By
Scott B. MacDonald
In mid-July President George W. Bush conducted a five-nation
visit to Africa, the first in his presidency. Why? The Bush
trip reflects that Washington sees Africa as important in
the war against international terrorism. The U.S. President
visited some of the most significant African countries in
terms of economic size and political influence in the region
– Senegal, Nigeria, Botswana, South Africa and Uganda.
Along the same lines, it is increasingly likely that the
U.S. will lead a U.N. force into battle-torn Liberia to
help restore order. Washington’s main concern is that
if the U.S. and its allies lack a forward thinking policy
in Africa, al-Qaeda and its fellow-travelers will expand
their bases and gain new supporters.
And al-Qaeda and radical Islamic groups are active. Since
9/11 they have conducted bombings in Tunisia, Kenya and
Morocco. Terrorist cells have been broken up in Kenya and
Tanzania and an Islamic-inspired coup was defeated in Mauritania
following the government’s crack down on possible al-Qaeda-linked
groups. There are considerable discussions that al-Qaeda
agents are active in West Africa, including Nigeria, which
has a large Muslim population in the north. In East Africa,
Somalia is also increasingly regarded as a base for al-Qaeda
agents. Somalia lacks any coherent central government and
is close to Yemen, which, in turn, has a porous border with
Saudi Arabia – the main prize in al-Qaeda’s holy
war.
Sudan is now looming large in the intelligence community.
In late June Greek authorities seized a merchant ship loaded
with 680 tons of explosives and thousands of detonators.
The ship was destined for Sudan – to a company that
does not exist. Sudanese authorities denied any terrorist
links and stated that the explosives were for road construction.
Considering that the Sudanese government is strongly Islamic,
that Osama bin-Laden once lived in the country and that
vast regions of the country are out of government control,
the road construction story does not carry much weight.
It is thought by intelligence agencies that western Sudan
has a number of al-Qaeda bases, which are being used to
plan attacks against U.S., European and local government
assets in the broad arc from Morocco’s Atlantic coast
through the Middle East and into Southeast Asia. Indeed,
Sudan borders Egypt, which has its own number of radical
Islamic organizations.
George Bush is only the third American president (Jimmy
Carter and Bill Clinton being the others) to make an extended
visit to Africa. Earlier in his presidency he launched a
new policy against AIDS in Africa and promised greater amounts
of U.S. assistance to the region. One of the countries on
the Bush trip is Uganda – a country that borders Sudan
and has a long history of supporting rebel groups in that
country. Uganda’s President Museveni is a shrewd geopolitical
player. He has little desire to see the Islamists in Sudan
gain greater power nor does he wish to surrender the buffer
created by the largely Christian southern Sudan which has
long fought the more Arab north. What may make geopolitical
sense for Uganda may make sense for Washington.
While it is a positive development that the United States
is taking a more committed stance on Africa, the challenges
are substantial. The region has massive problems –
of a human, economic and political nature. In a number of
cases, the very survival of some form of central authority
is at stake. Add to this Africa becoming part of the game
map for geopolitical intrigue between al-Qaeda and the United
States. All things considered, we could be hearing a lot
more about Africa and the war against terrorism this summer.
Although Africa is not a core area for U.S. national security,
it is moving up the scale, requiring more time and effort.
A U.S. military intervention into Liberia for the United
Nations could be only part of what Washington may eventually
be forced to commit in Africa.
