Yes We Have No Bananas
Originally Posted by M-A Lagrange
And of course SUNA--always known for its accuracy from my days in Sudan...But Sudanese presidential adviser Mustafa Ismail denied any such endeavors by his government.
“We should not believe anything mentioned in the Washington Post or any newspaper” Ismail was quoted by Sudan official news agency (SUNA) as saying.
Will Israel Become Involved in East Africa?
According to a story in the Washington Post Israel may become more involved in East Africa's fight against terrorists. They have a history of suffering at the hands of terrorists in the region.
http://terrorisminafrica.com/2011/11...nst-terrorism/
Israel has a very strong base of support among the evangelical populations of Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. They probably realise that, so they have greater latitude to operate there.
People tend to forget that just as there is a radical Muslim population, there is an evangelical christian population
yep, and a Lords Resistance Army. hmmmmmmmmm.
Western perception of East Africa has largely been coloured by humanitarian disasters - Live aid, Ethiopia, Horn of Africa famine etc. Most of "the spend X dollars and send X African children to school" campaigns are centered around East Africa. It creates the impression that East Africans lack agency and have no shame.Kenyans and Ugandans, in my opinion, have learned to accept aid from almost anyone. In fact, many have learned to depend on it, even connive for it. I understand how they have gotten that outlook, but it has not served them well. They have become too dependent. I find West Africans must less dependent and more willing to speak their mind than East Africans.
However, there is a an emerging business community in Nairobi and many East Africans work hard.
I think you are correct, especially with Ethiopia. A few years back quite a few Ethiopian Jew were allowed to immigrate to Israel. Evangelicals (I consider myself one to some extent) here in the US and East Africa are very uninformed about Israel and scripture concerning them for that matter (but that is for another forum).
Kenyans and Ugandans, in my opinion, have learned to accept aid from almost anyone. In fact, many have learned to depend on it, even connive for it. I understand how they have gotten that outlook, but it has not served them well. They have become too dependent. I find West Africans must less dependent and more willing to speak their mind than East Africans.
Israel could well find open arms in some parts of East Africa, but where they do, they will also find the terrorists right behind them.
Kenya has made some strides against al-Shabaab. I hope that they do not make a wrong move by accepting some help from Israel and end up with an even great terrorist problem.
Question about Israeli involvement in East Africa:
How much of a factor would the East African Nile River and Egypt's ultimate dependance on it play into Israeli efforts in the region?
If Egypt sees a leadership change and a shift in policy away from detente with Israel I could imagine an opportunity to exert leverage over Egypt by partnering with and to the benefit of upstream Nile River users or working with them all to make efficient use of the resource thru Israeli water/farming tech in exchange for security considerations.
If I were Israeli and I was concerned about Egypt in the medium to long term, I would be putting some effort into influence/control over Nile River water politics.
You have a point there that I had not even thought of or seen from any news outlet or bloggers. It sounds plausible. This al-shabaab conflict is bringing out a lot of regional issues. I just put up a post on my blog today dealing with the Eritrean and Ogaden clan actions concerning the war on these terrorists. You can see it at www.terrorisminafrica.com
Ethnicity plays an important part in everything African. Africans understand that fact, but few outsiders do. Israelis and Egyptians could bring a new dimension to the fight.
History tells us that no one is out for the "common good."
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