In Africa, Clinton Balances Criticism, Praise
Sarah Childress and Jay Soloman, The Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2009
NAIROBI, Kenya - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, midway through her swing across Africa, on Monday met with Angola's President José Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled the oil-rich country for the past three decades, and whose government has been accused of cronyism and corruption by watchdog groups, and his military accused of human-rights violations.
In public remarks to Angola's foreign minister, Mrs. Clinton said, "We have our work cut out for us, Mr. Minister." But she hailed the government's move toward transparency as a "positive step."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets Liberians as she arrives at the presidential palace in Monrovia on Thursday. Mrs. Clinton offered support for Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who has faced calls to resign.
Mrs. Clinton's seven-nation trip through Africa, which ends Friday, has been a balancing act between calling for good governance, while protecting U.S.-African economic ties. Those relationships are especially important now, as China, a U.S. economic competitor in Africa, has increasingly invested in the continent, offering loans, building roads and striking deals for commodities.
Advisers to Mrs. Clinton dismiss talk of a U.S.-China rivalry as a "Cold War paradigm." But the close relationship Beijing has with many African countries, in particular oil producers like Angola, hasn't escaped their notice. The Obama administration has recognized that direct criticism of oppressive regimes could backfire, harming American economic interests and pushing African nations closer to Beijing.
Mrs. Clinton reserved more critical language for town-hall forums with young people in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria, encouraging citizens to take a stronger role in holding their governments accountable.
The diplomatic mission was overshadowed for a time by a heated reply Mrs. Clinton gave at a town-hall forum in Kinshasa to a Congolese student, who appeared to mistakenly ask her for Bill Clinton's views on a local issue. "My husband is not secretary of state, I am," she said. "If you want my opinion, I will tell you my opinion." She was asked again about the exchange on Thursday, but didn't respond to the question, speaking instead about the positive experiences she'd had on the trip.
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Mrs. Clinton's Africa trip is the latest example of her push for so-called personalized diplomacy, which focuses as much on meeting businessmen and civil-society groups as heads of state and diplomats. In her speeches, the secretary underscored the Obama administration's commitment to "soft power" and using trade, technology and aid in addition to military power to protect American interests.
Mrs. Clinton largely kept to this strategy as she moved across the continent, raising concerns about governance in gentler terms with leaders from Angola and Nigeria, the two biggest oil producers in sub-Saharan Africa, both of which export oil to the U.S. She concentrated on the progress that Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, who won in 2007 in an election characterized by widespread fraud, had made in attempting to curb corruption.
In South Africa, Mrs. Clinton didn't mention President Jacob Zuma's past legal troubles, focusing instead on encouraging the government to take a stronger leadership role, as the continent's most powerful economy, in resolving political crises such as the leadership dispute in Zimbabwe.
The one exception was Kenya, which needs American aid more than the U.S. needs its exports. Mrs. Clinton made her harshest statements to government officials in this struggling country. The current government, which was cobbled together with support from U.S. and African leaders after violence erupted from disputed elections in December 2007, has failed to pass changes such as establishing a constitutionally protected local tribunal to try perpetrators of the violence, and has become notoriously corrupt.
The shift in strategy may improve relations with African governments that chafe at Western criticism, but win less support from Africans themselves. Mrs. Clinton's trip comes as Africans have begun to question their leaders, even under oppressive regimes, more openly.
In Kenya, Mrs. Clinton's public condemnation of the government won her praise from people weary of bad leadership. At a rowdy town-hall meeting in Nigeria, she won the most applause when she mentioned the country's history of corruption and flawed elections.
The approach is a stark departure from that of the Bush administration, which in some cases openly challenged close allies. But the soft approach may cause problems of its own. Human-rights organizations could seize on the strategy as a waning of American resolve to exert influence. President Barack Obama's political critics could claim the approach places economic interests over moral obligations.
Mrs. Clinton arrived for a brief visit to Liberia on Thursday, where she met with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first democratically elected woman leader in Africa. It is a significant show of support at a time when Mrs.Johnson-Sirleaf has faced calls to resign following an investigation by Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission for her ties to former President Charles Taylor, now on trial for war crimes at The Hague.
Following their meeting, Mrs. Clinton said Liberia was a "model of successful transition" from conflict to peace. She said that she and Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf had discussed Liberia's sound fiscal policy and democratic progress. Liberia has strong historical ties to the U.S.; the nation was founded by freed American slaves.
Mrs. Clinton's final stop will be in Cape Verde, a tiny island nation with a strong democracy, and a major recipient of U.S. aid.