economic growth and GDP; any society that openly advocates the murder of people for their sexual preference will receive no type of acknowledgement from me).  Some signs of improvement had been noted in West Africa as well, and then Ebola had to show up and ruin everything.  I'm still optimistic about West Africa.  The determined efforts to keep the Ebola outbreak from becoming a full-blown plague were largely successful.  A new crop of national leaders in Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Senegal appear to be singularly focused on improving the lives of their people.  All in all, I believe that the continent of Africa is ripe for some recognition from the West; that its efforts to control unemployment, fight corruption, and root out terrorists have not gone unnoticed.  I'm not speaking of something as temporary as an extension on loan repayments.  I believe the time has come for Europe, Asia and North America to eliminate all African debt.  Furthermore, it should be done without conditions.

Sub-Saharan Africa 2015: What To Expect

Link: Brookings Evaluates Sub-Saharan Africa 2015

When I consider the prospects for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2015, by habit, I always start with

political considerations.  But Africa has changed, evolving and adjusting to international economic trends much more quickly than I expected.  I don't think we can under-estimate the impact that communication has had on Sub-Saharan Africa.  The relative simplicity and low cost involved with cell phone networks has brought every dark corner of Africa into the light.  I remember the cell phone revolution as it arrived in South Africa.  It seemed as if overnight, everybody had one.  The real-time contact engendered by the presence of cell phone networks as instrumental in getting the continent reasonably wired on the net.  I remember being in Bangui, Central African Republic, sometime in 2001, and suffering from water shortages and no taxis or public transportation.  But the internet café was up and running, thanks to the world's first home-made satellite dish and a motley combination of modern and World War II-era French Army generators.  From my perspective, the arrival of the cell phone ushered in a techno-economic revolution in Africa.  We had BACP (Before the Arrival of the Cell Phone) and AACP (After the Arrival of The Cell Phone).  I think this date-differentiation can be accurately used when examining economic trends in the Middle East and the Indian Sub-Continent.  The cell phone has made that much of a difference, folks.

Africa in 2015 is connected.  Abidjan is connected to Maputo, and Yaoundé is chatting with Tokyo.  Sadly, the last bit of "African mystery" is gone.  An archaeologist can be digging in Mali and be interrupted by a phone call from Dublin.  But in this instance, there can be no doubt that the benefits of technology outweigh the negatives.  African banks and stock markets have real-time communication with the big guys in Europe, Tokyo and New York.  The western investments in oil and mining no longer have to wait for value-impacting information from on-site.  That information is available as it occurs.  Wow.  More so than in many years, I am optimistic for the future of Sub-Saharan Africa.  The days of military coups and brutal dictators seems to be ending.  Africa still suffers from the ass-boil that is Robert Mugabe, but everyone dies eventually, right?  Some folks see Museveni in Uganda as a dictator, and also young Kabila in Kinshasa.  But these guys seem to be out of touch and behind the times.  The world has become so much smaller, and the money to be made in Africa isn't limited to African money.  There is Euro to be made, and Dollars.  The Chinese seem to be all over Africa, but I think we will see a bit less of them in 2015.  I think the trend away from despots and one-party rule will continue, because there is more money to be made in a competitive system, and even the nasty guys will end up chasing the bigger $.

Let's start with China in 2015.  The Chinese started 2014 on a rampage, flying from capital

Dakar Railway Station;  Source: J.W.H. van der WAAL

to capital, promising all sorts of funding for development projects.  In the past, the Chinese have been good on their word.  They have built roads, dams, and blocks of flats.  Everyone, I mean EVERYONE, took notice when the Chinese offered to finance the rebuilding of the Dakar-Niger Railway.  This ambitious and absolutely overdue plan included building an additional rail line, linking Bamako, Mali and Freetown, Sierra Leone.  As things stand at present, the Dakar-Niger Railway is a mess.  It rarely is able to keep to a schedule and its ability to transport is limited.  Any rain or weather-related incident is likely to shut the rail system down for weeks.  The real problem is the lack of repair of the track system.  Why does this issue attract the attention of EVERYONE (as I stated earlier)?  Because this rail system transports the gas that keeps the various mines in Mali and Guinea in operation, not to mention the other materials it transports that are essential to those particular mining operations that basically belong to western investors.  Ideally, Mali should be able to rely on transport of goods in three directions: Dakar, Freetown, and Abidjan.  I have no doubt that in my lifetime I will see this develop.  But the anticipated rebuilding of the Dakar-Niger railway hit a huge snag.  The Chinese went back to Beijing, took out their calculators, met with banking and economic officials, and announced that "they had never actually agreed to finance the project....that it was all just conversation".  In the end, I think the Chinese will realize that the benefits outweigh the cost, and will provide a definite amount of invaluable goodwill. 

