From the article:
President Barack Obama will host the first ever U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., from Aug. 4 to 6. The event will showcase Africa’s impressive economic rise and the Obama administration’s policy initiatives as the U.S. plays catch-up with Europe, China and other parts of the world that are aggressively pursuing economic opportunities around the continent. A successful summit could go a long way toward improving Washington’s relations with African capitals. The summit’s official agenda, which emphasizes the promotion of peace and increased private investment, is a positive sign.
However, the administration’s policy toward Africa needs a clean break from the old aid agenda and patronizing finger-wagging and an enduring tendency to cling to autocrats. Toward that end, the U.S. government needs to work more cooperatively with the continent’s democratic standard-bearers, who are vital to securing our long-term interests. Similarly, the U.S. must dispel the notion that countries with oil, or our allies in the fight against terrorism, are somehow immune from criticism and rightful rebuke for their human rights violations.
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