Of course, the crimes against humanity that have been committed by Kony and the LRA are horrific. However, it is unclear at this stage how prepared American voters are to back their president on another prolonged military engagement in a region that lacks effective national institutions, and where local feuds and hatreds risk undermining the efforts of U.S. troops.
Clearly, the U.S. needs a long-term diplomatic strategy to engage both African leaders and the millions of young Africans who are in need of support and guidance. Whether risking another Afghanistan in central Africa is a step in the right direction remains to be seen.
Unsurprisingly, we are not alone in turning our attention to Africa. As with so many other aspects of modern life, China is allocating significant amounts of political and financial capital to the continent. Importantly, however, the Chinese avert their eyes from uncomfortable truths and proclaim a policy of "non-interference" when developing ties with their African allies.
How successful will such a mercantilist foreign policy be in a continent wrestling with corruption, extreme policy and the legacy of a colonial period that has left the continent criss-crossed by borders that often have little connection to the realities of ethnicity, language and culture on the ground?
The profitability of Chinese companies seeking trade and resources in Africa is a top-priority for Beijing. An ability to put dictators and senior members of local kleptocracies at ease can be, without doubt, a short term competitive advantage.
Impetuous military commitments, which make us hostages to fortune, are counter-productive in the long-term, but so is closing one’s eyes to the criminal activities of those notionally in charge of a country’s well-being and future prosperity.
Whether or not China can continue to hold its nose and remain profoundly agnostic about the morality and criminality of their trading partners remains to be seen. Anti-Chinese backlash has been building across Africa recently, which have even led to rioting in the streets.
China’s $100 billion a year in trade means that Africa will remain a priority for China. And Africa should be a priority for American policy makers. But just as closing our eyes to the shortcomings of our trading partners is short-sighted and ultimately self-defeating, so are spurious and open-ended military entanglements which lack broad-based domestic support, and risk expanding into costly and prolonged quagmires.
Africans deserve more from U.S. foreign policy on their continent, as do American voters.
