[b]Article by an great Aussie journalist!


The Son of Africa Claims a Continent’s Crown Jewels

By John Pilger

October 19, 2011 "Information Clearing House" -- On 14 October, President Barack Obama announced he was sending United States special forces troops to Uganda to join the civil war there. In the next few months, US combat troops will be sent to South Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic. They will only “engage” for “self-defence”, says Obama, satirically. With Libya secured, an American invasion of the African continent is under way.

Obama’s decision is described in the press as “highly unusual” and “surprising”, even “weird”. It is none of these things. It is the logic of American foreign policy since 1945. Take Vietnam. The priority was to halt the influence of China, an imperial rival, and “protect” Indonesia, which President Nixon called “the region’s richest hoard of natural resources …the greatest prize”. Vietnam merely got in the way; and the slaughter of more than three million Vietnamese and the devastation and poisoning of their land was the price of America achieving its goal. Like all America’s subsequent invasions, a trail of blood from Latin America to Afghanistan and Iraq, the rationale was usually “self defence” or “humanitarian”, words long emptied of their dictionary meaning.
In Africa, says Obama, the “humanitarian mission” is to assist the government of Uganda defeat the Lord’s resistance Army (LRA), which “has murdered, raped and kidnapped tens of thousands of men, women and children in central Africa”. This is an accurate description of the LRA, evoking multiple atrocities administered by the United States, such as the bloodbath in the 1960s following the CIA-arranged murder of Patrice Lumumba, the Congolese independence leader and first legally elected prime minister, and the CIA coup that installed Mobutu Sese Seko, regarded as Africa’s most venal tyrant.

Obama’s other justification also invites satire. This is the “national security of the United States”. The LRA has been doing its nasty work for 24 years, of minimal interest to the United States. Today, it has few than 400 fighters and has never been weaker. However, US “national security” usually means buying a corrupt and thuggish regime that has something Washington wants. Uganda’s “president-for-life” Yoweri Museveni already receives the larger part of $45 million in US military “aid” – including Obama’s favourite drones. This is his bribe to fight a proxy war against America’s latest phantom Islamic enemy, the rag-tag al Shabaab group based in Somalia. The RTA will play a public relations role, distracting western journalists with its perennial horror stories.

However, the main reason the US is invading Africa is no different from that which ignited the Vietnam war. It is China. In the world of self-serving, institutionalised paranoia that justifies what General David Petraeus, the former US commander and now CIA director, implies is a state of perpetual war, China is replacing al-Qaeda as the official American “threat”. When I interviewed Bryan Whitman, an assistant secretary of defence at the Pentagon last year, I asked him to describe the current danger to America. Struggling visibly, he repeated, “Asymmetric threats … asymmetric threats”. These justify the money-laundering state-sponsored arms conglomerates and the biggest military and war budget in history. With Osama bin Laden airbrushed, China takes the mantle.

Africa is China’s success story. Where the Americans bring drones and destabilisation, the Chinese bring roads, bridges and dams. What they want is resources, especially fossil fuels. With Africa’s greatest oil reserves, Libya under Muammar Gaddafi was one of China’s most important sources of fuel. When the civil war broke out and Nato backed the “rebels” with a fabricated story about Gaddafi planning “genocide” in Benghazi, China evacuated its 30,000 workers in Libya. The subsequent UN security council resolution that allowed the west’s “humanitarian intervention” was explained succinctly in a proposal to the French government by the “rebel” National Transitional Council, disclosed last month in the newspaper Liberation, in which France was offered 35 per cent of Libya’s gross national oil production “in exchange” (the term used) for “total and permanent” French support for the NTC. Running up the Stars and Stripes in “liberated” Tripoli last month, US ambassador Gene Cretz blurted out: “We know that oil is the jewel in the crown of Libyan natural resources!”

The de facto conquest of Libya by the US and its imperial partners heralds a modern version of the “scramble for Africa” at the end of the 19th century.
Like the “victory” in Iraq, journalists have played a critical role in dividing Libyans into worthy and unworthy victims. A recent Guardian front page carried a photograph of a terrified “pro-Gaddafi” fighter and his wild-eyed captors who, says the caption, “celebrate”. According to General Petraeus, there is now a war “of perception … conducted continuously through the news media”.

