Africa and Terrorism

J. Peter Pham, a 2005 Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Fellow, has a vitally important piece in World Defense Review that FDD has republished on its website. Pham explicates some of the important reasons why we ought to be paying attention to Africa in the context of global, and especially Middle Eastern terrorism. he emphasizes the circumstances regarding the awful Sierra Leonian civil war, but then expands his focus:

The web of intrigue and violence surrounding the Sierra Leonean civil war is just one example among many others that could be cited where the conflicts of the Middle East, including the terrorist phenomena, have spilled over into Africa. Yet U.S. diplomatic and intelligence officials persist in minimizing links between challenges faced in Africa and those in the Middle East, including terrorist organizations and other militant Islamist groups. America needs to take Africa more seriously, for the sake of U.S. security interests if not for its own sake. The conditions that favored the emergence and success of terrorist groups elsewhere-corruption, lack of government control, little understood "informal networks," etc.-are present in abundance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa's "failed states" have been and continue to be ideal operating conditions for terrorists groups that threaten the precarious balance of our world.

Almost two-and-a-half years ago I wrote an article that was a broader cri di couer for greater American engagement with Africa. One of my main arguments was that terrorism could and will be a factor in Africa, and that if for no other reason than self interest, we really needed to start paying attention to events on that most overlooked of continents:

In the past, the mantra of the realpolitik crowd, those who insist upon a clear self-interest before America gets involved in foreign affairs, has always been predictable: "What's in it for us?" But with the massive oil interests we have on Africa's Atlantic Coast and with the clear and present danger of terrorism a daily factor in American lives, a lack of demonstrable interests is no longer an acceptable cry. But beyond this, Africa, for all of its misery, for all of the demagoguery of some of its leaders, for all of the seemingly inscrutable violence, represents both hope and opportunity.

Supporters of the war in Iraq have claimed that one of the main reasons to support our actions was that we could bring democracy and justice, in short, a better life, to Iraq's people. For many of these proponents this justification was mere revisionism, a convenient fallback position when WMDs and links to Al Qaeda proved elusive. But at its essence, there was a kernel of truth in the minds of many of the war's proponents. They truly believed that for all of its flaws, the United States can do good and do well at the same time. This should be a foundation for our approach to Africa: Do good. And then, when possible, do well.

I believed it to be true then. I think that it is just as true now. Maybe moreso. I am glad to see professor Pham's piece and hope that it draws the attention that his arguments warrant.