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  • From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Africa-originally posted on 10/2
  • Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:37:48 -0500

Of course, we all took geography at some point in our lives, and we all
learned the African countries, but if you are as old as me or better,
you probably learned the colonial names. (since I wrote this on 10/2, we
had the Palin geography scandal, and now the recent revelation that it
was all a lie..tsktsk-machts nicht) Since those days, when Europe
pulled out and left a power vacuum, Africa, for the most part, has been
in turmoil. Arab influence in Africa predates European interests there.
Africa knew Islam hundreds of years before Columbus ever said Bon
voyage. In today's world, fundamentalism is sweeping African countries
just as it is sweeping SE Asia. While the civilized West looks the
other way, fundamentalist Islam is growing, and in it's wake there is
violence and civil unrest. Political instability abounds.

The following is a list of major countries in Africa. I omitted small
island countries like the Seychelles, but I wanted to see how receptive
African countries might be to Americans, whether or not I would be safe
if I visited, or what kind of danger I would face. Would it be rape,
murder, kidnapping, terrorism, civil disobedience...what would it be like?

Those with 3 stars have travel warnings due to the fact that travel to
that country would be dangerous to Americans(lack of embassy, war,
etc.)One star in front indicates Muslim country, either by decree or by
majority population. The source is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
Wiki, so take it for what it is worth.

*Algeria***, warning due to terrorism potential;
Angola,the civil war is apparently over, but there is unrest.
*Benin, crime
Botswana, ok
*Burkina Faso, crime
Burundi***, civil war over, but instability remains
*Cameroon, refugees from neighboring countries' wars, but ok
Central African Rep.***, politically unstable
*Chad***, politically unstable
Congo (Brazzaville), danger due to war in neighboring countries.
Congo (DRC, Zaire)***, politically unstable, UN peacekeeping force
Cote d'Ivoire***, political unstable-civil war
*Djibouti, politically stable, ok
*Egypt, terrorism potential, but ok
Equatorial Guinea, ok
Eritrea***, politically unstable
Ethiopia, generally stable, but border problems near Somalia and Eritrea
Gabon, terrorism potential, but generally ok
*Gambia, ok
Ghana, crime
*Guinea, some civil unrest but ok
*Guinea-Bissau, civil war, but presently stable
Kenya***, very high terrorism potential
Lesotho, some instability, but ok
Liberia, civil war over, but instability remains
*Libya, high terrorism potential but ok
Malawi, generally ok
*Mali, terrorists in Northern Mali, but ok otherwise
*Mauritania, high terrorism potential
*Morocco, high terrorism potential
*Mozambique, generally ok
Namibia, crime, but ok
*Niger, isolated unrest, but ok
*Nigeria***, political instability, high crime
Rwanda, stabilizing government, generally ok
*Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Western Sahara, politically unstable,
but stabilizing
*Senegal, some unrest, but ok
*Sierra Leone, stabilizing after civil war
*Somalia***widespread war
South Africa, generally ok
*Sudan***, civil war in Darfur region
Swaziland, generally ok
Tanzania, terrorism potential
Togo, some political unrest and crime
*Tunisia, generally ok, but has open border with Algeria
*Uganda, unstable as it borders warring countries
Zambia, unrest in northern areas near DRC
Zimbabwe, politically unstable


Much of north Africa is Muslim. Islam is growing in Africa, and as
Islam spreads, so does Fundamentalism. Already, the fundamentalist
regimes are undermining stability in East Africa in countries like
Somalia and Sudan. Al Qaida is active and becomes stronger everyday.
If we are to survive another 100 years, we have to stop the spread of
fundamentalist Islam. They don't negotiate. They won't talk to
infidels. They are right and there is no discussion. In some African
countries, you can be imprisoned or possibly killed for proselytizing or
trying to convert Muslims to another faith.


From Ontheissues, here is a partial list of Obama's quotes on African


relations:
(http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm)
Note that I wrote this originally 6 weeks ago, and in that time, Congo
is now back at war, and Angola is sending troops to the Congo. Things
are very fluid in Africa and what looked like Obama's peace, has once
again erupted into war. I personally wonder if it is perhaps related to
his win-are they looking for another 52 million?

* Moral obligation to intervene in Darfur (7/2008)
* China is a competitor but not an enemy. (Dec 2007)
* Wrote 2006 law stabilizing Congo with $52M. (Oct 2007)
* $50B annually to strengthen states at risk of collapse. (8/2007)
* At college, protested for divestment from South Africa. (Aug 2007)
* Increased aid to Republic of Congo. (Aug 2007)
* Visited largest slum in Africa, to publicize its plight. (8/2007)
* No-fly zone in Darfur; but pay attention more in Africa. (6/2007)
* U.S. funds for humanitarian aid to Darfur. (Mar 2007)
* Focus on corruption to improve African development. (10/2006)
* Visited Africa in 2006; encouraged HIV testing. (10/2006)
* Sponsored aid bill to avert crisis in Congo. (12/2005)
* Sanction Mugabe until Zimbabwe transitions to democracy. (4/2008)


So here's the premise(discuss amongst yourselves..)
There are quite a lot of ambitions there, and much of it involves
sending more money to Africa. Why should we do that in light of recent
bailouts and economic woes? Simple. This would be diplomacy in the
modern world. Diplomacy equates to money. For Africa, talk is cheap.
They have so many problems there that they need more than talk.
President Obama WILL get us more involved in African issues. If our
goodwill to various African countries and causes helps us fight
fundamental Islam, then so be it. It will be money well spent, at least
as effective as the billions we are spending 'fighting terror' in Asia.
Perhaps it is not too late for us to win 'hearts and minds' in Africa.

Have y'all given any thought to any of this? How do you feel about the
billions more we will spend in Africa? Do you think this is where our
aid should go, or should we be looking closer to home?







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