For more than a decade the US has tried to establish a command on the continent of Africa, AFRICOM, but has been rebuffed by governments, fearful of the regional tensions this would cause. Libya, and now Uganda, South Sudan and Congo, provide the main chance. As WikiLeaks cables and the US National Strategy for Counter-terrorism reveal, American plans for Africa are part of a global design in which 60,000 special forces, including death squads, already operate in 75 countries, soon to be 120. As Dick Cheney pointed out in his 1990s “defence strategy” plan, America simply wishes to rule the world.

That this is now the gift of Barack Obama, the “Son of Africa”, is supremely ironic. Or is it? As Frantz Fanon explained in Black Skin, White Masks, what matters is not so much the colour of your skin as the power you serve and the millions you betray.

www.johnpilger.com[/b]

Interesting piece

Big Thank You to[b] John Pilger[/b] for doing good research on Africa and [[ Afro_Blue ]] for posting a good article.


I would only like to disagree with John Pilger on current USA president as being a Son of Africa.

In order to be a Son of Africa you must at least speak a African Language Fluently. The current USA President does not speak any African Language Fluently he definitely is not a Son of Africa.

It raises questions if the imposter fool in USA whitehouse is born in a lab.

Also, you can add this fool (current acting USA President) to the list of War criminals in USA.

I had an interesting conversation with a Ugandan today after Gaddafi's assasination I asked him why M7 is sharing a bed with the west and the truth behind the whole oxfam story. Went like this.

Me: Have you noticed increased military activity in the East of late? what is the voice of the common ugandan?

Ugandan: Well I can tell you M7 is not as silly as he looks,  But true they are targeting the oil no doubt,  One thing you gota know about UGs, they want to take charge and they will, watch this space
With our crazy parliament, u just can't get these americans just diving in,  that will not happen that easily.

Me: what do u mean when u say m7 is not silly.Hes a tricky guy I know.

Ugandan: He is way too smart to just be hoodwinked by the Americans for oil,  When the Italians from ENI came here and talked big, they thot they had him. They left unware of what went wrong.

Me: But I have been reading stories about him selling land to foreigners is that true?

Ugandan: This is what i hate about the west. They have no better things to do so they start stiring up storms they have no idea about and can not even control.
And see they use us against ourselves. Now the silly oppositions like the ones in Libya trying to get some recognition start a silly rumour that catches like a bush fire. Then the western orgs join the fray and fan it some more. Before long, you have this kind of cheap propaganda,
First in Uganda, most land is owned by individuals or families not the government. The rest is held communaly e.g. Buganda, Acholi etc and trust me you just can't take that land.
My family owns about 2400 sq miles and trust me you will not have it that easily,
So what the heck are they talking about.

Me: I read that land was sold,people evicted,and houses demolished.

Ugandan: First it is not yet sold and second it already has SugarCane on it.And some of the plantations are owned by opposition MPs
That is a no brainer, And even then, they are talking of degazeting not selling so they can limit how much more encroaching on the forest can be.
The opposition sees this to use as a vehicle to appear pro people. They are all useless,  We simply despise them.

That is edited from skype but it got me thinking. The west have a way of infiltrating an opposition group,dividing and causing an uprise. Its already happening in Uganda with the walk to work campaigns and local media have it that the Kizye Besigye who's M7 opponent is receiving funding to destabilise the goverment.
The story behind this has to do with the oil reserves. M7 has refuse to allow the west take crude oil out of Uganda.He wants to build refineries to benefit the people of uganda and will only sell them refined oil. Now they are not happy about it and so a good target is his rival kizya. Kizya has been making headlines everyday with his campaigns against the goverment and even though hes been in and out of cells and hospitals he never gives up.!
Ugandans from the info I have support M7 because they believe he has their interest at heart. Kizya to them is the west's tool to overthrow and pave way for another goverment which will serve their interest.

M7 is not a  saint but the western media will always protray african leaders as devils when they dont meet their expectations.
knowing M7 and his tricks,I am left to wonder what is cooking. Hes also a tough soldier ,very wise and was a rebel at one time. Infact a worse one than that small kony coward.

All Western leaders should know that what they conspire to do against other nations can also be done likewise to Western Nations & Themselves.

If he thinks the west is trying to overthrow him, why would he invite the special forces there?

