Bolton tells African nations to toe US line
WASHINGTON — US National Security Adviser John Bolton on Thursday rolled out the US government’s new Africa strategy, which threatens to put an end to the nation’s support for UN peacekeeping missions on the continent.
Bolton said the new strategy, which has been approved by US President Donald Trump, will be executed “immediately”.
While explaining the content of the strategy in a speech at the Heritage Foundation think tank, Bolton noted that Washington seeks to expand commercial relations with African nations across the region, combat terrorism and ensure that US aid is used “efficiently and effectively”.
The US government’s top priority will be to develop its economic ties with the region to facilitate US-African business ties and protect US national security interests, he said.
While announcing the “Prosper Africa” initiative, Bolton urged African nations to choose “highquality, transparent, inclusive, and sustainable foreign investment projects, including those from the United States”, but he did not elaborate on this concept.
He said that the initiative may require “additional legislative authority”, but failed to specify details such as decision-making and the target countries.
He said he expected the details of the initiative to be rolled out after Trump’s first overseas visit in 2019.
Bolton said that Washington, while implementing the strategy, would “reevaluate” US foreign assistance to the region and around the globe in order to ensure that the aid could obtain satisfactory results for the US people.
“The United States will no longer provide indiscriminate assistance across the entire continent,” he said.
“Countries that repeatedly vote against the United States in international forums, or take action counter to US interests, should not receive generous American foreign aid.
“We will make certain that all aid to the region — whether for security, humanitarian, or development needs — advances US interests,” he said.
Bolton, a widely known critic of multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, also said that Washington would seek to “streamline, reconfigure or terminate” UN peacekeeping missions unless they “facilitate lasting peace”.
Washington will re-evaluate its support for UN peacekeeping missions rather than providing legitimacy to missions that give large payouts to disqualified countries, Bolton said, adding that the US review of its foreign aid is very near completion.
It’s time for African governments to take the lead themselves in peacekeeping operations, he said.
Bolton’s speech was also notable for its hostility toward the economic assistance and development aid provided to Africa by nations such as Russia and China.
Judd Devermont, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said he was disappointed that Bolton’s presentation lacked details on US plans.
“We didn’t get many details on what the ‘Prosper Africa’ approach looks like and how it would be resourced. Those should have been the headlines of the strategy.”
“We need a greater articulation on what are the sectors that the US government wants to prioritize in Africa for US investment,” Devermont said. “They should be transparent with the Africans to explain why certain countries are getting the bulk of the investment.”
After the speech that trumpeted the “America First” note, a signature philosophy of the US government, Bolton said on social media that the strategy reflects “the core tenets” of Trump’s foreign policy doctrine.
Paul Mcleary, an analyst, said on social media after the speech that “Bolton issues direct threat against African countries who don’t adhere to US policy goals”.