Abuja: The scope of United States military assistance to Nigeria and the U.S. new policy of using regional bloc leadership in solving crisis in Africa may be part of the reasons why the May 2, 2013 policy announced to civil rights activities in Abuja by U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terence P. McCulley on withdrawal of military cooperation with Nigeria was shelved. The Guardian investigations revealed that the Nigerian military was spared of the suspension for “alleged mass killings of civilians and destruction of property by security forces in Baga and Bama, Borno State” because such policy for now would be “counter-productive for U.S. security and strategic efforts in the sub-region as Nigeria is the regional leader and a major player in implementing U.S. security interests in the West African sub-region.”
Washington: Although Africa is moving forward, the United States is pulling back, says Mo Ibrahim, the billionaire entrepreneur and father of Africa's mobile phone revolution. "We are witnessing a gradual and continuous U.S. retreat from Africa," said Ibrahim, speaking at the Washington Hilton Hotel ballroom on Saturday at an event hosted by Africare. "We don't understand that. The U.S. has been a great friend all these years, but as soon as Africa found itself starting to move up, the U.S. is really disengaging, to be frank, and as friends we must be frank with each other."
Washington: Three months into the Obama Second Term - amidst a flurry of activity on the US-Africa trade and investment policy front - our colleagues at the Heritage Foundation, Brookings Institution, Corporate Council on Africa, and the Wilson Center, amongst others argue that there’s apparent ‘continuity rather than change in U.S. policy’ towards Africa; they suggest that the U.S. ‘has been slow to seize the opportunities availed by the new Africa;’ and also warn that ‘without a much better focused effort, the U.S. may lose the chance to play a substantial role (in) developing a region of major importance.’
Washington: There now exists a better chance for peace in eastern Congo than at any time since the current deadly cycle of conflict began in the mid-1990s. A number of variables contribute to this unique opportunity.
Washington: American security and prosperity is increasingly and inextricably linked to economic growth in developing countries. US engagement with these countries, long viewed through the lens of foreign aid, is poised to deepen and increase through a large and growing network of trade, investment, and development partnerships. This engagement can improve American lives while reducing poverty in developing countries. The US government and the private sector can and should do more - within current budgets - to accelerate this tremendous opportunity by using existing tools, technologies, and capabilities more effectively.
Washington: The Obama administration has asked Congress for authority to implement historic voting reforms in the International Monetary Fund that boost the influence of emerging economies like China in the global financial institution, sources said on Tuesday. But the plan faces an uphill battle for passage in a tense US budget environment marked by the launch of $85 billion in automatic spending cuts on Friday that hit both the U.S. military and domestic programs hard. The Treasury Department submitted the request as a provision to be inserted into pending legislation to keep the US government funded through September 30 this year, congressional aides said. The Treasury sought authority to shift $65 billion in US funding from an IMF crisis fund into U.S. quotas, which determine voting power in the Fund.
Washington: Advocacy groups working on global hunger and poverty are hailing rumoured proposals that would change the way the United States distributes its international food aid. The news comes just as President Barack Obama is finalising his highly anticipated national budget proposal for fiscal year 2014, the most specific indicator yet of the president’s policy vision as he starts his second term in office.
Washington: Decorated Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel was sworn in as U.S. defense secretary on Wednesday after a bruising Senate confirmation battle, promising to renew old U.S. alliances and forge new ones without attempting to "dictate" to the world. Addressing Pentagon employees shortly after a small, closed-door swearing-in ceremony, Hagel spoke optimistically, if vaguely, about global challenges ahead and the importance of American leadership abroad.
Charlottesville: I came here purposefully to underscore that in today’s global world, there is no longer anything foreign about foreign policy. More than ever before, the decisions that we make from the safety of our shores don’t just ripple outward; they also create a current right here in America. How we conduct our foreign policy matters more than ever before to our everyday lives, to the opportunities of all those students I met standing outside, whatever year they are here, thinking about the future. It’s important not just in terms of the threats that we face, but the products that we buy, the goods that we sell, and the opportunity that we provide for economic growth and vitality.
Princeton: Republicans and Democrats broadly agree that goals related to defending US national security interests and securing adequate energy supplies are paramount among nine possible US foreign policy goals Gallup recently tested. However, partisans differ on the relative importance for the US of promoting democracy, human rights, and international cooperation.