BTW its not the first time we have been there, Bush sent a team of special forces there when he was in office, they were all killed. It's suspected that the Ugandans played a double game, im sure the Americans wont let it happen again. In that instance, the troops were venezuelan but the military advisors were american, it was a UN mission i believe.

@BlackLibya, just wondering,do you know the number of special forces(western) sent in the past to Uganda. Thanks

My apology, in this case of guatemalans(not venezuelans), it was not Uganda but Eastern Congo.

However a few years later there were 16 U.S special forces in Uganda, and M7, his son in law, and these S.F all planned an operation to capture Kony.

It doesnt say whether they were in Garamba in Congo, or Northern Uganda, but it was a multinational operation.

It does say that after the attempted assassination, Kony wrecked havoc on Northern Uganda.

It's kind of long.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/05/15/hard-target.html

^^ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord's_Resistance_Army

In 2006, the United Nations mounted a covert operation to capture or kill Joseph Kony. A squad of U.S.-trained Guatemalan Special Ops soldiers set out into Congo's Garamba National Park, a longtime LRA refuge and the scene of the 2008–2009 Garamba offensive. Trained in jungle warfare and accustomed to surviving in the bush for long stretches, the Guatemalans were equipped with M-16s and the latest special-operations technology. Five LRA soldiers were killed and none of the Special Ops soldiers survived. According to one account, the commander of the Special Ops soldiers was beheaded. The battle, which lasted for several hours, included hand to hand combat. Reports put the U.N. dead at eight to forty. The LRA left the corpses in the jungle but took the weapons—including heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.

I love hearing it from the ground cz I know how the western media operates. comments from ugandan's below


>>To my surprise is why would the US gov''t wait until now! 20 years down the road the people of Northern Uganda have faced the mess murder, kidnapping & massive Rap by Kony were was the US troops than?


>>The American government is a bunch of oil thieves marauding around to steal black Gold from where ever it can be found there sending of military personnel to Uganda is there first step towards theft of Ugandan oil. why now where was the American government when Kony was chopping off peoples lips


>>Cant be fooled!! Where where you oh father earth when Uganda was groaning in pain? Now that Uganda for the first time in 30 years is generally peaceful, you find a reason to bring your army. The best those soldiers will do is to chase around LovePeddlers, night clubs,  No work for soldiers in Uganda. Even Uganda soldiers are in Somalia. Funny that Uganda soldiers are in Somalia but US is sending its soldiers in Uganda. The best I can guess,  oil. Its oil silly! Two signs that US is after Uganda oil: 1. US embassy in Kampala leaks oil corruption rumors, and then after sends its soldiers. What a new found love for Uganda from US. But the Ug. President should be aware. US can instead turn around and embrace Konny, arm him and supports him to overthrow the government - motive - oil. Not that it has not done elsewhere, sometime back!!


>>Africom is an imperialist arm of US specially designed to erode the independence of African states. Wake up to US imperialism. Did the US troops not call Iraqis "sand niggers" over their oil? They will call you the ''N'' word at the slightest opportunity. Watch out! US believes, like all Western countries, that the cream of Africa belongs to them. They have a sense of entitlement to the resources of Africa, knowing that the continent is rich in natural resources. Soon Western oil companies will flood Uganda and the foreign troops will be guarding them here. Uganda government will be their client and our president will be their "prefect" over us. You will have to contend with being second class citizens of your own country should you allow foreign troops any hold or presence in our country


>>Hahaha thats foolery! Whom are they kidding? Are we too silly to understand? They used to help "Uganda with especially with the humanitarian situation" Why not Amy by then when the need was high? Its a silly thing that even our very government could be fooled around!! The high unemployment, recession and America''s greed to have control over any good that the world produces,they wouldnt stand a temptation of stretching their hungry desperate hand into the Uganda''s treasures!! In 1880s it was God and the bible,then the gold was taken after manipulating people about the good God and brotherliness, today even what a 4year old baby could tell that its about OIL!! Infact am coming to realise that America''s interests in Africa is none other then fool and take away
any valuables!!


