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The White House and the Black Continent

Against the Laws of Historical Development

 

Several months before his retirement Secretary of State Alexander Haig declared that the United States should do everything to prevent any more developing countries from taking the socialist path of development and bring about the reorientation of those states that had already taken it. To achieve this the United States has made use of a number of ways and means ranging from economic boycott, subverting the security and sovereignty of the independent states, putting them under political pressure to promising them economic, food, or military aid.

The attitude of the present Republican administration to the African countries that are making progressive transformations is full of ungrounded optimism. Interpreting the laws of the economic and social development of these countries to suit themselves, the leaders of the United States have strongly expressed their confidence-not without regard for its propaganda and ideological value in influencing the Africans-that the independent countries would inevitably make a U-turn in the direction of the West.

Politically exploiting such precedents as Egypt's and Somalia's deviation from a progressive policy, Washington leaves no stone unturned in its bid to effect a change in the progressive policies pursued by a large group of African countries.

Thus there has of late been a considerable stepping up of the policy under which certain African states are actively encouraged to participate in the interventionist plans of the United States and allow their territory to be used as bases for the Rapid Deployment Force to operate against other countries that wish to pursue an independent peaceful foreign policy and be masters in their own house. Congress was asked by the White House in 1982 for additional resources to train African military personnel in 25 countries. Under the pretext of fighting against what they call Libyan "hegemonism" towards its neighbours, Sudan, for example, received more than 100 million dollars in 1982 for buying military hardware and training military personnel. A similar amount of military aid was given to Morocco in 1983. In this connection The New York Times wrote on August 8, 1982: "In each case ... the United States is seeking to increase its influence, to gain or hold access to bases."

The US administration also does everything it can to get Tunisia to take part in its dangerous preparations in North Africa which are aimed at destabilising the internal political situation in countries whose policies are not to the liking of the United States.

Washington no longer relies fully on its local allies in various parts of the world. It prefers to back them up with direct US military presence, which is considered as the surest form of support. Take for example the Horn of Africa. Here in 1981 and again in 1983 the already mentioned large-scale military manoeuvres code-named Bright Star were held. In November 1981 the Chairman of the Provisional Military Administrative Council of Ethiopia Mengistu Haile Mariam sent a message to the leaders of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and Libya to the effect that the United States was increasing its military presence in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, in the Persian Gulf and in the Indian Ocean in a bid to destabilise the progressive countries and revolutionary movements there.

Statements from US administration officials and the actual things that the US government has done show that it has undoubtedly opted for a policy of using force, the threat of force, and blatant intervention into the internal affairs of the progressive independent states of Africa. However, as a result of the increasing strength of the forces of peace, progress, and socialism, the armed export of "counterrevolution" has become much more difficult for the imperialists.

 

Gambling on Force Under the Pretext of a "Soviet Threat" - Back

Next - Subversion

 

Translated from the Russian
Designed by Oleg Grebenyuk
Белый дом и черный континент
На английском языке
Group of Authors: An. A. Gromyko (Editor's Note);
Ye. A. Tarabrin (Ch. I, III, Conclusion); V. P. Kasatkin (Ch. II
IX); V. Ya. Lebedev (Ch. IV); A. Yu. Urnov (Ch V)-
V. S. Baskin (Ch. VI); A. V. Prudnikov (Ch. VII)-
M. L. Vishnevsky (Ch. VIII)
Издательство "Прогресс", 1984.
English translation. Progress Publishers 1984
Printed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

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