With the rest of the U.S. occupied with ObongoCare and Billary's dramatic rescue of the journalists and love fest with Kim Jong-Il, Hillary was busy committing funds to Africa, including money, arms and training to Somalia (wonder if they'll also get faster boats, better GPS and more RPGs? :p), and another billion or so for arms, training, paramilitary and po po for the newly created Africom, the U.S. Africa Command. Said billion does not include unspecified sums for its new headquarters in (drumroll please!!) Stuttgart, Germany!! I imagine the loyal Obongo and Clintonista supporters they'll staff it with objected strenuously to being sent to live among the ever multiplying masses and squalor south of the equator.
Clinton's budget request for the State Dept. also includes more money to Kenya for the purchase of U.S. weaponry to $1 million--up from $250,000 in the current fiscal year - and includes more than a million dollars to train Kenyan military officers in the U.S., up from $770,000.
Clinton also wants: $800,000 to pay for arms sales to South Africa (up from nothing in the current fiscal year); $2.45 million for the Democratic Republic of Congo; 1.35 million for Nigeria and 9 million for Liberia. Then, for training African military officers in the U.S. through the International Military Education and Training program the State Department wants $900,000 for South Africa, $500,000 for Angola, $500,000 for the "Democratic" Republic of Congo, $1.1 million dollars for Nigeria (419 scams anyone?) $525,000 dollars for Liberia, money for Cape Verde and some other needy well run countries.
The State Department plans to spend even more money on Africa in Fiscal Year 2010 through other regional and international security assistance boondoggles. These include: the Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Partnership ($20 million); the East Africa Regional Strategic Initiative ($10 million); the Africa Conflict Stabilisation and Border Security program ($3.6 million). More here
http://allafrica.com/stories/200908100003.html
In other news, lest Michael Jackson fade from the headlines, Jesse Jackson has inherited the late singer's position as Prince of the African kingdom of Sanwi, a tribe from the Cote d'Ivoire. U.S. diplomacy takes another giant leap forward in 2009.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/m...e_1461906c.jpg
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...can-tribe.html
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