Kenya's Wrongheaded Approach to Terrorism

Hussein Khalid, executive director of the Kenyan nongovernmental organization  Haki Africa, wrote an oped for the Washington Post on 1 May 2015 titled "Kenya's Wrongheaded Approach to Terrorism."  He argues that Kenya's counterterrorism tactics are only making the situation in the country worse. 

Critique of US Policy in South Sudan

Foreign Policy published on 25 February 2015 a long critical analysis of US policy in South Sudan titled "Unmade in the USA: The Inside Story of a Foreign-Policy Failure" by Ty McCormick, associate editor at Foreign Policy.

The article seems to suggest that the United States failed to engage sufficiently at critical periods after the independence of South Sudan.  What the article fails to acknowledge is that key actors such as Salva Kiir and Riek Machar must have a predisposition to accept a solution if outside intervention is to have any impact.  It is not clear that predisposition is present. 

John Kerry and Susan Rice on South Sudan

US Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice wrote on oped for the Washington Post titled "South Sudan's Leaders Need to Set Aside Their Dispute" that appeared on 15 December 2014.  Without mentioning names, they place responsibility for ending the violence on "the country's leaders." 

US Promotes Security while China Does Business in Africa

Reuters published an oped on 30 May 2014 titled "In Africa: U.S. Promotes Security, China Does Business" by Larry Hanauer and Lyle Morris at the RAND Corporation.  Hanauer and Morris recently published an extensive analysis of China-Africa relations.  They point out that the United States is focused on counterterrorism, anti-piracy, and resolving conflicts in Africa while China emphasizes trade and investment.

Secretary of State Kerry in Africa

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently completed a visit to Ethiopia, South Sudan, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Voice of America's half hour Encounter Program with Carol Castiel reviewed the visit with Richard Downie, deputy director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and me.  

Conversation with Former US Special Envoy for Sudan

The U.S. Institute for Peace published a three part interview with Princeton Lyman, former U.S. special envoy for Sudan.  Part I dated 28 April 2014 is titled "Sudan National Dialogue."  Part II dated 30 April 2014 is titled "Sudan and the West."  Part III dated 2 May 2014 is titled "Sudan Looking Ahead."  The series offers useful insights on U.S. policy and the challenges for finding solutions to the problems in Sudan and South Sudan.

Testimony today before U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

I testified today before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (chaired by Senator Kerry) on the topic of "Toward a Comprehensive Strategy for Sudan." I was on a panel with Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Eisa, a physician and 2007 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Laureate, Sudan Organization for Rights and Peace-Building, Washington, D.C, and Susan Page, regional director, Southern and East Africa Programs, National Democratic Institute. A video recording of the committee can be found here. You can read my full testimony (in PDF format) here. UPDATE: My testimony also appears on AllAfrica.com.

The significance of Sen. Kerry's visit to Sudan - Al Jazeera Interview

I appeared on the Al Jazeera English this evening concerning Senator John Kerry's visit to Sudan. I noted that the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is a close political ally of President Barack Obama and that this visit to Sudan comes on the heals of one by General J. Scott Gration, the president's special envoy to Sudan. The two visits appear to represent a high-level reassessment of U.S. relations with Sudan. The focus of Senator Kerry's visit will probably be on the continuing crisis in Darfur, implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the civil war between northern and southern Sudan, human rights concerns, and Sudan's cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism. Al Jazeera has not posted the video yet. If it does, I will link it here.