[A-List] US imperialism: Africa

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

At least two African nations may back US
By David White in London and James Lamont in Johannesburg
Financial Times: February 26 2003

All three African countries on the United Nations Security Council - Angola,
Cameroon and Guinea - have been targeted by the US and Britain as potential
"swing votes".

Valerie Amos, minister for Africa at the UK foreign office, is visiting the
three countries in coming days, following in the trail of Walter Kansteiner,
US assistant secretary of state for Africa, last week.

All are non-aligned countries that oppose war, along with other African
nations. After the recent Franco-African summit, which produced broad
support for allowing UN arms inspectors more time, both Angolan and Guinean
officials reaffirmed these views.

But diplomats and international observers believe Angola and at least one of
the other two may abandon this common position in order to seek favours from
Washington.

At the centre of this flurry of international lobbying, Angola's President
José Eduardo dos Santos is considered the most likely to accede to US
pressure.

Cash-strapped Angola is counting on the US to exert its influence on
international financial institutions to help finance its post-civil war
reconstruction.

Its UN ambassador on Tuesday hinted at a compromise on the Security Council
resolution. "The cards are on the table," he was quoted as saying. "Now I
think we need to sit down jointly and come out with . . . a common
solution."

Observers believe the prominent role of US companies in Angola's oil
industry may influence its decision. Vying for influence as a regional
power, Angola could also use the crisis to distance itself from South
Africa, whose president, Thabo Mbeki, has sought to build a concerted
African position against a US-led attack on Iraq.

There is also talk that the Angolan government may feel in debt to
Washington over rumoured US assistance in providing intelligence leading to
the killing last year of rebel army leader Jonas Savimbi, who was tracked
down through his satellite telephone.

Some analysts said Angolan officials had already indicated privately they
were prepared to align themselves with the US.

Guinea is considered an outside chance as another potential convert, partly
because of its fraught post-colonial relationship with France. Grappling
with an influx of refugees from its neighbours Sierra Leone, Liberia and now
Ivory Coast, it has already enlisted US assistance in military training to
strengthen its border defences.

The position of Cameroon - subject to competing French and US influence -
remains uncertain. But UN experts suggested that all three African countries
would be wary of the potential negative consequences of voting against the
US.