American non-engagement with Africa

No one can deny Africa is a troubled continent. It has emerged as a major front in the war on terror, indeed the first one (Nairobi and Dar-us-salam). The endless cycle of war, genocide, famine and epidemics there grinds the human spirit.

But it is also home to an increasing share of the world's population, and to a significant proportion of the world's natural resources. The US' diplomatic stance there until recently was one of benign neglect at best, letting the former colonial powers, Britain and France, keep up the pretense of still being major world powers there. Somalia certainly did not help Washington's enthusiasm for grappling with the region's problems. That has changed for the better in the last few years, even though deeds have yet to match the rhetoric on Darfur, Zimbabwe or elsewhere.

Still, one fact demonstrates the depth of America's disengagement with the continent: there is not a single US airline offering direct service to Africa. Not even to relatively prosperous and mineral-rich South Africa.