>>It is the timing of the deployment at this time five years after UPDF effectively defeated LRA that is curious. Deployment of foreign troops in a country erodes its sovreignty making the state look like a client state. US is an imperial power that wants to show a sphere of its influence in small states and uses any slight excuse of war to justify its presence in a foreign country. In Ghana, President Obama on his visit there, clearly said that Africa must take care of its own problems and stop looking to USA. Is it not contradictory that a super power forms Africom, "Africa Comand" to command a beautiful independent African country like Uganda at the time it has discovered its oil for its own development at it own pace? The best place for US troops to deploy is DRC, Central African Republic or Dar Fur. Although Dar Fur also has oil, there is an ongoing war or insecurity there. And Kony is in Central Africa not Uganda. In Libya, Hillary Clinton spoke of US arming the rebels once affiliated with Al Qaeda terrorists. Will Americans not turn around and arm Kony the terrorist as a person fighting for "democracy"? Kony will also ignore ICC because Ocampo is indicting only African leaders and USA is not a signatory to ICC to talk about those wanted by ICC.

@BlackLibya ,thanks for the link.

^^^^

So your saying in 08-09 Ugandan troops invaded Congo looking for Kony?

Why cant we just go to DRC and save those people there from the Rwandan militias. The U.S doesnt care about human rights, and until africans stand up for themselves we will keep getting blown up for their sport and to test out their new weapons.

@BlackLibya,

Would be hard for those people to do these things in DR CONGO now without getting caught. It is a good question though.

Would be hard for those people to do these things in DR CONGO now without getting caught. It is a good question though.

I read an article in the NY times the other day(yea i know NY Times)

but anyway, they were quoting a rebel saying that the rival rebel militias dont even fight each other no more in DRC. They fire into the air before they enter a village, the other group leaves, and then they just come into the villages and kill/rape/steal. The goal is depopulation to get at the resources.

BlackLibya:

^^^^

So your saying in 08-09 Ugandan troops invaded Congo looking for Kony?

Why cant we just go to DRC and save those people there from the Rwandan militias. The U.S doesnt care about human rights, and until africans stand up for themselves we will keep getting blown up for their sport and to test out their new weapons.

Kony has been playing hide and seek since time immemorial.His guerilla tactics make it difficult for him to be captured.He almost got caught while taking a bath and all they got was the basin and water. If he discovers hes being followed he forces all his soldiers to remove shoes and many other crzy tactics

http://af.reuters.com/article/ugandaNews/idAFL5E7LI03P20111018?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Watch how the above plays out cz I am interested in knowing who the bait is here. may God help africa

Watch how the above plays out cz I am interested in knowing who the bait is here. may God help africa

Wow Pendo, I see why u support Museveni, I just hope he doesnt sell the Ugandan rainforest, but from what u posted earlier, it appears that wont happen.

Im not happy about his deal with New Forestries though,

I do know a girl in Uganda though, she says corruption is like crazy, and that growth and progess are slow. Museveni also limits the influence of Buganda, which is the traditional powerhouse in the country, and was originally part of the Uganda Federation, prior to its attempted dissolution by Obote who was afraid of Buganda ordering weapons from abroad. As u know, Idi Amin attacked and destroyed the palace of the Kakaba, Obote claims that same day he tried to kill him.

@pendo89(f), thanks for the link.  I caught great attention from this part in the article : "Uganda's parliament passed a resolution urging government to withhold consent to Tullow Oil's proposed partnership with Total and CNOOC.", this is really sad.

All Africans should see that the Chinese are our friends. Ugandan Parliament should know better.

BlackLibya:

Wow Pendo, I see why u support Museveni, I just hope he doesnt sell the Ugandan rainforest, but from what u posted earlier, it appears that wont happen.

Im not happy about his deal with New Forestries though,

I do know a girl in Uganda though, she says corruption is like crazy, and that growth and progess are slow. Museveni also limits the influence of Buganda, which is the traditional powerhouse in the country, and was originally part of the Uganda Federation, prior to its attempted dissolution by Obote who was afraid of Buganda ordering weapons from abroad. As u know, Idi Amin attacked and destroyed the palace of the Kakaba, Obote claims that same day he tried to kill him.

Not really but am, noticing a common trend in Africa.All leaders are painted evil before the takover begins.Rumour and cheap propaganda are used to gather masses.And there's always a bait.They don't go for the leader direct.A bait is enough to bring him down.
Take a good look at all the countries and those in the line. They have their puppet whom they fund,equip and use to destabilise the goverment.
Then they will come with 'rescue' efforts which provides them a soft landing pad.

And they capitalise on the western media.I don't know why their news always favours the west. If you want the real truth talk to the guy on the street and understand wht is happening in a country. not a foreign journalist who receives updates online from africa.