Now for some serious conversation.  African countries need to continue the move away from one-commodity economies.  Nigeria, that doesn't mean you continue moving towards being totally dependent on oil, it means to diversify your economy, so that when the price of oil tanks, your economy doesn't crash as well.  Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana have been successful moving away from a reliance on cocoa, as has Mali with cotton and Botswana with Diamonds.  I am concerned about the falling price of oil and its impact on juvenile economies such as Cabo Verde and Equatorial Guinea. I don't really have much sympathy for Nigeria.  They are sitting on a gold mine of resources, and all they can do in Lagos is fight their own cousins for every Dollar, while the nastiest of insurgencies terrorizes and brutalizes children all over the north of the country.  How does a nation with the resources and international connections of Nigeria, not have an army worth a damn?  All this may

Goodluck Jonathan
Source: World Economic Forum

change if Goodluck Jonathan losses the election in February (it ain't gonna happen, folks).  I would be willing to take a chance on the other guy just for the sake of change.  Ebola in 2015: I believe this outbreak of Ebola is winding down, and Africa learned some invaluable lessons on how to respond.  This particular outbreak could have been monstrous.  For Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, it was.  But the protocols that were put in place and followed worked exactly as expected.  This bodes well for the future.  Unfortunately, West Africa will take some time to climb out of the economic and social disaster that Ebola wrought.  The rest of Africa needs to step up, especially South Africa, who pretends to be a leader, but always seems to be missing at the table during a crisis.  I think China will revisit its commitments, and return with a smile.  The Dakar-Niger project will begin, and positive economic fallout will help with the Ebola recovery.

I think this subject was a bit heavy to tackle in one post, but wither way, as a lover of Africa, I'm looking forward to 2015.  I purposely left South Africa out of the conversation.  They seem to be chugging along just fine down south, on their own schedule and in their own little world.  Zuma had a tough year in 2014, and I anticipate that his enemies are smelling blood, so to speak.  South Africa has always been a bit obsessed with its own identity and importance in the world.  It's sad, because I believe that Nelson Mandela truly wanted South Africa to be the leader of the continent.  Heck, even Nigeria seems to draw more attention from other African states.  South Africa does remain popular for illegal immigration though, as people from all over go searching for jobs and opportunities.  I believe that the fall in the price of oil will be a boost to South Africa, which has always been so sensitive to that commodity.  South Africans have a tendency to worry when the Rand hits a free-fall against the Euro and the Dollar.  They shouldn't.  It directly impacts the all-important tourist industry, not to mention the increasing number of investors from the United States, looking for a good value for their Dollars.

Just How Many Muslims Have Immigrated To Europe, Anyway?

Link A. Immigration To France, Wikipedia
         B. Immigration to Germany, Wikipedia
         C. Immigration In Europe From A U.S. Perspective
         D. Islam in Europe, Wikipedia

The issue of Islamic Immigration to Europe is both difficult and complicated.  When I decide to educate myself on a particular subject, my first task is to collect as much information as possible.  With regards to Muslim Immigration, what should be the starting point of my research?  Post World War One, when the dissolution of monarchies in Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary and Russia, encouraged people to relocate in search of better opportunities?  Or possibly just after World War Two, when Europe, which had been bled dry of healthy young men, needed immigrants to work in both the fields and in the factories?  Or should we start our conversation in the late 1960's, when Paris was fresh with revolution, and terrorists were beginning to make their presence felt?  Actually, I think it's better to start with the present and work our way back.  A number of prominent European nations have a Muslim population that is eight percent or greater.  The growing number of Muslims in Europe is a relatively new development, something that began in earnest within the last sixty years.  Three times in the last fifteen hundred years, Christian armies were fortunate to defeat much larger and better equipped Muslim forces that were intent on invading the heart of Europe.  For our history lesson today, take note of the Battle of Tours in 732 (against the Moors from Spain), the 1529 Battle of Vienna I (against the Ottoman Empire), and the Battle of Vienna II in 1683 (the Ottoman Empire's last foray this far into Europe).  During the years of Moor control on the Iberian peninsula, and Ottoman administration in the Balkans, no doubt the number of Muslims in Europe increased.  But the Moors were sent packing by Isabella and Ferdinand, and rebellions by Bulgaria, Romania, and Montenegro in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century all but ended the reality of "Turkey in Europe".  Muslims still exist in the Balkans, but basically only in the Albanian community, which is about as close to secular as you can get (I would guess that a mosque exists for every three houses in Kosovo, but I never saw one in use).

The increase in the number of Muslims in Europe was driven by two factors: economics and post-colonial paternalism.  Whenever Europe was in need of an influx of young men to work in the factories and on the farms, the people of North Africa and the Middle East were happy to oblige (no surprise; European wars had decimated the economies of those areas as well).  North Africans came to work in France, and Turks came to Germany and Scandinavia.  In most instances, they put down roots and had children.  In the 1960's, as France and England (and to lesser and later extent, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal), granted independence to their African colonies.  For numerous reasons, guilt and a sense of paternalism being at the top of the list, Europe opened its doors to citizens of its former colonies.  England was probably more affected by post-colonial immigration from India and Pakistan than Africa, but France welcomed hundreds of thousands of new immigrants from recently independent Algeria, Morocco, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Guinea.  Belgium was obliged to welcome Congolese.  Later, following the Biafran War, England did open its doors to thousands of displaced Ibo, although white Rhodesians weren't nearly as welcome.  As for the number of Turks in Germany and Scandinavia, I don't really have an explanation.  Historically, Germany has always had close relations with Turkey, which may be part of the answer.  Also, following the Civil Rights marches in the United States and the televised horrors of the Algerian conflict and the Vietnam War, European societies were determined to avoid the appearance of racism.  And the Immigration Statutes written into law during that time are still in effect today.  In less delicate terms, once it was turned on, the faucet was never turned off.  Europe continued to accept immigrants long-past the ability of its economies to comfortably provide jobs and housing.  This fact, along with other socio-economic and cultural issues, is responsible for the high percentage of minorities needing government support to survive.

