Liberal Democrats shamefully all voted for the “Countering Malign Russian Influence Activities in Africa” Act—seems like relic from bygone era
During the Cold War, the U.S. government invoked the pretext of Russian interference to justify a range of crimes, including the assassination of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, the overthrow of Pan-Africanist hero Kwame Nkrumah, the arrest of Nelson Mandela and intervention in the Angolan civil war.
Just when we thought that that era had passed, the House of Representatives on April 27 passed the “Countering Malign Russian Influence Activities in Africa” Act by a 415-9 vote.
The bill in part would direct the U.S. Secretary of State, using “detailed intelligence,” to identify in Africa “local actors complicit in Russian activities.”
The U.S. in turn may very well seek to punish those actors through economic sanctions or even regime change. “Russian aggression” is generally being invoked to justify greater U.S. intervention in Africa, including the expansion of the Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. military base network across the continent.
Exceptional Show of Bipartisan Support
The main sponsor of the bill, Gregory Meeks (D-NY), is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
After passage of the bill, he voiced his pride in the “exceptional show of bipartisan support,” which he said “demonstrated how Putin’s war in Ukraine, and the Kremlin’s corrupt and illicit activities in Africa to fund war and other exploits have worked to unify Congress and the international community.”
Meeks continued: “As we continue to apply pressure on Putin and his agents for carrying out war crimes throughout this unjustifiable war of aggression, we cannot forget that the Russian Federation will continue to seek avenues through which it can pilfer, manipulate, and exploit resources in parts of Africa to evade sanctions and undermine U.S. interests.”
“The United States not only stands with the people of Ukraine, but with all innocent people who have been victimized by Putin’s mercenaries and agents credibly accused of gross violations of human rights in Africa, including in the Central African Republic and Mali. This bill enlists the resources of the State Department and other federal agencies to examine the Russian Federation’s malign activities in Africa and hold those complicit in these activities to account. The United States will not sit by and watch Putin’s war machine attempt to gain strength to the detriment of fragile states in Africa and elsewhere.”
While the Russians have been involved in some shady operations, many African countries have had long-standing positive ties to Russia and benefitted from its support for African liberation movements during the Cold War—in contrast to the U.S.—including in South Africa.
Meeks’s comments mostly offer a form of projection in that they accuse Russia of trying to exploit Africa’s resources when this is clearly something that the U.S. has done far more extensively and for a much longer period than Russia.
AFRICOM founder Vice Admiral Robert Moeller admitted that one of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)’s guiding principles was “protecting the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market.”
The “Countering Malign Russian Influence Activities in Africa” Act will be used to justify flagrant infringements on the sovereignty of African countries. It attempts to use the Russian bogeyman—like in the Cold War era—as a pretext for neocolonial expansion.
The rhetoric surrounding the bill fits with the larger demonization of Vladimir Putin and Russia, which is a desperate ploy by the U.S. ruling elite to try to mobilize the public against a foreign enemy at a time of growing economic crisis and threatening civil discontent.
CovertAction Magazine is made possible by subscriptions, orders and donations from readers like you.
Blow the Whistle on U.S. Imperialism
Click the whistle and donate
When you donate to CovertAction Magazine, you are supporting investigative journalism. Your contributions go directly to supporting the development, production, editing, and dissemination of the Magazine.
CovertAction Magazine does not receive corporate or government sponsorship. Yet, we hold a steadfast commitment to providing compensation for writers, editorial and technical support. Your support helps facilitate this compensation as well as increase the caliber of this work.
Please make a donation by clicking on the donate logo above and enter the amount and your credit or debit card information.
CovertAction Institute, Inc. (CAI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your gift is tax-deductible for federal income purposes. CAI’s tax-exempt ID number is 87-2461683.
We sincerely thank you for your support.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s). CovertAction Institute, Inc. (CAI), including its Board of Directors (BD), Editorial Board (EB), Advisory Board (AB), staff, volunteers and its projects (including CovertAction Magazine) are not responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. This article also does not necessarily represent the views the BD, the EB, the AB, staff, volunteers, or any members of its projects.
Differing viewpoints: CAM publishes articles with differing viewpoints in an effort to nurture vibrant debate and thoughtful critical analysis. Feel free to comment on the articles in the comment section and/or send your letters to the Editors, which we will publish in the Letters column.
Copyrighted Material: This web site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. As a not-for-profit charitable organization incorporated in the State of New York, we are making such material available in an effort to advance the understanding of humanity’s problems and hopefully to help find solutions for those problems. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. You can read more about ‘fair use’ and US Copyright Law at the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.
Republishing: CovertAction Magazine (CAM) grants permission to cross-post CAM articles on not-for-profit community internet sites as long as the source is acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original CovertAction Magazine article. Also, kindly let us know at info@CovertActionMagazine.com. For publication of CAM articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: info@CovertActionMagazine.com.
By using this site, you agree to these terms above.
About the Author
Richard Dunn is a retired construction professional, trained in Architecture and Energy Management.
He’s been a social justice activist since 1968 and was particularly active with the Walter Rodney defense demonstrations.
Richard is an author, a contributing columnist to newspapers, an editor for a music industry magazine and operates a social justice website.
Richard can be reached at: richarddunn75@gmail.com.
Just an excuse to fund CIA coups.
Demonizing Russia with the Ukraine lies, is no different than demonizing Arabs with the 9/11 lies.
Does this website still hide the Jew run 9/11 deception?
Is this website run by nasty Jews?
Why is the USA, Russia, Ukraine all run by nasty Jew Billionaires?
Hello Guys, I realize you read numerous news remarks and presents on bring in cash online positions. Certain individuals don’t have any idea how to bring in cash and are saying to counterfeit it. sws You trust me. I just began this a month prior. I have my FIRST really look at complete of $850, lovely cool. I want to believe that you attempted it. You don’t have to contribute anything. Simply snap and open the page to tap the main assertion and really look at occupations… https://tinyurl.com/Make-Dollar
[…] New Bill That Passed House Reinvokes Old Russian Bogeyman as Pretext For More U.S. Intervention in A… […]
It is so sad to see Africa again suffering from external big power intrusion, harking back to the so-called “Scramble for Africa” in the late 19th century. In this very late stage of capitalism, imperial competition threatens the very existence of all humankind. Besides CAM, another American-based excellent NGO trying to counter this is World Beyond War and its co-sister Roots Action. All power to your arms!
Usually congress is very divided with about 50 % voting no and about 50 % percent voting yes. The fact that 98 % voted yes and 2 % voted no leads me to believe that there were genuine reasons for voting yes on this bill. It is not is if they are all a bunch of dummies. Many of them are highly intelligent and thoughtful.
Thank you for this article. All very well, but having spent 7 years in Geneva in close contact with the United Nations, I am 100% certain the situation described by Richard S Dunn is and has always been purposely created by the five friends/colleagues who direct the UN Security Council: US, Russia, UK, France, China). Without competition, without criticism, without verbal attack, the war industry cannot prosper. I have sat at the same table with American and Russian politicians and diplomats much enjoying each other’s company, agreeing on things they’ll disagree in public. In short, a comedy, a parody, a very tragic game that we, the innocent voters, have to pay for.
Understanding of internet and basic typing skill… It’s been an amazing experience working with them and i wanted to share this with you, because they are looking for new people to join their team now and i highly recommend to everyone to apply… Visit following page for more information… https://extrasavingshere1.blogspot.com/
These weakling liberals make me sick, and then they sit around and wonder why people are attracted to authoritarianism when they stand for nothing, have no ethics, have no leadership skills, just fall in line like the cheap dominoes they are.