Tillerson arrives in Africa with a narrow mission: Counterterrorism
JOHANNESBURG – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s five-nation itinerary told African leaders everything they needed to know about the Trump administration’s approach to the continent _ counterterrorism is in. Human rights and democracy, not so much.
His tour of the African countries focuses squarely on counterterrorism and security, visiting nations engaged in battling Islamist terrorism, including Djibouti, home to Camp Lemonnier, America’s largest and most important African military base. Democracy, human rights and development take a back seat under the Trump administration, with sharp cuts in foreign aid.
Previous U.S. administrations Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 16.
have tended to woo African nations with good records on governance, rights and democracy. But with China edging out Western interests, dealing with dictators and democrats alike, the Trump administration appears to be adopting a more pragmatic approach, homing in on what matters
most to Washington: containing the threat of terrorism in East Africa and the Sahel.
Tillerson’s visit comes less than two months after President Donald Trump described African nations as “shithole countries” in comments at an Oval Office migration briefing to lawmakers – comments he later denied.
Trump’s remarks outraged African leaders and were condemned by the African Union, the continental leadership body. They also came amid other signs the U.S. had sharply downgraded Africa as a global priority, including Trump’s failure to fill key diplomatic posts, more than a year after taking office.
Tillerson’s visit began Wednesday evening in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital and headquarters of the African Union, where he was to meet union leaders.
Ethiopia, authoritarian and opaque, is a close U.S. ally in its counterterrorism operations in East Africa, notably against al-shabab, the extremist group fighting the U.n.backed Somali government.