By John Price, Tuesday December 3, 2013 In Somalia each day dozens of children twelve years and older are recruited into the ranks of al-Shabaab, the local terrorist organization. Killing an Islamist leader or two will not change the attacks they incur at home, in neighboring countries, and against Western interests. Until recently the United States had all […]
Read MorePartitioning May Be a Peaceful Solution
By John Price, Wednesday November 20, 2013 The goal of building democratic institutions in North Africa and the Middle East could prove to be futile. The Arab Spring uprisings that brought about regime change in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen did not bring peace to the region. The U.S. push for regime change in Syria, […]
Read MoreAl-Shabaab continues to be a threat
By John Price, Thursday October 3, 2013 The Federal Republic of Somalia was ruled by the brutal dictator Siad Barre until 1991, when a coalition of warlords deposed him. Shortly thereafter the U.S. embassy in the capital Mogadishu was shuttered, leaving a diplomatic void for over twenty-two years. Warlords and their clans started fighting for control […]
Read MoreObama to Assad: Weapons Cache must be Verifiable, or there will be Consequences
By John Price, Tuesday September 17, 2013 On Friday President Barrack Obama told Kuwait’s Emir Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah that any diplomatic solution in Syria depended on President Bashar al-Assad listing all of the chemical weapons in his arsenal, and signing on to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Secretary of State John Kerry echoing the president’s […]
Read MoreMali’s recovery depends on international donors
By John Price, Friday August 30, 2013 In Mali’s recent presidential election Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was declared the winner, garnering over 78 percent of the vote. President Barrack Obama in congratulating Mr. Keita noted, “The election was a first step in restoring democracy”. In The Hill article last week President Obama stated that Mr. Keita needs […]
Read MoreMali’s elected president must unite the country
By John Price, Monday August 19, 2013 Mali’s second-round presidential election runoff on August 11 ended without major incident. The ministry for territorial administration on Monday reported that the voter turnout was 46 percent, slightly less than voter participation in the first-round. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the former prime minister from 1994 to 2000, was the […]
Read MoreAl-Qaeda has not been decimated
By John Price, Thursday August 15, 2013 In my May 2012 article, “The Republic of Yemen: Al-Qaeda’s backyard” I highlighted concerns about al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and the instability that these Islamists could create in the region. Osama bin Laden had family ties to the Kindite clan in Yemen. As a young man he […]
Read MoreMali faces challenges before the Sunday election
Commentary/Opinion: By John Price, Friday July 26, 2013 The ink is barely dry on the June 18 peace accord between the Malian government and the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad (MNLA), and ethnic violence erupted last weekend in Kidal, the MNLA stronghold. The government quickly accused Tuaregs of committing attacks in which […]
Read MorePresident Obama must keep the promises he made in Africa
COMMENTARY/OPINION: By John Price, Monday July 15, 2013 “Poverty’s companion is hopelessness” As most Africans continue to eke-out a living, surviving on $1.25 a day, President Obama and his family are preparing for their August vacation at a $20 million estate on the Massachusetts seashore. This comes on the heels of the first family’s $100 […]
Read MoreObama’s miscues in Egypt
“U.S. support for religious zealots disserved the cause of democracy“ By John Price – SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Wednesday, July 10, 2013 OPINION/COMMENTARY: The 2011 Arab Spring demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya mushroomed into a revolution, with thousands of people taking to the streets. In Egypt, the economy was faltering and people had […]
Read MoreObama missing chance to promote trade in Africa
By John Price – SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Monday, July 1, 2013 ANALYSIS/OPINION: Africans anxiously awaited President Obama’s return to sub-Saharan Africa, but they may be disappointed when he leaves Wednesday unless he announces a major initiative to promote trade. Many remember his first trip — a 24-hour visit to Ghana in 2009. During […]
Read MoreMali elections need to be free, fair and transparent
By John Price, Special to The Washington Times, Sunday, June 30, 2013 ANALYSIS/OPINION: Mali’s interim government and ethnic Tuareg rebels last month signed a peace accord that will allow elections to proceed this month in the war-torn West African nation. International donors have committed $2.6 billion in aid to help rebuild Mali on the condition […]
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