In 2015, roughly ten percent of the population of France self-identifies as Muslim.  Austria, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are not far behind.  Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo all have a substantial Muslim population because of the historic legacy of the Ottoman Turks, but rarely do you see an observant Muslim community in the Balkans (I understand that recently, a number of really nasty extremists have popped up, who were raised in these areas, so things may be changing).  As of late, politics in western Europe have definitely swung in the direction of anti-immigration, and the events of last week will only increase that statistic.  Sweden, Holland, France, and even Switzerland have taken steps to tighten up their immigration controls.  Given the twenty-five thousand anti-Islamic demonstrators that marched in Leipzig last week, I'm guessing Angela Merkel has something in the works as well.  No doubt, the high percentage of Muslims living in European countries is connected to the rise in extremist activity.  But the increased police presence and the tightening of immigration laws is a knee-jerk reaction to attack the problem at the perceived source.  Why are children of Algerian immigrants, who came to France, assimilated and worked their asses off, sympathetic to Islamic extremism?  Since the symptom is the same in every country, then the problem must be the same as well.  These young men and women have no distraction.  They don't feel as if they belong anywhere, and once the European school systems, which are bedrocked to favor the native population, spit these kids out, they had nowhere to go.  And the media and entertainment industry that our generation has allowed to take over the minds of young people today, tells these kids (and the inner-city youths in the United States as well), that there is something WRONG with working in a fast food joint, or on a farm, and there is something wrong with working for an hourly wage and taking college classes at night.  The television and the MP3 players are constantly reminding these young, impressionable minds, that the life of a gangster is the life to be admired, and that money and sex should come easy.  If it doesn't come easy, then someone is denying you your due, and you are entitled to take it.

Remember the riots in the urban, ethnic communities of France just a few years ago?  Those kids had nothing to do.  Their parents were at work, sometimes holding down two jobs, and unable to battle the message coming from the entertainment industry, and when I say entertainment industry, I point the finger directly back at the United States.  The hip-hop and rap music that glorifies the selling of narcotics for easy money, and killing of rivals and anyone in authority.  And sex?  It is in no way connected to responsibility; it's all about the act, and the sense of domination.  What is occurring in our inner cities in the United States, is replicated in Europe.  We don't have many children of Muslim immigrants (in comparison), but our young people are latching on to a message just as theirs are.  The message they are hearing is that the easy riches come with their ideology.  That women are subservient, and should always be available for sex, and that the Jew has stolen everything from you, including your heritage.  These young people, in the suburbs of Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, and Stockholm, are looking for an easy, quick answer and a place to belong as well.  We will give you a gun, which will make you a man, and we will teach you to kill your enemy (who is the reason you can't have that Porsche you want, or those new three-hundred euro sneakers).  Has it been so long since we were at that age?  The mind is much like jello, waiting to be molded into the adult brain it is to become.  You will rarely find a terrorist (at least a dead one) who is over the age of thirty-five.  There is a reason for that.

The French In Africa Don't Mess Around

Links: A. French Colonial History In Africa
           B. French Military Presence In Africa
           C. French Anti-Terror Initiative in Africa

As you know by now, when writing these posts, there are some things I like to get out in the open.  I'm French.  Yes, I live in Texas.  I say, "Y'all" and "howdy".  And I'm an American citizen.  But my mother is a French national (dual citizenship) and I spent a great deal of my formative years in France.  French was my first language, and I am very proud of my heritage.  I am very close to my French family and I visit as often as possible.  In fact, in my soon to be released book, I spend an entire chapter highlighting the surprising and sometimes hilarious similarities between my French family and my Kentucky kin in Harlan County, KY.  During the summer of my thirteenth year, my parents decided to bring the two families together - but you'll have to buy the book for that story folks, and believe me, its worth it.  I have equal affection for both sets of relatives, and one day I hope to write a book detailing the history of my Kentucky family.  Today however, we are chatting a bit about France.  More precisely: France in Africa.

I included the first link in order to jump-start the memory back to high school world history.  For the most part, since the demise of the Roman Empire, France has been a major European power.  In 1781, thanks to the presence of the French fleet under Admiral De Grasse, General George Washington defeated British General Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown, and the United States gained its independence.  The French Empire, under the royal houses of Bourbon, Orleans, Bonaparte and Bourbon encore une fois, was determined to spread the culture and language of France around the globe (and also locate the odd gold and diamond mines in the mean time).  The French felt very comfortable in Africa, and developed an extensive colonial presence in west Africa in particular (although three million French would eventually make Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria their home, for the purpose of this post, I'm going focus on west Africa, separate from north Africa).  France divided its sub-Saharan colonies into French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa.  Once the drive for independence took root in the late 1950s and 1960s, the French did everything possible to encourage a peaceful and smooth transition.  In fact, during the colonial years, France had been very successful building schools and instilling French language and culture in its colonies.  France invested tremendous sums of money in building ports in Dakar and Abidjan that would act as a springboard to economic growth in the newly independent Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire.  The Napoleonic system of law is still in effect in most francophone countries.  Also in an effort to show the importance of keeping the former African colonies within the French family, France created a currency, the CFA Franc, whose deposits were (and still are) guaranteed by the Bank of France in Paris.  No doubt, the French ended colonialism a bit differently than the Brits, Belgians, Spanish and Portuguese.

For the most part, successive French governments in the 1960s and 1970s did not have to worry much about intervening militarily in the affairs of former colonies (let's not get started on Algeria, which is a subject for a post all to itself).  The francophone community consisted of Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), the Central African Republic, Togo, Benin, Cameroun, Congo-Brazzaville, and Gabon.

