Catch-22 in the Sahel by Lesley Anne Warner, The National Interest
In the relative backwater of U.S. foreign policy that is the Sahel, U.S. engagement has in recent years has been a function of the vital, albeit limited, national-security interest in countering the threat that Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other violent extremist organizations pose to U.S. interests. Yet, U.S. engagement in this part of Africa is much more complex than drone bases and military exercises. In fact, one of the main tools of U.S. engagement in the Sahel and Maghreb, the Trans Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP), spans the “three Ds”—Diplomacy, Defense, and Development…
Comments
Ms. Warner,
You're walking into a mine field in the development sector in several of the Countries you mentioned. If "Development" via USAID and the DoS is assumed over at the NDU to be undertaken sincerely, you're in for a really nasty surprise.
Back during the Bush Admin, when Pres. Bush seemed determined to distribute $50 billion across African Nations to AIDS related projects, I undertook an informal audit/investigation in order to collect RAW field data from both the Nigerian Ministry of Health and the WHO (meaning a huge suitcase full of uncatalogued documents). Please feel free to contact either myself, or one of my associates at ascottfoundation.org if you or one of your associates wants access to the raw docs. (we'll pay for the paper and ink, but you all have to do the copying yourselves…lol).
Both I and several of my associates have extensive experience and contacts in Countries in that region of Africa… and in fact, one of my associates mother actually managed to clean up USAID contractor fraud in Ethiopia for a couple of years (she's now retired).
Here's the problem, which you might or might not have read in my comments in other threads. Parallel oversight and audit control related to USAID/NGO programs is exceedingly dangerous, because one can never be certain what ones own allies liabilities are in a particular Country. For example: is a "micro-finance" program actually a money laundering racket for illegal activities like human trafficking, diamond smuggling, or public corruption (or arms dealing?). It's very easy to come to harm in the Dark Areas of the world, especially if you don't know who your friends are.
The amount of monies misappropriated, or just plain looted, adds up to many many millions, and in some Countries, like Bangladesh re the Arsenic program undertaken by the WB, billions. Surely you can appreciate that people won't hesitate to kill even innocent academics or accidental researchers if they should stumble over the wrong fraud. (I've also aided the DoS and DoT in flagging illicit or compromised NGO's and charities as sources of funding for terrorist organizations).
At any rate, if I don't hear from you, for God's sake, be careful if you go out in the field.
Best,
A. Scott Crawford