LITTLE ROCK — If the only headlines you've heard out of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to Africa were that she was overshadowed by her husband's North Korean trip and that she snapped at a reporter who seemed to be asking her about the former president, then you missed the real story.
Her dizzying seven-nation, 11-day trip, begun just weeks after President Barack Obama visited Ghana and implored African governments to responsibly control their futures, underscores the importance of Africa in U.S. foreign policy. Clinton's trip highlighted some uncomfortable truths about Africa, and it should be judged a diplomatic success, not just a whirlwind meet-and-greet. For example:
In Kenya, Clinton attended a trade meeting and separately admonished leaders for failing to implement fully a powersharing agreement and move the country past legislative gridlock and corruption.And while in Kenya, she met with Somalia's transitional president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and warned that the U.S. will "take action" against Eritrea if it does not stop supporting militants in Somalia.
In war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, she visited a camp for displaced persons and spoke out against rape and other violent acts against women.
In Nigeria, which some have dubbed"the Pakistan of Africa," Clinton urged an end to graft and warned that persistent religious violence and chaos could make Nigeria a target and breeding ground for al-Qaeda.
In Liberia, she redoubled the good governance message by lauding that nation's transition from a brutal and senseless civil war to a country now healing under the leadership of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the continent's first democratically elected female president.
These developments are key to U.S. strategy on numerous fronts. The energy rich continent provides more oil to the United States than the Middle East. China is increasing its investments-and influence-across Africa, including in places like Sudan, where Chinese investments indirectly prop up a brutal regime. And despite greater world attention, much of Africa remains plagued by political corruption, poverty and disease.
The Bush administration's Millennium Challenge Corp. put Africa back on the United States' radar. Now this trip and Obama's recently announced $3.5-billion commitment to a G-8 initiative to bolster agricultural production helps maintain that focus. In the end, African leaders have to reject blood rivalries, provide more jobs, improve living standards and commit to govern lawfully.
Editorial, Pages 10 on 08/24/2009