At one time or another, the French Foreign Legion was obliged to put down a coup or calm some event of civil unrest, but internal "policing" on behalf of France was expected in many quarters.  What came as a surprise to most, was the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in sub-Saharan Africa.  The late 1960s and 1970s introduced the world to terrorism with the blunt arrival of groups like the PLO, the Red Army, and Baader-Meinhof.  Along with the rest of Europe, France had to deal with the scourge of airline hijackings.  The resolution of the conflict in Vietnam, the Egyptian/Israeli Peace Accord, and the end of the Cold War seemed to usher in a time of peace, but it was to be unfortunately short-lived.  The idea that a ragtag army of mountain fighters in Afghanistan, trained and armed by the CIA, could defeat the Soviet military, raised a few eyebrows, to be sure.  The departure of the Russians in Afghanistan created a vacuum which led to the rise of the Taliban, and the inevitable birth of Al-Qaeda.

During the days of the Ottoman Empire, caravans of traders ranged far and wide across west Africa, spreading Islam where it did not exist, and strengthening it where it did. A very strong, traditional brand of Islam took root in the Oasis and desert towns of the Sahel.  The remoteness of places like Gao, Tamanrasset, Agadez and Tombouctou held to their conservative brand of Sunni Islam, which relies so much on discipline and the appropriate deference.  The bad guys moved in like bees to honey.  In the more populous communities of northern Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria, an aggressive, parasitic type of Islam has led to one civil war and appears determined to start another.  In 2013, The French Army was obliged to intervene in Mali, where a small Tuareg rebellion had been hijacked by Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQM), and had occupied Tombouctou.  Not surprisingly, France poured three thousand soldiers into the conflict and had smashed the uprising in a little over a month.    The French military was also obliged to intervene directly in a civil war in the Central African Republic (how can you have a civil war when you really don't even have a country anymore?).  France has decided to keep a permanent military presence in west Africa, which is welcomed by every francophone country. In fact, the only African leader who voiced opposition was Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (...whatever happened to that guy?).  France has created a military force which is just the right size, with just the right kind of soldiers, to react quickly and decisively in a west African environment.  And don't lose sight of the economic realities in place:  French businesses have billions of euro tied up in the mines in Cote d'Ivoire and Mali, and in the ports of Dakar and Abidjan.  West Africa also presents a security issue for France:  Aside from the fact that everyday Islamic Extremists in Africa use social media to influence their relatives who have emigrated to France, the Élysée Palace cannot afford to lose sight of the uranium that Niger provides, which keeps French nuclear reactors, nuclear submarines and nuclear aircraft carriers running.  The trouble in northern Mali that was quelled in 2013, appears to be reorganizing.  Mali has recently undergone a political transformation and is currently in a battle to keep Ebola at bay.  These extremist assholes always pick the best times to cause trouble.  Unfortunately for them, the French are on the spot, and just three days ago, twenty-four Al-Qaeda-in-training never made it to their first big terrorist attack.

If you've been to France, but have never experienced French Africa, you will have such a pleasant surprise.  The French language and culture appears to have seamlessly

strengthened the communities of Conakry and Niamey.  In downtown Abidjan, you can wake up in the morning to Café au lait and croissants and today's edition of Le Figaro (I'm sure le Monde is available as well).  The cars are Peugeot and Renault, and the roads are marked in kilometres.  Any Christian community is bound to be Catholic, and the children grow up with Tintin, Asterix and Obelix, and Lucky Luke.  At the same time, Mopti is Africa, as are Yamoussoukro and Bobo Dioulasso.  I find Africans to be the epitome of true artists.  They are so connected to nature, and forgive so easily.  I have always thought of France as a country of artists as well, although no doubt the line to disagree with me stretches around the block.  I think this is the reason France and her former African colonies have had such a long record of forgiveness and mutual admiration.

Who's At The Door, Ebola or Al-Qaeda?

Links: A. French Troops Battle Terrorists In Northern Mali
           B. France Retaking Its Former Empire

You have to feel for the poor people of Mali.  The country is landlocked and would probably be a complete desert if it weren't for the Niger River.  Mali shares a border with Cote d'Ivoire

which, until recently, allowed Mali access to the second busiest port in West Africa (Dakar being first).  Unfortunately, in 2002 Cote d'Ivoire's turn came up on the African civil war Merry-Go-Round, which split the country between north and south and lasted until 2011.  The conflict has ended and Cote d'Ivoire has recovered in record time. The roads between Mali and Cote d'Ivoire are again full of trucks carrying goods between Bamako, Mali and the port of Abidjan; although, sadly the condition of the roads leaves a lot to be desired.  For roughly a decade Mali was solely dependent upon its road and rail (gulp!) links to the west: namely, Dakar, Senegal.  In 2012, Mali suffered through the Tuareg Rebellion.  The nomadic Tuareg people of northern Mali (Tuaregs are also present in southern Algeria and northern Niger), revolted in reaction to feeling marginalized by the government in Bamako and the mining activity, which they claimed damaged pastoral grazing lands.  It didn't take long for the world's favorite parasite, Al-Qaeda (in this incarnation, Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb - AQIM), to join the rebellion alongside the Tuaregs.  Not surprisingly, AQIM quickly pushed the well-meaning Tuareg aside and began to threaten other interests (read: French) further south (which included the occupation of Tombouctou).  The French Army arrived in January 2013 and one month later the issue was resolved.  The French military has always come to a fight ready to win both quickly and completely.  I remember when the United States military carried the same reputation. 