Amhatu:

@pendo89(f), thanks for the link.  I caught great attention from this part in the article : "Uganda's parliament passed a resolution urging government to withhold consent to Tullow Oil's proposed partnership with Total and CNOOC.", this is really sad.

All Africans should see that the Chinese are our friends. Ugandan Parliament should know better.

Tullow Oil signed a deal with Kampala in March allowing it to sell one third of its assets in the east African country to Total and CNOOC, clearing the way for a $10-billion refinery in Uganda's oil rich Lake Albert region.
Ugandan Parliament advised the government to withhold consent to the deal between Tullow Oil and Total-CNOOC before capital gains tax assessed by URA payable by Tullow are paid in advance and a report to the effect is made to Parliament.

Reason: The British High Comm. alleged that Tullow, one of London's 100 listed companies, paid bribes to senior Uganda government officials. Tullow rejects the allegations.

Museveni said some of the documents shown to parliament were "forgeries".

He also denied having taken bribes from Italian giant ENI in the sale of Tullow Oil shares.

"Did I receive money from ENI? I am the one who stopped them , In fact I choose the Chinese. Italy is a small economy. China is a big economy. If you are to have a cooperation, you must relate with a big economy not a small one."

That is how it all begins.

I love the chinese because they never interfere with your internal politics.

I love the chinese because they never interfere with your internal politics.

Didnt they fund Savimbi?

Yes they did.He also he received warfare training china.

Funny that Chinese leaders have repeatedly stressed the principle of “mutual noninterference in domestic affairs” since the Asian-African Bandung Conference in 1955.

UNITA under savimbi was formed in 1966. Now that was 10 years after resolutions were passed.Why they did they bend? I have no answer but that war included other foreign powers like US. I bet rules can be changed to fit the occassion.

It’s fair to question the governance impact of China’s expansion in Africa, even if the critique rings a bit hollow. But China has learned from the West. They’re not operating in the same way. Loans from China don’t get deposited into a dictator’s bank account and promptly sent to Swiss bank accounts.

In Angola, eg China’s recent $2 billion and $2.4 billion Eximbank credit lines were tied to infrastructure investments. Teams of Chinese are already in the country building roads, rehabilitating railways, and building schools and a huge neighborhood of low-cost housing. Thirty percent of the contracts under the loan are targeted to Angolan firms. Angola pays for this infrastructure with oil.

@BlackLibya, & pendo89, it was the USA who backed Jonas Savimbi politically.

Afro_Blue:

what matters is not so much the colour of your skin as the power you serve and the millions you betray.
www.johnpilger.com

Excellent.

The worst is yet to come  if Obama and sarkozy  win a second term.

@panafrican, I believe the Russians & Chinese will not allow the world to rot under such people.

@pendo89 No One paints africa's leaders bad before removing them. THEY ARE BAD.

If they were not, we wont be where we are today.


Uganda is not where it should be. It should be better.

As long as you refuse to institute accountable leadership, you will always be r.eta.rded as a continent.

As long as you refuse to face the truth, you will always be re.tarde.d.

as long as you refuse to tell your sit-tight leaders to step aside, you will always be re.tard.ed.,

as long as each generation is willing to throw up sycophants instead of freedom fighters, you will be ret.arded.

as long as each generation is willing to throw up sycophants instead of freedom fighters, you will be ret.arded.

Have u never wondered why the NTC is formed of mostly exiles who lived in Britain and France and held high positions in the international finance industry? It's either them or its former ghaddafi loyalists, and a few sufi islamists thrown in for good measure

BlackLibya:

Have u never wondered why the NTC is formed of mostly exiles who lived in Britain and France and held high positions in the international finance industry? It's either them or its former ghaddafi loyalists, and a few sufi islamists thrown in for good measure

Probably because they are not DEPENDENT on or COWED by Ghadaffi.

Or because they are the most respected and most competent to run their country.

Or because a background in international finance prepares you to run country-level institutions.

An open mind is a beautiful thing.

Probably because they are not DEPENDENT on or COWED by Ghadaffi.

Or because they are the most respected and most competent to run their country.

Or because a background in international finance prepares you to run country-level institutions.

An open mind is a beautiful thing.

When a country colonizes another country, do they normally use citizens that were educated in the colonizing country to run the other country?