By Charles W. Corey
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WASHINGTON, D.C., 

Mar 5, 2010 — AFRICOM PAO note: The following article, by the U.S. Department of State, is provided for public awareness of U.S. policy in Africa. As a military organization, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) does not lead U.S. foreign policy but instead supports policies articulated by elected civilian leaders.

Just back from a lengthy trip to sub-Saharan Africa, the top U.S. envoy for the region said he saw powerful success stories there.

In a February 28, 2010 interview with Reed Kramer, the chief executive officer and founder of AllAfrica Global Media, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson reviewed his trip to Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ethiopia and discussed U.S. policy priorities and developments across the continent.

"In Ghana, President John Atta Mills has demonstrated outstanding leadership in his first year and a half in office," Carson told Kramer. "He continues to put the interest of his country and his people before all else, and I think they're doing very well in Ghana."

Ghana is expected to be a major oil producer in the next two years, Carson said. "I think they have learned that oil can be both a blessing and a curse. They know there are two ways to go -- to take the Norwegian model or to take the Nigerian model. Oil has been a tremendous asset in helping Norway and its citizens become more affluent, more educated and more economically resourceful.

"Nigerian oil has been a curse and has left the Niger Delta an environmental disaster, and it has left conflict in its wake," Carson said. "The Ghanaians realize this, and I think they will be good stewards of their oil and good stewards of their resources. I think they will use their resources on the basis of a strong democratic underpinning, and that's a good thing. That's a good news story."

Another good news story is Benin, Carson told Kramer. "We sometimes overlook small countries that are doing remarkably well. Benin, under its current democratic president, Yayi Boni, is using resources, as meager as they are, well and on behalf of the people. They've had an MCC [Millennium Challenge Corporation] compact -- one of the early recipient countries -- and they've used their MCC money extraordinarily well to work on agriculture, infrastructure and business projects. They're looking forward to successfully finishing their projects and making another request," he said.

"We forget that in the 1960s and 1970s there were more coups d'etat in Benin than almost every other place in Africa, probably with the exception of Nigeria," Carson recalled. "But over the last two decades, we've seen successive democratic elections there. We've seen President [Mathieu] Kerekou win. We've seen President [Nicephore] Soglo win. We've seen a reversal with Kerekou coming back. That's a compliment to the people of Benin."

Turning to Togo, which sits between two democratic states (Benin and Ghana), Carson said the United States hoped that country would also have good elections March 4. "Togo is at a crossroads, and if these ... presidential elections can be free and fair, Togo could begin its march towards a more representative democracy that spends a lot more time on building the country's economy and restoring critical infrastructure. I think that's a possibility."

Carson complimented democratic and development trends in South Africa, Botswana, Liberia, Zambia, Tanzania, Mali, Cape Verde and Mauritius as well. "There are a number of countries that should be applauded for their progress," he said.

Asked how the United States can encourage political and economic progress in Africa, the career diplomat said it can come about through political good will, positive encouragement, constant support for civil society and the principles of democracy, a constant dialogue with those who are part of the political elite, and support for civil society and an independent press. What is also needed, he said, is "a willingness to put our resources and money on the table to help reform -- institutional reform that will strengthen democracy. We should come to the table with resources to help."

Carson quickly cautioned, however: "If we see people not doing the right things, people who are undermining the values of democracy, people who are corrupt, we should not only step back, but we should criticize in a principled fashion. We should be engaged and we should encourage others to be engaged as well. That's absolutely critical."

On Nigeria, Carson said: "The Nigerian political elite made a strategic choice, and they made it in favor of democracy. They made it in favor of trying to work out a solution acceptable to the North and South, East and West, designed to create stability, constitutionalism and rule of law, including how a succession to the presidency is handled under an unexpected and adverse situation.

"We hope that this difficult period they're going through now not only will test their young democratic institutions but will strengthen them and harden them like a piece of steel as they go forward."

On the recent coup d'etat in Niger, Carson said: "All coups are bad, whether they are the extra-legal sort that President [Mamadou] Tandja carried out in December or a military coup of the type carried out last week by military officers. They both are designed to promote the interests of small segments of the population for their own interests."

The United States was firmly against what President Tandja did in December by extending his term of office, Carson stressed. "If the individuals responsible for the intervention by the military really believe in democracy, they should set a swift timetable for an immediate return to democratic rule. And they should follow the AU [African Union] norms in that none of those involved in that coup d'état run for office. Those who tear down should not be allowed to benefit from the rebuilding."

On Guinea, Carson said he is optimistic. "A civilian-led transitional government is in power. The military has moved off to the side. None of the individuals who were involved in the coup or in the violent events that occurred [during a pro-democracy demonstration] at the end of September in the stadium will be allowed to run for office, and there's still a commitment to hold elections within the six months agreed to by all the parties."

Everyone seems to be supportive of the Ouagadougou Accords that were worked out by President Blaise Compaore, he said. It is also important that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the international community continue to play a monitoring role in that country, he added.

Carson said he would like to see a small ECOWAS civilian and military observer force on the ground there. "It would provide additional diplomatic eyes and ears for the ECOWAS community. It provides confidence and reassurance to the civilian population, who has been betrayed before. And it provides a watchdog to let the military know that their actions will be seen by the international community."

Asked about U.S. priorities in the Horn of Africa, Carson said the most important issue there is Sudan, where "we are looking for the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [CPA] between the North and South."

Carson said the United States fully expects there to be a referendum in January 2011 that will allow the people of Southern Sudan the right to remain a part of Sudan or to vote for independence. "Making sure that the CPA is implemented, the referendum is held and that people are allowed to make a choice is a key priority in the area," he stressed.

Also on Sudan, Carson said seeing an end to the humanitarian and political crisis in Darfur is also urgently needed. He also acknowledged "some significant and positive progress in the improvement in relations" between Chad and Sudan, and said the United States hopes that that will contribute to both stability and a return to a normal situation in Darfur.

A second major priority in the Horn Carson identified is Somalia. "We continue to support the Djibouti Process, the TFG [Transitional Federal Government], and Sheikh Sharif's government. We think it is important to marshal as much support as we can behind this process to help strengthen it, and to give Somalia an opportunity to come out from a political nightmare and a security nightmare that has gone on for two decades. We support the AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia] effort and we hope that more countries would support it," he added.

Third, Carson said the United States wants to see Kenya move forward, and he identified a fourth priority item: a more balanced, broad-based and comprehensive relationship with Ethiopia.

"Our relationship with Ethiopia on the security-sector front has been excellent. We want to ensure that we can have a dialogue with Ethiopia on critical issues concerning economic development, democracy and human rights. We want all of those areas to be as significant and as important and as good as that security relationship is. It's not a zero-sum game. The pie is large enough to grow, but we want to see things happen there that are much more positive, especially on the economic front."

Read the AllAfrica interview with Johnnie Carson at http://www.america.gov/st/develop-english/2010/March/20100302171007SztiwomoD0.3874018.html?CP.rss=true.