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita,
President of Mali

The Tuareg Rebellion cost Malian President Amadou Toure his job; the transitional military government kept its word and respectably clean elections were held in August 2013.  Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was sworn in on September 4, and he has done a superb job to date.  The Ebola outbreak in Guinea and Liberia brought the attention of the world to west Africa.  Mali has a long border with both Guinea and Liberia, and given the state of Mali's infrastructure (and low international expectations), great concern was expressed that Mali would also suffer an outbreak.  President Keita put national sensitivities aside and asked the United States and Europe to send medical experts.  The International Red Cross (IRC) was already in place, and all necessary authority and support was given by the Malian Ministry of Health to facilitate the education and preparation of both cities and rural communities.  Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) arrived, as did the Center for Disease Control from Atlanta and the World Health Organization (WHO).  Mali already had capable, modern hospitals in Bamako and Sikasso, and the Center for Tuberculosis and AIDS Research (SEFERO).  Screening facilities and Isolation Units were set up at all border crossings and Ports of Entry.  Heeding the request made by President Obama, Mali has kept open its border posts with Liberia and Guinea (despite intense pressure put on President Keita from internal groups).  To date, Mali has registered only one positive case of Ebola, and that was the tragic instance of a now-deceased two-year old child from Guinea who was transported across the border by her grandmother after the death of her mother.  No doubt additional confirmed cases will occur, but all in all, Mali has set an example for other nations (not only third world) to follow when bordering a contagious viral outbreak.

Again, exhibiting a willingness to take advantage of every opportunity, AQIM has made its presence known again.  I've heard it said that after the nuclear apocalypse, the only things left alive will be cock roaches and Cher.  Well, lets add AQIM to the list.  These nasty, parasitic desert rats dug some deep tunnels to escape French and Malian justice, and now the resources of the government are tied up not only in combating the threat of Ebola, but also in trying to build a durable, functioning transportation network to support a growing economy.  Earlier in the year, the Chinese had come around, promising all sorts of goodies.  In fact, China and Mali had negotiated Chinese financial sponsorship of an $11 Billion new railway system to replace the existing rail to Dakar (built in 1884; last real servicing completed in 1924) and to build an entire new railway from Bamako to the port city of Conakry, Guinea.  Sadly, in the last few weeks the Chinese have started to hedge on their commitment, issuing a statement that discussions took place but no obligations were agreed upon.  Bullshit.  The Chinese economy has started to show signs of trouble, which would make reconsideration of expensive foreign projects only routine.  Eleven billion dollars is nothing to the Bank of China, but it could actually change the lives of 15 Million Malians.  What is my interest in this situation?  I love west Africa.  I'm half-French and I truly enjoy the Francophile community.  And everyone, who is willing to do their part, deserves an opportunity.

U.S. Troops Head To Africa To Fight Ebola

Links:  A. 3,000 U.S. Troops To Deploy To West Africa
            B. U.S. Troops To Africa For Ebola Mission
            C. U.S. Military Quarantined After Ebola Trip

I have been finding reasons to avoid writing this post because I'm not very clear on my own

emotions regarding this mission.  In September, when the Ebola virus was tearing a hole through Liberia and Guinea, President Obama anticipated the need for U.S. assistance and ordered the military to respond (I'm assuming that the military and not the President's staff, developed the deployment agenda).  A plan was created which would eventually call for three thousand troops from the 101st Airborne Division to deploy to locations in West Africa (see Links A and B).  The first group of U.S. military personnel, Army Major General Darryl A. Williams and his staff of ten, just completed a tour of Liberia.  During the tour Major General Williams and his crew observed the screening procedures and medical assistance measures in place in all areas of the country.  Its safe to say that they reached some level of exposure to the virus.  As is explained in link C, they will be isolated and monitored for twenty-one days, which is understandable.

As the first link points out, the military will be tasked with building a 25-bed portable hospital in Liberia.  It is expected that 17 treatment centers will eventually be built in the area.  Along with building facilities to treat patients with Ebola, the U.S. military will train up to 500 health-care workers a week to combat the disease.  My friends in the region tell me that currently "you can't throw a stone without hitting a white person".  I assume that many of the white people in question are Americans, as my cousin in Bamako tells me that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has commandeered the nicest hotel in town.  My close friend, who owns a luxury car business in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, is very impressed with the medical facilities that seem to be popping up all over the country.  Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) is there, and the World Health Organization is too.  The International Red Cross (IRC), which has permanent offices in all the capital cities of the region, has been active from the beginning, and are probably responsible for keeping the number of Ebola cases as low as they are.  In the Spring, with the first confirmed cases, the IRC began sending volunteers out into the rural areas of Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Cote d'Ivoire, to stress the need for sanitation and education.  Most importantly, the IRC took note of the local health facilities and what was needed to set-up screening centers and isolation units.  I am impressed with the response to date of the United States and European health communities.  So far the procedures put in place appear to be working.

