Susan Rice, the
War-Lord-Dictator of African Dictators
Amanuel
Biedemariam
It
is hard to imagine but true, the hawkish Susan Rice wields tremendous power and
influence on African matters in the White House and on the dictators of Africa
that kowtow to her whims. Absent of solid US Africa policy, absent of mature
balanced approach and, absent of African experts with power in higher places;
Susan Rice, as a security advisor, has the ears of trigger happy President in
the White House.
On
an interview with the Voice Of America Amharic, Ambassador Herman Cohen, who at
one time was United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
from 1989 to 1993, and mentored Ambassador, now Security advisor Susan Rice
said, “the sanctions on Eritrea are baseless and they are pushed by vindictive
individuals that have hatred towards President Isaias Afewerki. There is no
proof that links Eritrea with extremist elements in Somalia. Furthermore, in order for peace and
prosperity to reign on the Horn of Africa, there must be peace between Eritrea
and Ethiopia. That means Ethiopia must withdraw from Eritrean territories.”
The
vindictive person Ambassador Cohen is referring to is none other than Susan
Rice, who along with the late Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi designed and
manipulated the illegal and unjustifiable sanctions and handed the people of
Eritrea as a gift on Christmas Eve in 2009. What this demonstrates is the
vulnerabilities that individuals based on personal agendas could hold the US
national interest hostage.
How
can US national interest be served best in the HOA region?
Obviously
US policies in this region have not brought about the changes that the people
need to improve their living standards, the changes that they can believe in.
To the contrary, more divisions and pressures that can destabilize the region
are mounting. Will destabilized region better serve US strategic interests?
Yet, that appears to be what the Obama administration is after. The current
state of affairs in the region, is not sustainable, and can explode abruptly
sending the region into catastrophic downward spiral that neither the US nor
the people of the region can control.
On
September 25, 2014, President Obama met with Ethiopian officials in New York
City. Seated by his side were Susan Rice and the current United States
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Ambassador Linda
Thomas-Greenfield.
The
whole charade was a display of the Obama Administration’s failed moral standard
in the eyes of the international community, particularly the people of the Horn
of Africa and especially Ethiopians that hoped and believed to see positive
changes pushed by the administration.
To
the contrary, it was shameful to hear President Obama praise Ethiopia’s ruling
clique for economic gains while Ethiopia stands as one of the poorest nations
in the world. The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Index (OPHDI) reported,
in 2014, Ethiopia to be the second poorest nation, with 72.3 %percentage of
the population in “severe poverty”
(living on less than USD$1 a day) in the world. Human atrocities, genocides and
Human rights violation are reported widely by globally acclaimed experts on a
daily basis. Yet the Obama administration found it convenient to promote and
encourage global-acceptance of the regime.
The
Obama Administration has no coherent Horn of Africa policy. Whatever policy
that exists is dictated by Susan Rice. The fact that she was present alongside
the US President affirms the assertion.
The
embattled Susan Rice is known for her love of the genocidal regime in Ethiopia.
Her disregard for human rights, for African customs and culture was
demonstrated when she eulogized the genocidal murderer Meles Zenawi
unceremoniously in front of millions around the world in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.
When
it comes to Eritrea, her hate for President Isaias Afewerki and the people of
Eritrea has clouded her judgment to the point where she cannot differentiate
between American national interests and her personal feelings for Eritrea.
Her
actions, inaction and decisions have led to countless deaths and destruction in
Africa. After the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia erupted 1998, the then
Secretary for Africa Affairs Rice went on the offensive against Eritrea by
siding with Ethiopia. Ambassador Cohen is one of the African experts that told
Rice that she should not lose her neutrality because that would negate US from
playing effective future-diplomatic role. She ignored the advice and her
actions led to over 200,000 dead with problems lingering to-date with her hands
all over it.
The
Rwanda Genocide is one that will forever be linked with her reign as Secretary
for African Affairs. History will judge her harshly. The litany of her failures
is many, and as a result Africa paid heavy price without any accountability. It
is ironic that she keeps being rewarded with higher positions in the US
government to the point of Presidential advisor.
US African policies have
produced disastrous results in the Horn of Africa in the past and it continues
unabated. And Susan Rice was instrumental on driving every decision during the
Clinton and Obama Administration’s disastrous reigns. The current
administration appears to have no interest in changing the approach and the
substance of US policy towards the region. Furthermore, it is disappointing and
hopeless to see first, Ambassador Johnnie Carson and now Ambassador Linda
Thomas-Greenfield relegated to a job as messengers to Susan Rice’s crazy
adventurism.
Furthermore, unfortunately for Africa and particularly the Horn of
Africa, the same actors that spearheaded these failed policies are maneuvering
US agendas for the region to date. John Prendergast of Enough Project, Susan
Rice and Ted Dagne are amongst the architects that broke-up South Sudan from
Sudan. According
to the Reuters’ Special Report July 11, 2012, by Rebecca Hamilton “The wonks
who sold Washington on South Sudan (SS),” Ted Dagne, one of the architects
admitted that,
"I
pushed the envelope quite a lot."
Reuter’s
reported,
“In
1993, for instance, Dagne drafted a congressional resolution stating that
southern Sudanese had the right to self-determination. He passed his draft to
Johnston, who reviewed it and then presented it to his colleagues in Congress.
The resolution was not binding, but it passed unanimously. It was the first
time any part of the U.S. government had recognized the right of the
southerners to determine their own relationship to the Sudanese government.”
The
same actors that are responsible for the breakup are behind every decision, be
it Secretary Kerry’s Visit to Ethiopia to manipulate the negotiations between
the various factions of South Sudan (SS) or the sanctions on the leaders of SS.
The current sad-state of affairs of SS
is the result of their work and actions. Yet they are still tasked at
furthering US agendas in the region.
The
irony, the current global environment affords no time for Secretary Kerry who
is stretched- thin by Ukraine, Palestine, Syria, ISIS, Hong Kong etc… to focus
on African matters. This provides perfect opportunity for Susan Rice to reclaim
some relevance on African matters and room to direct the State Department from
inside the White House.
The
recent State Department travel warning on Eritrea is certainly a product of
Susan Rice’s work. The lies, fabrications and misrepresentations are designed
to nurture the Eritrea-agenda that Rice pursued for a while. It is designed to
isolate Eritrea and discourage investors from investing on Eritrea’s sizeable
mining sector. It is not coincidence, that the warning was released days before
the Eritrean Mining Conference was to take place and the Japanese delegation’s
visit.
Concluding
Remarks
The
changes that Africans could believe-in could only be achieved by Africans.
History should guide Africans that there will come no solution for their
problems from the west and its agents. What the likes of Rice push is further
instability that cannot serve the regions’ interests. They care very little
about the hungry crying children, the genocides and the killings What they care
about is furthering their personal interests. Susan Rice has done enough favors
to many African despots for years to win her enough clients on her future
lobbying activities. Hence, to expect positive change influenced by the likes
of Rice is fools dream.
Awetnayu_at_hotmail.com
http://www.tesfanews.net/shame-on-me-for-being-proud-of-president-obama/
http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USBRE86A0GC20120711
http://www.dataforall.org/dashboard/ophi/index.php/mpi/download_brief_files/ETH
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Received on Tue Oct 07 2014 - 16:52:35 EDT