Africa

French Seek Permanent EU Defense Fund

By Hugh Carnegy, Financial Times

In an effort to put its allies on the spot, President François Hollande is poised to demand, at a Brussels summit on Thursday, that the EU sets up a permanent fund to finance operations such as France’s intervention in the Central African Republic.

Al-Shabaab’s Somali Safe Havens: A Springboard for Terror

The Africa Center’s Assistant Director Joshua Meservey argues in the Perspectives on Terrorism journal that Al-Shabaab’s September 2013 terror attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi is not, as some have argued, a sign of the group’s desperation, but is instead evidence of its intact capabilities. Download the PDF

Is France Replacing the US as the World’s Policeman?

By Emily Cadei, OZY

With French troops on the ground in Mali and now the Central African Republic, French President Francois Hollande’s enthusiastic support for the aborted U.S. strikes in Syria and French diplomats’ tough line on negotiations with Iran

IntelBrief: Mixing Oil and Water in Northern Kenya

By Adrienne Chuck

Bottom Line Up Front In the past 18 months, scientists and oil exploration companies have discovered an estimated 300 million barrels of crude oil and 250 billion cubic meters of water in the impoverished county of Turkana, in northwest Kenya

Pham Remembers Mandela on Fox News

Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham spoke with Fox News on the passing of former South African President and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela: Visionary Pragmatist

By J. Peter Pham

The passing of former South African President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a loss not only for his beloved South Africa, but also for Africa as a whole and, indeed, for the world. Mandela will be rightly remembered as one of the great figures of our time. The manner in which he led his country’s transition […]

NATO: France Pulling Its Troops Out of Kosovo Mission

By AP and Reuters

From AP:  NATO’s supreme commander says France is pulling out of the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo because of commitments in Mali and Central African Republic.

Libya Needs Urgent Help from International Community

By Anna Lund, MENASource

NATO member states including the United States, Turkey, Italy and the United Kingdom have initiated small-scale military trainings with Libya, all occurring outside the country.