I have heard it said that the true reason behind President Obama ordering troops to deploy to Africa is to assist in evacuations and crowd control.  I assume "crowd control" would include "riot control".  Orderly crowds being moved by authorities have a tendency to get out of hand in Africa (my comment is not racist; it is the product of my years of living in Africa).  Actually, orderly crowds can become quite "disorderly" anywhere, not just in Africa.  I believe the initial projections by the experts in Atlanta (CDC) forecast that the outbreak would have spread to Mali and Cote d'Ivoire by now.  Given the impossibility of adequately controlling border crossings (sound familiar?), the CDC probably assumed that infected persons who had not yet begun to show symptoms would be traveling as usual.  Keep in mind that many folks see the borders in African as more of a suggestion than anything else.  The valuable gold and diamond mines in

Diamond Mine in Sierra Lione

Mali, and other countries, traditionally employ workers from bordering states.  I believe that the CDC was correct in assuming that the situation would be much more serious than it is, hence the in-depth planning for mandatory evacuations and (if needed) crowd control.  This is in addition to the fact that some people will not voluntarily leave their homes, and in the instance of a deadly virus like Ebola, they cannot be left behind. The issue is not just the health of the resident; anyone who stays in the contamination zone becomes a potential carrier, who may find a way to rejoin healthy people and start the contagion all over.  At this point I haven't bought into the argument that the troops are really here to control people.  I'm not that cynical.  But then see me again next week.   

Still Stuck In Africa...Let's Talk About Liberia And Ebola (Part II)

Links: Wikipedia Liberia
           The U.S. Has An Obligation To Liberia
           Mea Culpa To Dallas From The Liberian President

(Part II)
The second and third links I have chosen deal with the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia (and Guinea).  To get right to the point, when a serious outbreak of a hemorrhagic virus strikes a poor country where most of the population ingests less than one thousand calories a day  the body count can become shockingly high in a matter of days.  The truth is, this outbreak has not yet "exploded", for lack of a better term.  Perhaps this is because Ebola actually isn't that easy to catch, or because the Liberian and Guinean governments (and international organizations) have responded to the outbreak so

effectively.  The answer is most likely a combination of both factors.  On Oct. 15, The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 4,546 people have died from the Ebola virus with an additional 8,997 confirmed cases.  My source estimates are a bit different: roughly 18,000 cases (although not officially confirmed), mostly in Guinea and Liberia, but also a few in Mali, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, and Senegal.  I'm told that efforts to isolate the illness in Guinea and Liberia have been outstanding.  The International Red Cross, the WHO, the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), and Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) have been working closely together and with the local Ministries of Health to provide isolation equipment, protective clothing, detection equipment, and a variety of other essential medical tools.  Even though the number of new cases appear to have plateaued, and wealthy nations are sending specialists and even troops to the region, many experts are concerned that we are only at the beginning of this outbreak.

Five hundred troops of the U.S. 101st Airborne are headed to West Africa.  The French are

already there, and believe me, when the Elysee Palace in Paris got wind of the U.S. deployment, orders were sent to increase the French presence in what was once part of French West Africa (excluding Liberia and Sierra Leone). I am very familiar with this part of the world, and although independence was granted to Mali, Chad, Niger, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, a Frenchman is never very far away.  France was much more successful than the Brits in keeping relations pleasant with its former colonies.  It probably had something to do with the fact that the French allowed locally-selected political representation for its colonies in the French House of Deputies, and that France spent a fortune (and continues to do so) standing up and supporting the CFA franc as a currency for its former colonies, and get this, folks...the French treasury guarantees the CFA franc!  Can you imagine the Brits using their precious Sterling to guarantee the Kenyan Shilling

or the Nigerian Dollar?  Back at the ranch...I expect to see the French Foreign Legion deployed to Mali and Cote d'Ivoire in its entirety sometime soon, and the British will have to make their military presence known in Sierra Leone.  The U.S. gets Liberia, as it should.  Too many times in the last century and a half, U.S. administrations have refused to get involved in Liberian problems.  What a shame and what a terrible legacy.  This is one of the few occasions in which I will use the word "shame" and the United States in the same sentence.  Liberia was once a child of the U.S., much like Hawaii (which was a separate Kingdom) and Puerto Rico.  I believe that at one time or another we should have intervened and helped to put things in order.  It wouldn't have taken much because Liberia is a country that is rich in natural resources. However, as is frequently the case in many underdeveloped countries, the Liberian people have rarely seen the benefits from any of its national wealth.

Its certainly not too late to make a difference.  Considering that President Reagan's justification for military intervention and temporary occupation of Grenada was accepted, then without a doubt the United States had the bona fides to involve itself in Liberia's various coups and civil wars.  The flag is almost identical to ours, the towns are named Harper, Fishtown and Greenville, and the original settlers, former American slaves, drew up their original Constitution as a mirror of our own.  Why then did we chose to ignore Liberia for so many years?  Because it is in Africa, over there "somewhere", and didn't figure into our strategic national interests.  Fast-forward to 2014, and Liberia doesn't need a strong-arm presence to re-establish order.  Liberia has an honest, determined, brilliant, popular President who has been dealt the shittiest of hands by fate.  As for the French, U.S., and U.K. troops, their presence is intended to help keep order during evacuations, if such need arises.  So far they have not been needed, although the French contingent in Mali may have its hands full fighting a reborn "Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb" flare-up in the north.  My contact in Bamako, Mali is more concerned with the Al-Qaeda threat than she is Ebola.  The French military (and government) normally never hesitate to act where terrorists are concerned, as they demonstrated in Mali in 2012-2013, so I hope this mess doesn't turn into a two-front issue (Ebola in the south, Al-Qaeda Magreb in the north).  As I sit here at my computer, most of the involved parties are eyeing the border areas between Mali and Guinea/Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire and Guinea/Liberia.  A number of gold mines exist in the border areas, with a number of mine workers coming from the infected countries.  Everyone is sitting on edge, waiting for the first confirmed case in Mali and/or Cote d'Ivoire.  As for the spread of Ebola, I will remain probably the last optimistic person in the U.S.  I expect that the number of cases in Liberia and Guinea will start to decline, so we can put this subject on the back burner, and return to our daily criticism of this administration and how it handles foreign affairs.

