Washington — The United States should increase its military readiness for peacekeeping or counter-terrorist action in Africa, and make new efforts to reach out to the region's Muslim population, according to a new report by a 16-member bipartisan expert panel.
Commissioned by Congress, the document, 'Rising U.S. Stakes in Africa', also calls for hiking U.S. economic aid to the continent, especially by promoting investment in oil and gas-producing countries -- primarily in West Africa -- which are expected to supply the United States with 20 percent of its oil imports by 2015.
"If these nations achieve greater stability, invest wisely, improve governance, and respect the rule of law, the benefits will be felt throughout the region", said the 170-page report.
"At the same time, vital U.S. interests in regional stability, counter-terrorism, human development and promotion of democracy and human rights will be advanced."
The task force, which was convened by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), included former senior policy makers from both Republican and Democratic governments, including the former top Africa official in the administration of President George W Bush, Walter Kansteiner, who stepped down earlier this year.
Other participants included ranking Republican and Democratic members of the two congressional Africa subcommittees, as well as the former deputy commander of U.S. military forces in Africa, retired Gen Carlton Fulford, Jr.
The report, which is clearly geared toward influencing whatever administration takes power in January after the November elections, offered no significant departures from current policy.
The one innovation appears to be its proposal for a "Muslim outreach" initiative to be pursued in sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative would be designed to halt the spread of Islamist radicalism, particularly in regions -- including the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and West Africa -- where most African Muslims are concentrated.
"With a Muslim population of well over 300 million, Africa provides a large pool for recruitment by Muslim extremists, and, at the same time, provides a unique opportunity for the United States to engage the Muslim world", according to the report. "The approach should emphasise constant engagement with Muslims representing the full spectrum of opinion, with special attention to communities' vulnerabilities".
The initiative, to be funded at some 200 million dollars a year, would provide increased development aid, educational programmes and pressure on Saudi Arabia to halt the flow of money from Saudi charities that are thought to fund radical groups.
At the same time, Washington should pursue a larger counter-terrorist strategy in the region that would feature efforts to limit small-arms trafficking; improve the collection of intelligence, particularly through the use of agents; train and supply African security, military and peace-keeping forces; and raise the level of U.S. military readiness in the region.
Since the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, the Bush administration has upgraded military ties with several African nations, such as Kenya and Nigeria, and raised its military profile in the region, especially in the Horn of Africa where it has deployed 2,000 Special Forces soldiers in Djibouti, and off the coast of West Africa.
At the same time, the task force stressed that combating terrorism requires much more than enhanced military and intelligence capabilities. "To be effective, policy makers will have to contend seriously with the very factors that attract terrorists: weak state partners; deep economic marginality and alienation; ethnic and religious fissures ... and fragile governance with often weak protections of democratic and human rights".
"For this reason, the U.S. response cannot be driven by security programmes alone; it also requires sustained attention to economic development, human rights and democratisation", added the report.
Washington should also do far more to support United Nations and regional peacekeeping and stabilisation operations in Africa, the task force argued, singling out Sudan for special attention.
The East African nation should not only be seen as mired in a humanitarian crisis, according to the group, but also as an opportunity to demonstrate to both the Arab world and to Africa, Washington's commitment to peace and reconstruction.
In particular, the administration should expedite diplomatic, economic and security initiatives to reinforce peace, both between the north and the south and in the western province of Darfur, and also promote political and economic reform.
"We believe there needs to be rapid deployment of a U.N.-sponsored chapter seven peacekeeping and monitoring force throughout Sudan -- north, south, east, west -- that includes a fully-equipped quick-response force of 500 to 600 international soldiers", said Rick Barton, co-director of the CSIS post-conflict reconstruction project and a former U.N. deputy high commissioner for refugees.
Contributing to multilateral peace and humanitarian aid efforts in Sudan offers a timely demonstration of U.S. goodwill toward Arabs and Muslims, the task force said. But at the same time, it added, Washington should provide counter-terrorism assistance to Khartoum with or without a final settlement of the country's internal conflicts.
The report also called for special attention to be paid to Somalia, particularly given its "role as a collapsed state that continues to provide a base of support and transit opportunities for al-Qaeda and its affiliates". In that connection, Washington should work with other countries to devise a road map for the restoration of civilian rule and elementary social services and the marginalisation of armed militias through naval interdiction and other measures to enforce an international arms embargo.
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On economic issues, the report prescribed continued liberalisation of the region's markets and greater support for efforts at reforming the financial sector to encourage local and foreign investment. It also praised the new U.S. Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), a one-billion-dollar facility that targets extra assistance to countries that are committed to market reforms, democratic governance, fighting corruption and respect for human rights.
As for AIDS and other health issues, the task force praised Bush's five-year, 15-billion-dollar programme, but stressed it should be more multilateral in nature. Under the plan, only one billion dollars would be provided to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, a multilateral agency set up to expedite the mobilisation and delivery of assistance to poor nations.
That recommendation comes just as Washington is facing a barrage of criticism at the annual U.N. AIDS meeting in Bangkok for its anti-HIV/AIDS policies and for slashing the size of its delegation to the meeting.
"The United States should systematically make multilateralism a central feature of its global HIV/AIDS efforts", the task force's report said.
