Media Reaction: Secretary of State's Trip to Africa

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DEPT FOR AF/PD Patricia Ehrnman, Shirley Lisenby; AF/W VHarper

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SUBJECT: Media Reaction: Secretary of State's Trip to Africa


1. Summary: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's African trip
generated an editorial in a Beninese right-of-center independent
daily newspaper. The author views the Secretary of State's
seven-nation trip to Africa as a response to China's growing
presence on the continent. End summary.


2. On August 7, the right-of-center independent daily L'Autre
Quotidien carried an editorial titled, "Hillary Clinton in Africa:
Will the war between China and the United States take place in
Africa?" The editorial postulates that the U.S. and Chinese
interests in Africa were historically more strategic and
ideological, rather than financial and that there is not a shadow of
a doubt that the CIA was involved in the elimination of Patrice
Lumumba because of his "progressive" position regarding communism.
The author further opined that "From the nineties, towards the end
of the cold war, the Chinese were seeking to obtain raw materials,
including the agricultural products, while Americans were more
interested in oil, exploring all the African coasts, from Mauritania
to Angola, via Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe, which undoubtedly
explains the Secretary of State' decision to visit Nigeria.... "In
the seventies and eighties, Washington did not wait for the oil boom
to support Jonas Savimbi's UNITA party against the ruling party, the
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, then supported by
Russia and its ally, Cuba." ... "Thus, by visiting Angola, even
if Secretary Clinton is pursuing the oil angle, her visit is also
motivated by the desire to support democracy and President Eduardo
dos Santos."


3. In the 1990's in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a
crossroads in Africa described as a geological scandal because of
the immense underground mineral resources, dark clouds rose between
the U.S. and China because power was held by Laurent-Desire Kabila,
a Lumumba sympathizer who was close to China. But with Joseph
Kabila as President, everything became possible again.


4. The stop in South-Africa is seen as a way to honor the symbol of
a post-apartheid multiracial nation that has the support of the
United States and is also the continent's strongest economy. The
author characterizes Liberia as another symbol worth visiting
because it is the first independent state in Africa, partially
populated with emancipated slaves, but also the first African
country to have elected a woman as President.


5. If Cape Verde is a model of good governance, according to
Washington, Kenya no longer benefits from U.S. affection because of
the 2007 electoral violence. However, Kenya is still somewhat
important because of its geographical position and its importance in
the fight against terror.


6. The author summarizes the U.S. Secretary of State's trip to
Africa as focusing on oil, good governance, and the fight against
terrorism. He asserts, in contrast, that the Chinese are looking
for raw materials and they are not preoccupied with terrorism or
corruption. Their main concern is to isolate Taiwan and pull the
rug from under the Tibetans. Given that each country has a specific
concern, what is the likelihood that the Chinese and Americans will
cross each other on the African continent?"

Brown