Still Stuck In Africa...Let's Talk About Liberia And Ebola (Part I)

Links: Wikipedia Liberia

           The U.S. Has An Obligation To Liberia
           Mea Culpa To Dallas From Liberian President

(Part I)
It's possible that in over two months of writing posts for this blog (I have yet to miss a day), this post may be the most important.

It should be important, especially to Americans.  I'm grateful that Wikipedia is always there to provide a snapshot of Liberian history; most grade school pupils in the United States have never heard of Liberia.  Beginning in 1820, freed slaves from the United States began returning to Africa (Liberia) with the support of various Abolitionist movements, especially the American Colonization Society.  In 1847, with a continual flow of freed slaves from mostly the United States, the Republic of Liberia was created (any slaves who were fortunate enough to be freed en route to the Americas also became Liberians).  The capital city was named Monrovia, in honor of U.S. President James Monroe, a strong advocate of the colonization of Liberia.  By 1867, roughly 13,000 citizens of the Republic of Liberia were former slaves.  Obviously this territory, located in west central Africa on the Gold Coast, was already inhabited in 1820.  Numerous indigenous tribes dotted the Liberian landscape before the arrival of the first settlers from the United States.  The former slaves and their descendants never accounted for more than five percent of the entire population of Liberia, but they immediately assumed the mantle of superiority.  The indigenous population were treated as savages and for almost a century were not considered actual citizens of Liberia.

In truth, the American Colonization Society (ACS), which was supported by both President Abraham Lincoln and Orator/Senator Henry Clay, believed that repatriation of former slaves to Africa was preferable to emancipation (freedom) within the United States.  Some in the organization were concerned about the difficulties former slaves would encounter after emancipation, while others felt it was in the best interest of both whites and blacks that they be returned to Africa.  However, it's important to keep in mind that by 1860 a large portion, if not the majority, of slaves had been born in the United States, or the Caribbean, rather than in Africa.

Life Membership Certificate ACS

Either way, on July 26, 1847, the settlers in Liberia issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a Constitution.  Not surprisingly, the Liberian Constitution bore a close resemblance to the Constitution of the United States.  The new nation suffered tremendous growing pains, as a small population of western-minded and Christian former slaves attempted to establish their authority over the indigenous inland tribes.  The government of Liberia (elected solely by male settlers) outlawed commerce between foreign nations and inland tribes.  A serious attempt was made to funnel all economic activity of Liberia to the capital city of Monrovia and through its port (a few other towns had sprung up, including Buchanan).  Development was very slow, and towards the turn of the century, France and England started exerting their authority over areas once claimed by Liberia.  In fact, The European nations were responsible for the boußndaries that today constitute the border of the Republic of Liberia.  With no army and no real diplomatic authority, Liberia had no choice but to except the demarcations as determined by France and England, which left Liberia with an English colony on its northwest border and a huge French-controlled territory on its northeast and east.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Liberia had very little to show for is fifty years of existence.  It was believed by most that the end of the Civil War would result in a huge wave of immigrants from the former slave population in the southern United States. 

For various reasons, that flood of new settler blood never really occurred.  In 1904 the Liberian government finally granted citizenship to all Liberians, but many indigenous tribes continued to oppose efforts at development.  In the mid-twentieth century, the United States became more involved in Liberia, with the construction of Roberts International Airport and new port facilities for Monrovia.  In 1945, Liberia became one of the original members of the United Nations, and was one of the first countries to openly oppose the Apartheid policies of the South African government.  Growth was slow and incremental, but progress was being made.  Rubber and Timber were being exported, and diamonds along with other precious metals and gems were discovered.  The soil appeared to be perfect for creating a fruit-based export avenue, and Liberia's history and the coastal areas seemed ideal for establishing a tourist industry.  In 1979, the economy was healthy and jobs were being created.  Unfortunately, a military coup was staged, led by Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe of the Krahn ethnic group.  Doe and his supporters accused then-President William R. Tolbert, Jr. of corruption and of giving preferential treatment to particular tribes to the detriment of others.  Tolbert and most of his cabinet were executed, along with many members of his political party; his family barely escaped Monrovia with their lives.

From 1980 until internationally-monitored elections in 2005, Liberia was literally hell-on earth.  Liberia suffered one coup after another, with each new government more despotic and violent than the previous one.  (If someone is interested in the details of the coups and the attempts at new governments, then Google is your answer.)  In fact, after 2000, it seemed the entire region was engulfed in war.  A horrendous Civil War swallowed Sierra Leone whole and created an entire generation of victims with missing limbs (instead of killing the enemy, it became habitual to just hack off a limb).  And the various mines planted everywhere rang up a high limb-count as well.  And to my surprise, even traditionally stable Cote d'Ivoire, with its French patisseries and tree-lined boulevards, fell victim to civil strife.  I'm so pleased to say that since 2005, a sea-change has occurred.  Peace in Sierra Leone, a new government and peace in Cote d'Ivoire, and a brilliant, no-nonsense President in Liberia.

  Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist with a sparking reputation, took office with a tremendous display of energy and confidence.  The Liberian people immediately responded, and since then growth has been the word for a new generation of Liberians.  The western banks and governments love Sirleaf, and she has done wonders battling that eternal, always-present beast of African governance: corruption.  She has surrounded herself with gifted individuals and everyday makes a point to go into the street and communicate with the people.
Johnson was re-elected in 2011 and is, in my opinion, personally responsible for convincing international banks and governments to write-off billions and billions of dollars of Liberian debt.  This has allowed the Liberian government more freedom of movement regarding development projects and education.  I'm sure that Sirleaf has political opposition in Liberia and that some may accuse me of being a Sirleaf sycophant (I like the way that sounds).  Well, guilty as charged.  I love what this woman has done to strengthen and give hope to the faultering country, and I pray that the Ebola crisis doesn't destroy all that she has worked to build.

The Ebola Virus Disease At Its Source

Link: CDC Information On The Ebola Breakout

You know the old expression, "When it rains, it pours"?  I was unable to locate the origin of the expression, but I'm sure its one of the most popular in the English language.  Throw a dart at a map of Africa, and more than likely you will hit a country that is suffering from some event that justifies the use of "when it rains, it pours".  Liberia and Guinea are two nations located on the Gold Coast

(southwest coast) of Africa.  The name Gold Coast refers to the belief that in colonial times the region was rich in Gold deposits.  Other countries on the Gold Coast include Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Cameroon.  At present, the eyes of the world are focused on this part of Africa because of an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Guinea and Liberia.  Both Guinea and Liberia are attempting to rebuild and recover after decades of civil strife.  At one time or another during the same period, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire were also engaged in civil wars.  Recently, though, a wave of tremendous hope and optimism had been taking hold in west Africa.  Change was the order of the day, highlighted by serious efforts at reconciliation and fraud-free elections.  Aid was pouring in, and Chinese companies seemed to be everywhere, building dams and roads into the jungle.  Serious discussions were taking place which would hopefully result in the elimination of African debt, and there was talk of education, healing, national soccer teams in the World Cup, and creating a tomorrow that is better than today.

And then Ebola shows up to put a wrench into the works.  The Ebola virus is very contagious and has a mortality rate of 90 percent and higher. This particular outbreak first appeared in a small village in Guinea and has now spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, choosing a target population that is ill-equipped to fight back. The people in this region are the poorest in the world.  The average daily caloric intake as compared to western nations is miniscule (and, for the western nations, shameful).  The body that is healthy is best able to avoid catching the virus, and the body that is healthy is best able to recover from infection.  Simply put, the people of Guinea and Liberia do not eat enough to stand a chance against this virus.  The governments of Liberia and Guinea, in concert with numerous international health organizations, have done a very respectable job limiting the outbreak to particular provinces.  Given the lack of resources available, this fact is impressive.  The best news for all is that for the most part the international community has reacted swiftly and without fear.  To the physicians, nurses, and other health workers who have traveled to Guinea and Liberia, the struggle is not only to limit and smother the outbreak, but to save the lives of those already affected.  During previous outbreaks, persons who had contracted the virus were frequently left to die.  A determination of infection was a death notice, because no one wanted to treat someone who was carrying such a highly contagious and deadly virus.  I'm relieved to say that my contacts in both countries report that persons who have tested positive are treated with respect and humanity, and every effort is being made to help their bodies fight the virus.

Currently, vaccines are being tested in Mali and Cote d'Ivoire.  There has been serious concern (and a bit of panic) that the virus would spread from Guinea and Liberia into Mali and Cote d'Ivoire; as of 12 October 2014, no cases of Ebola have been confirmed in either country.  The World Health Organization (The United Nations) has been highly visible in Bamako, Mali and in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, as has Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).  The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) has also made its presence felt.  Finally, the international community is reacting to a health crisis as it should; with resources, manpower and sacrifice.  Earlier today (at Mass, no less), a friend asked me why the international community does not respond to famine and genocide with the same vigor and generosity.  The answer is quite simple.  Famine and genocide are not contagious.  Two million persons at risk from starvation in Eritrea and Ethiopia cannot result in even one case of hunger in the United States.  Warlords slaughtering innocent villagers in Somalia and Sudan does not lead to someone getting shot or stabbed in Copenhagen or Osaka.  In the United States, this current Ebola strain has resulted in the death of one Liberian national in Dallas and the positive infection of a health worker.  The degree of separation gets smaller and smaller, and people realize this.  So smothering this recent outbreak of Ebola at the source makes perfect sense.  The wealthier nations are happy to spend the money, and if locals are cured as well, then all the better.

I'm confident that this particular outbreak of the Ebola virus has reached its peak of infection.  Vaccines have arrived, and people are learning what they must do to avoid contamination. Although 4033 persons have died from this episode, I believe more and more infected persons will recover, as medicine and health care starts to take effect.  West Africa is a hot spot for all sorts of nasty diseases, and I'm optimistic that the current governments in this part of the world will make health education a priority.  The numerous companies involved with mining in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali should not suffer too much from the slow down, and hopefully cocoa production will not be affected.  I realize I am being very optimistic, but doesn't it sound more pleasant than the non-stop media cacophony about one person with the flu in Baton Rouge and another person sneezing in Des Moines?  In 1994, Richard Preston wrote a fictional novel called "The Hot Zone", about a hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the United States.  For the longest time, it was all people could talk about.  I'm glad to say that Preston's book remained fictional.  But it did serve as a warning to our various health and disease-related organizations that we had better have a game plan.  I think this Ebola outbreak in West Africa has demonstrated that we do have a plan, both domestically and internationally.  Because we have fifty states and hundreds of international ports-of-entry, mistakes will happen.  But overall, I'm impressed with our response.