ECOWAS in the larger context of Africa’s historic interactions with China, France, USA, UK and Russia
ECOWAS : A PRIMER
Tag: Botswana
US to cut military presence in Niger + Pentagon lied to Congress
The Pentagon reportedly plans to pull out some of its troops from the African country
The US has begun “repositioning” the troops it has in Niger and plans to cut their number “nearly in half” over the next several weeks, Politico reported on Friday citing two Defense Department officials.
US to cut military presence in Niger
Related:
Army launches coup in Burkina Faso amid mass protests against France
Army launches coup in Burkina Faso amid mass protests against France
The ousted junta leader, [Paul-Henri Sandaogo] Damiba, was widely seen as too closely linked to France. Late Saturday, there were protests outside the French embassy in Ouagadougou and the French Institute in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. Video on social media showed residents with lit torches outside the French embassy, and other images showed part of the compound ablaze. The crowds also vandalised the French Institute.
Related:
Burkina Faso: Another Coup Led By U.S-Trained Soldier
[Paul-Henri Sandaogo] Damiba is a highly trained soldier, thanks in no small part to the U.S. military, which has a long record of training soldiers in Africa who go on to stage coups. Damiba, it turns out, participated in at least a half-dozen U.S. training exercises, according to U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM.
Manufacturing Consent: How the United States Has Penetrated South African Media
The CIA has played a role in controlling South African media from the days of apartheid to the present.
In recent weeks, South African public discourse has been focused on concerns about alleged Chinese influence in the country’s media landscape. However, these conversations have tended to overlook the already existing spheres of influence within South African media. Politically motivated sponsorship of prominent South African media outlets by the United States dates back decades to the apartheid era. According to internal U.S. government documents, the aim of these operations was “to counter the strong Marxist campaigns” in the country. This funding was circulated by the National Endowment for Democracy, an organization created by the Reagan administration in order to re-brand U.S. covert operations that were previously carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency. Today, as Washington becomes fixated on combating Beijing’s influence around the world, the National Endowment for Democracy and its private sector partners continue to penetrate large swathes of the South African media ecosystem. This web of influence has caught major publications, including Mail & Guardian newspaper and amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Manufacturing Consent: How the United States Has Penetrated South African Media
Joint Statement of the Communist Party of Kenya and the Zimbabwe Communist Party On the Expansion of AFRICOM
The Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) and the Zimbabwe Communist Party (ZCP) are deeply concerned with the decision of Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema to make Zambia a center for the operations of the United States military with the opening of an AFRICOM office in Lusaka. This does not, at least at this stage, mean that US ground forces will be sent to Zambia. It does mean that the USA will train and direct Zambian troops in its interests. The pattern in Africa is similar to that pursued by the USA in Latin America for 150 years in which a country would be effectively occupied by its own army on behalf of the imperial power.
On the Expansion of AFRICOM
Alarmism About China Distracts from Ongoing Western Imperialism
West projecting its own image onto China when labeling it imperialist
According to many Western commentators—from the center-left to the far-right—China is the major threat to democracy, climate, peace and sovereignty in the 21st century. It is an issue where Donald Trump and Joe Biden are completely aligned. On the other side of the Atlantic too, Nigel Farage and Keir Starmer are closing ranks behind a sinophobic story-line.
Alarmism About China Distracts from Ongoing Western Imperialism
There’s a nonsensical propaganda campaign to make China look bad in Uganda
Omicron Hysteria Made 8 Top Pfizer, Moderna Shareholders $10 Billion Richer
African governments are crushing opposition using Israeli spyware
By Suraya Dadoo | MEMO | February 24, 2021
As internet penetration and smartphone usage increases across Africa, digital spaces have become increasingly important for organising political uprisings and opposition movements. In response, several of the continent’s regimes have shut down the internet or blocked social media apps. To sidestep the economic costs and global criticism that these online shutdowns incur, governments have turned to digital surveillance technology as a shrewder way to crush all opposition.
African governments are crushing opposition using Israeli spyware
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 