Comments on: Africa 2009

By: GreenDreams

GreenDreams — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:37:37 +0000

BTW, I can't find your previous post. Got a link?

By: GreenDreams

GreenDreams — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:32:02 +0000

China is everywhere in Africa, and has locked up much of the continent's base of natural resources. I'll give Bush half a point for trying to improve our position with Africa, but it's a failure. Most African mineral resources are already pledged to China. There's no coverage of this, but it's global. For example, here in Colorado, the entire output of the world's second largest molybdenum mine is pledged to China. For those who don't appreciate the strategic importance of that, moly steel is used to make drill bits for mining and drilling oil wells. We have systematically sold out America to China, and we let them take Africa too.

By: Manchester2

Manchester2 — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:49:53 +0000

Thanks, Patrick, for the post. One angle rarely looked at is the competition between China and the U.S. on that continent. To my knowledge, one reason that Mugabe has been able to cling to power for so long in Zimbabwe (despite the economic meltdown that makes ours look like child's play in comparison) are his ties to mainland China. For a primer, see this excellent article. President Bush's active involvement in Africa can be seen as a counterbalance to Chinese influence. The oil angle is also present, since vast reserves exist in Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, and (perhaps) in Ghana.