War on the Rocks published on 26 September 2024 an analysis titled "Be Kennedy, Not Kissinger: What Cold War Competition in Guinea and Angola Can Teach Us about U.S. Influence in Western Africa" by Nathan Heath, National Security Innovations, Inc.
Drawing on U.S. Cold War policy, the author argues that the Kennedy administration followed a successful strategy in Guinea while Henry Kissinger pursued an unsuccessful one in Angola.
His lessons for U.S. policy in Africa today are the importance of high-level personal engagement, the need to seize openings when adversaries make mistakes, a coherent strategy, and drawing on help from countries with regional influence.
