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Africa Is Not Toeing The US Line on Ukraine

Junious Ricardo Stanton

“When President Biden announced sanctions against Russia over their February, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he called it a battle of democracy over tyranny. He expected Africa to rally to the US lead. Unsurprisingly, not one of Africa’s 54 countries as joined US sanctions against Russia. Many are neutral; some even supporting Russia’s war to prevent NATO’s eastward expansion to Russia’s borders and gain independence of Ukrainian Donbas from Kyiv aggression that has killed thousands of Ukrainians there.” Africa All Out 54-0 Against Joining Biden’s Proxy War on Russia by Walt Zlotow Posted on April 4, 2023 https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2023/04/04/africa-all-out-54-0-against-joining-bidens-proxy-war-on-russia/

I’ve been saying for a good while now the world is choosing sides and the US/NATO/Israel axis is not the team the Global South, the Arab block, Asia nor Oceana (except for Japan, New Zealand and Australia) want to join or play with. When Russia initiated its Special Military Operation in Ukraine over a year ago the US responded by issuing multilevel sanctions against Russia and some of its citizens. Uncle Sam expected the rest of the world to dutifully go along and acquiesce to everything the US wanted.

But so far US policymakers who by the way paid for and executed the 2014 coupe d’état that toppled the democratically elected Ukrainian government and replaced it with a pro US quisling, are not having much success getting the rest of the non-Western world to go along with their plans. The Biden administration has been scrambling to get African leaders back in the fold with no success! Good for our African kin, they see the handwriting on the wall.

The US has sent the big guns to visit the African continent to get the various leaders on board with their numerous agendas such as: COVID vaccines, support for the US in Ukraine, trade and commerce etc. The African have been reluctant to go along with the US agenda. Interestingly the African continent is the lowest vaccinated continent on the planet and the COVID infection rates continent wide are extremely low! https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/  Their rejection of the vaccines paid off. Africa is buying into the climate crisis narrative but not like other regions around the world because the continent is facing real challenges with desertification, draught and food security.

The US Secretary of State, the Vice President, the First Lady and a host of lessor diplomates have visited the African continent in an effort to persuade African leaders to sign on to their various agendas. The US even sponsored a US- African Leaders Summit from December 13-15 2022 in Washington D.C. to discuss a myriad of issues supposedly designed to engage Africans as equal partners in trade, regional matters, advancing “peace and security” and reinforce the US-African commitment to “democracy and human rights.”  https://www.state.gov/africasummit/  

This is noble sounding verbiage and goals but the reality on the ground is far different. The track record of the US is not good when it comes to dealing with Africa and Africans. Thus far their overtures don’t seem to have produced the desired results. For example, African leaders have not taken America’s side in the proxy war against Russia, and for very good reason. It is the US not Russia that is engaged in mischief and neocolonial skullduggery in Africa.

“For starters, the US was delusional Africa would follow America’s proxy war on Russia. It’s the US, not Russia that is bombing Africans in Somalia, Niger and possibly others. It was the US, not Russia that supported colonialism and neo-colonialism in Africa to suppress nationalist movements assumed to be led by commies. Even if Marxists were involved, that was none of Uncle Sam’s business. Since 2008, US trained officials attempted at least 9 African coups… Instead of sanctimonious, self-serving adulations of American ideals, President Biden might consider ending US drone strikes in Africa killing many. Stop bullying African leaders to blindly support our proxy war. Remove our 29 African military bases and bring home the troops defiling Africa sovereignty. No more African coup plotting might help as well.” Africa All Out 54-0 Against Joining Biden’s Proxy War on Russia by Walt Zlotow https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2023/04/04/africa-all-out-54-0-against-joining-bidens-proxy-war-on-russia/

Uncle Sam finds himself in a dilemma and a conundrum of his own making. All of a sudden, the US wants to recognize Africa, partner with the various nations and respect their sovereignty. However this new stance belies their real history on the continent, a history of assassinations and coups instigated by the US https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36303327, .Our African brethren are hip to the game and seem to be saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” Africans  are fully aware of the US ongoing history of imperialism and neocolonialism. https://theintercept.com/2022/01/26/burkina-faso-coup-us-military/

The most obvious example of the waning influence of American foreign policy is how the world and Africans in particular are refusing to go along with the US proxy war in Ukraine. “ “The African response to the war in Ukraine surprised the US and Europe. Not one country in Africa has joined the US led sanctions on Russia and the dominant stance of the continent has been neutrality. The US and its European allies expected strong support from Africa and strong condemnation of Russia. Instead, they got neutrality from most, a lack of condemnation of Russia from many, and the blame being placed on the US and NATO by several.” The War In Ukraine and How Africa Surprised the West by Ted Snider  https://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2023/04/02/the-war-in-ukraine-and-how-africa-surprised-the-west/ . Yea, good for our African brethren!

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