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Tag Archives: CSIS

CSIS: A Western Journalist Speaks on the Congo and a Former US Ambassador in the DRC Obliquely Criticizes Rwanda

04 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by africaindc in Events, Uncategorized

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AllAfrica, Anjan Sundaram, Congo, CSIS, Nii Akuetteh, Paul Kagame, Rwanda, Stringer: A Reporter's Journey in the Congo, Tami Hultman, William Garvelink

Sundaram

Sundaram speaking with Hultman

I recently complained about remarks I heard by former US Ambassador in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, William Garvelink.  He spoke at CSIS yesterday at a book event for Anjan Sundaram, who has recently published a book on his experiences as a journalist in the Congo from 2005 – 2007 (he went there right after graduating from Yale).  I thought that I might be able to get another sourpuss post from yesterday’s event, but that was not particularly the case (at least in regards to Garvelink).  That honor went to Tami Hultman, co-founder of AllAfrica.

Continue reading →

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William Garvelink, Former DRC Ambassador Has an Interesting, Short-sighted Perspective

27 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, Events

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CSIS, DRC, Joseph Kabila, Laurent Kabila, Resilience, US Policy in the Congo, William Garvelink

Listening to a live webcast of a CSIS event on ‘Resilience: Learning from Practice Across the Development Spectrum‘ I was struck by the comments of Ambassador William Garvelink, who represented US interests in the DRC from 2007 – 2010 (I also still have no idea what Resilience is, but that’s another matter).

Garvelink noted that 2013 was a good year for the Congo and that generally, the country is moving in the right direction.  This instantly raised flags for me as the current president of the DRC is in office as a result of a successful armed rebellion against the State and presided over a deeply flawed election in 2011 (in which he changed the constitution to make his election easier – the same thing that Abdoulaye Wade tried unsuccessfully to do the following year and which garnered much criticism).

Although his time was limited, Garvelink also managed to obfuscate history, noting that as Rwanda and Uganda attempted to overthrow the Congolese government, the Kabila administration is justifiably more concerned with its survival than everyday governance (bizarrely, he even gave kudos to Angola and Zimbabwe for saving the government).

In my view, the very fact that the Kabila administration came to power through an armed insurrection (originally aided by Uganda and Rwanda before they changed sides) provides a challenge to its legitimacy and weakens its credibility.  Coming to power through force will mean that continued violence remains a strong possibility and that one’s interests in governing are likely perverted.

It’s generally agreed that US support for the egomaniacal Mobutu for several decades was detrimental to the development of the DR Congo.  I think there’s a very good chance that history will tell the same story with the US support for the Kabila’s.  Intriguingly, according to Wikipedia, Ambassador Garvelink pursued doctoral studies in history.

Historians generally have perspective.  Ambassador Garvelink and perhaps US policy to the Congo on the whole, seems to lack this trait.

 

 

Guest Post: CSIS Looks at Powering Africa’s Progress

15 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by africaindc in Events, Uncategorized

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African Development Bank, Africare, CSIS, Darius Mans, Donald Kaberuka, Heirs Holdings, ONE Campaign, Power Africa, Tony Elumelu

Read on for a guest post on an event sponsored by CSIS last Friday that consisted of a “conversation on impact investing, electricity access, and increasing infrastructure delivery through public-private collaboration” with the head of Africare, President of the One Campaign, President of the African Development Bank, and a Major Nigerian financier.

Even though it was raining cats and dogs, the room was completely packed (standing room only).  The room was filled with official looking people in their best business attire. Speaking of business attire, I was surprised at the number of women who showed up in heels and flats ( I repeat, it was raining cats and dogs). You notice these kinds of things when your feet are sweating in your rain boots. Continue reading →

CSIS Africa Notes Review #1: Whither Zimbabwe?

17 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by africaindc in Uncategorized

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black empowerment Zimbabwe, CSIS, CSIS Africa Note, indigenization Zimbabwe, Michael Clough, PF - ZAPU, Robert Mugabe, whites in Zimbabwe, ZANU - PF militancy, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe election, Zimbabwe sanctions

I have previously committed to analyzing several of the CSIS Africa notes, monthly updates on a single issue from the CSIS Africa program that were distributed between 1982 and 2006.  In honor of my personal interest in Zimbabwe and the forthcoming elections, I will begin my review with an analysis of the November, 1983 note on ‘Whither Zimbabwe?’ by Michael Clough, a political scientist who has had affiliations with the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the University of California – Berkeley (note: I had never heard of him before reading this piece).

What instantly struck me about ‘Whither Zimbabwe?’ is Continue reading →

Lara Logan and David Brooks Lambast the Obama Administration’s Foreign Policy

14 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, Events, Uncategorized

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Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, Benghazi, CSIS, David Brooks, John Hamre, Lara Logan, Mali, Syria

2013-05-13 18.38.59

This month’s Schieffer Series Dialogues in Public Policy and the Media examined ‘Foreign Policy Challenges for President Obama’s Second Term’ with Lara Logan, the chief foreign correspondent for CBS and the New York Times columnist David Brooks (John Hamre, the President of CSIS, which hosts the Schieffer Series was also present).  I was doubtful that Africa would come up in the discussion, but I thought it would be good to confirm in person – additionally, Lara Logan is a South African (Durban) native. Continue reading →

SAIS, CSIS & the Embassy of Niger Tackle Governance & Security in the Sahel

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by africaindc in Uncategorized

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Algeria, Amadou Toumani Touré, AQIM, CSIS, Goodluck Jonathan, Libya, Mali, Maman Sidikou, Niger, Sahel, SAIS

I made it to the final of the 4 panels that SAIS’ “Governance and Security in the Sahelian States: From Crisis to Sustainable Recovery” Conference convened over the past two days (disclaimer – I left at the tail end of the Q&A).

The panel had a strong DC flavor, as it included Jennifer Cooke of CSIS, the Ambassador of Niger, Maman Sidikou, and John Paden, a professor at George Mason.  The lone foreign interloper was Hugh Roberts, a professor at Tufts who was also a regional interloper as he is a North African (Algeria) specialist.

Jennifer Cooke got things started, Continue reading →

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