Part of the calculus Kejau. 
 
Quite a worrying situation overall as many rulers are unlikely to take a long view of a particular country's national interest. 
 
LJDarbo 


On Friday, 8 August 2014, 16:40, Kejau Touray <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
  


I believe the US is just taking cue from China, as Africa has been ignored for a long time in trades and development, except buying raw materials from us entire on their terms, until China saw Africa as a potential satisfier of its vast resource requirement. The US is taking interest in Africa now to ensure that China does not have a monopoly of our continent's vast resources. Like China, there is no moral questions asked when dealing with dictators. 

Kejau



________________________________
Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2014 13:21:42 +0100
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Do They Even Care Anymore/Or Are Taken For Granted?
To: [log in to unmask]


Oh Burama, I love America too, a land firmly on the path of creating a better and more equal society for her citizens and residents. Never forget this is a project in progress and will remain so for some considerable time in the future.
 
About expanding the frontiers of freedom, you vastly overstate the case. Until the mid-twentieth century, the US is effectively an insular country, concentrating on its immediate geographic sphere of interest on the precepts of the Monroe Doctrine, leaving Europeans to murderously compete within and without that mother continent of modern imperial aggression. When the US could no longer stay out of global engagements in far flung lands as a result of Japanese miscalculations on what that Imperial country considered a legitimate pre-emptive strike against the US at Pearl Harbour in the mid-twentieth century, all hell broke loose. 
 
From here on, it was endless war for America against the powerless in far distant theatres, and without any real consequence for her domestic population, i.e., no fighting of whatever nature on the streets of US cities and towns. There is no question the US expanded the contours of domestic freedom, but its international engagements remain a matter of great concern. Like I argued before, the US is an exquisite domestic democracy but an unquestionable dictatorship in the sphere of international public life. I urge you to look around the world and you may just wonder at some of the unsavoury rulers who are among the very best friends of the US. It is less about freedom and more about the underlying philosophy of interest, and the catch-all excuse of national security as a pretext for embarking on merciless and needless wars.
 
We must therefore look at Africa in Washington as merely an expansion of US national interest. With diplomatic missions around the world, the US knows it when even a pin drops in the pool of global affairs. Herein your answer to the question what was Obama thinking dinning with numerous and certified murderous dictators within the grounds of the most rarefied symbol of US public life. As in the excuse of Reagan over continued US friendship with Apartheid South Africa, Africa in the Obama White House was "constructive engagement" gone absolutely mad. 
 
Governance was never an issue, and it will never really be the issue as far as US foreign engagements are concerned. I am not faulting America for pursuing its national interest wherever that is located, but the corollary contention is that we must be pragmatic with our own hopes in not looking to outsiders for our liberation. 
 
And lest I forgot, the founding fathers were among the most eminent thinkers of modern times. What they put together was remarkable by every standard, and I celebrate them for a collective foresight in statecraft unrivalled in modern times. If your argument is that they were probably not certificated, I accept that  as a possibility given the era, but they were truly educated in the best traditions of the fundamental bedrock of modern democratic statecraft, The Enlightenment. Comparatively, they were geniuses, but they were also slave-owners, and of course inserted some perverse clauses in the Constitution.  
 
In the words of Dr King, the US gave the "Negro" a mere "promissory note", and even today, that note is being only partially honoured. Context is therefore key, and context tells us Africa in the White House will have no positive governance implications.  
 
 
 
LJDarbo


On Thursday, 7 August 2014, 18:10, Burama Jammeh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
 



The Founding Fathers set sail in high seas to escape the brutalities of monarchies all across the Old World. They arrived at the shores of the New World to put the IDEA into EXPERIMENT. Remember they do know have formal education on ideas in concept in their heads. What's certain they want their freedoms and liberties. Surprisingly even some of the main architects don't believe it will last long because generally speaking man's nature is to conquer. It's over 2-hundreds years and counting. However there are many cracks we can point at or at least not as the founders intend.

This week Obama invited bunch of African leaders to explore investment opportunities between USA and Africa.  

No one can fault Obama for wanting to better his people through trade with potential markets. However, America and Obama especially preached American values. Where did that go here? 

America is a land of laws and not men! America has rules even for fight war and engagements of the enemy! America treats alleged criminal innocent under proven guilty! America is guided by freedom, liberties and privacy! America expects other uphold similar values or they are encourage or punish/sanction/keep at arms length if they choose otherwise! 

If these are true, and to an appreciable extent they are - did those same values and principles employed when selecting who cosy up with the Obama? 

At least for Gambia that doesn't seem to be the case. For 20 years every State Department Report on Gambia show human right abuses. Why is that not used to demand change before Yahya has a seat at the table? Or so long some investor will make few $s our plight doesn't really matter? I hope not because that doesn't tally well with those much talked about American values, 

People of other African nations who's leaders were invited may have similar or slightly different concerns.

Does America care anymore about expanding the frontiers of freedom? Or America's economic interest supersede our plight? Or they hope better economic opportunities will better our plight? Or they are more concern with photo-ops than doing good for the people? 

Sad to say but this is politics and is a game played not necessarily on fair rules. This we need to know. More importantly we need to learn how to best play the game that doesn't seem of have rules but interests - which are in most cases conflicting. 

America did not necessarily abandon supporting freedom but sometimes politics get on the way. Also America is either in economic and political decline or others are catching up at an unexpectedly faster rate. 

Our side should come up with alternatives to the leaders ( in our case to Yahya). We shall sell this alternatives to earn their (America/international community) moral and financial support. With that hopefully Obama and America in General may bet on a better positioned Gambia for prospect investment. - now and in the future. With that they are probably likely to tell African leaders you got to change.  

American private investment assets are not likely to pour on Gambia at this point in time. Our markets are not as attractive as comparative markets. Yet this is a big deal for Yahya. Having a photo-op, his wife and the Obamas'. What a propaganda tool! Watch GRTS! But isn't that also telling Yahya is not internationally isolated as some may believe. At least not with Obama and he's  a big /key player. 

These are no insurmountable challenges however we have to launch deliberate alternative option(s). That's amassing enough political leverage to be able to dethrone tyranny in Banjul. 

Those who sit on the comfort that the recent demonstrations are a trigger that Gambians are now ready to die/use violence or by any means necessary are making the same mistakes they made about DC Embassy Demonstration, so called Unity Rally of Opposition Parties, etc. 

There isn't  a trigger and goodness we don't need one. All we need is our deliberate actions at Reclamation of Our Republic as Sovereigns.

If such demand/alternative  exists or we could come up with, probably Obama will notice before wining/dining with Yahya or offer it as precondition. 

Let's get to work - better late than never!

Burama
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