Africa Notes: Some Lessons From the Past and Some Thoughts for the Future on U.S. Policy in Africa - January 1992
In my last contribution to CSIS Africa Notes in May 1989 ("If the Cold War is Over in Africa, Will the United States Still Care?," issue no. 98), the conclusion was cautiously optimistic: "There are . . . sound reasons for continued U.S. interest in Africa. One is to keep it off the East-West chessboard by working to end old conflicts and to help avert new ones. A more peaceful Africa would also be an economically healthier one, capable of developing its own resources, defending its own economic interests, and getting off the international dole and back into the global marketplace. The traditional U.S. zeal to help the needy, respect self-determination, and support pluralistic (and any prospect of democratic} development will have new scope now that ideological considerations seem to be on the wane. There is much to be done to reconstruct and revivify Africa in its struggle against its natural and economic enemies ... . " As of January 1992, this judgment warrants reexamination.