State Department Layoffs Threaten U.S. National Security

 National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A) posted on 7 July 2025 a statement warning that State Department layoffs threaten U.S. national security.  It argues that the elimination of some 2,000 positions will result in a loss of critical expertise, surrender global leadership, and is being done without any clear strategy for going forward.  

Senator Cruz Meets with African Ambassadors: Focus on China

 The office of Senator Ted Cruz (Republican, Texas), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, posted on 20 February 2025 a brief account of his meeting with African ambassadors.  

Countries represented at the meeting were Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, Djibouti, Madagascar, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Gabon, Togo, Mozambique, Mauritania, and Ethiopia as well as the Representative from the African Union.  

Following the meeting, Cruz said he intends to use the chairmanship "to ensure that America's policy toward Africa is focused on advancing American security interests across the continent, with an emphasis on countering China's efforts to undermine those interests and conduct malign activities."  He stated that China's Belt and Road Initiative serves as a tool for the Communist Party of China "to lock in crushing debt and undermine the sovereignty of countries across the continent."  He added that the United States has a unique opportunity to expand economic ties with African countries.

Comment: Expanding economic ties with Africa will be a real challenge as the Trump administration dismantles the US Agency for International Development, one of its most important foreign policy tools for engaging with African countries. 

US Congressional Reps Urge Administration to Take Action on Sudan

 The Africa Report published on 20 November 2024 an article titled "US Congress Denounces RSF 'Genocide' in Sudan" by Julian Pecquet.

Bipartisan members of the US Congress are urging the administration to take more forceful action on the conflict in Sudan.  Members in both the House and the Senate are calling for pressure on the UAE to end its support for the Rapid Support Forces while the Senate bill also cites concerns about the role of China, Egypt, Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.  

Comment:  A political transition in the United States is an especially difficult time to pursue a foreign policy initiative.  Both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration are focused on the political transition that formally ends on 20 January 2025.  Both administrations have good relations with the UAE, which is the primary external offender in Sudan's catastrophic war.  It will be difficult for either administration to take meaningful action.  

Another Plea for Action in Sudan

 The Atlantic Council published on 28 May 2024 a commentary titled "Sudan Is an Abject Disaster.  Is Anyone Listening?" by Bemjamin Mossberg.

This is another call for more US government action on confronting the ongoing disaster in Sudan.  

Comment:  There is a growing chorus to do something to ameliorate the mayhem in Sudan, but other than speaking out more loudly, there are not a lot of good suggestions for practical and meaningful responses.

Members of US Congress Ask Administration to Rule on Sanctions for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces

 Senator Ben Cardin posted on 19 April 2024 a press release titled "Cardin, Risch, Meeks, McCaul Request Determination of Human Rights Abuses Committed by Sudan's RSF."

U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Ranking Member and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked the Biden administration to determine whether Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, should be subject to sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.  They also asked for an examination of links between Russia's Wagner Group and the RSF.

Interview with the Banned Ethiopian Awramba Times

 Dawit Kebede of the Awramba Times, now banned in Ethiopia, interviewed me for 25 minutes on 4 April 2022 on US-Ethiopian relations, internal developments in Ethiopia, and Ethiopia-Eritrea relations.  Apologies for the technical difficulties with the sound quality on the moderator's end.  

US Not Yet Ready for Diplomatic Recognition of Somaliland

 Foreign Policy published on 21 March 2022 a commentary titled "Somaliland Courts U.S. for Independence Recognition" by Robbie Gramer and Mary Yang.  

The US made clear during the visit to Washington by Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi that it does not intend to recognize the independence of Somaliland but it is open to closer relations.  

Somaliland President Visits Washington

 Kenya's The Standard published on 17 March 2022 an article titled "Somaliland Push for Recognition Gains US Lawmakers Backing" by Jacob Ng'etich.

This is an account of the recent visit to Washington by Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi, who had wide ranging meetings and received a sympathetic hearing in the US Congress.  

Controversial Somali-American Member of Congress

The Washington Post published on 6 July 2019 a lengthy article titled "Ilhan Omar's American Story: It's Complicated" by Greg Jaffe and Souad Mekhennet.

This is an account of Somali-American Ilhan Omar's rise in American politics to a member of the U.S. Congress, where she has stirred controversy.

First Eritrean-American Elected to US Congress

The Voice of America posted on 8 November 2018 an article titled "Parents' Journey Inspired US Congress' 1st Eritrean-American" by Salem Solomon.

Eritrean-American Debesai Neguse was elected on 6 November 2018 as a US Congressman in the second district of Colorado. He is the first Eritrean-American to be elected to Congress. He will represent about 720,000 Coloradans in a district that covers about ten counties.

First Somali-American Elected to U.S. Congress

CBS Minnesota posted on 7 November 2018 a story titled "Ilhan Omar, The 1st Somali-American Elected To Congress, Seeks To Make U.S. More Welcoming."

The U.S. Congress will receive in January 2019 the first ever Somali-American, Ilhan Omar, elected to that body. Ilhan Omar will represent the 5th District of Minnesota, which spans Minneapolis and suburbs.

Two Members of Congress Take Aim at Djibouti President

Foreign Policy published on 16 February 2016 a piece titled "China Setting Up Shop Next to Key U.S. Drone Base in Africa" by Paul McLeary. 

It reports that two members of Congress sent a letter to the secretary of defense and secretary of state arguing that Washington should reconsider its support of the Ismail Omar Guelleh government in Djibouti.  One of the concerns expressed by the two members of Congress is the establishment by China of a military facility in Djibouti, which also hosts a large American military base.