US to Back Sub Saharan African Open Societies Opposed to China, Russia: New Strategy

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The newly-unveiled US strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa is promoting cooperation with open societies which pursue policies to counter "harmful activities" by China and Russia, the White House announced on Monday.

Blinken is currently on his African tour, presenting the Biden administration’s strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the strategy, African countries are geostrategic players and critical partners to the US on the most pressing issues, from promoting an open and stable international system to tackling the effects of climate change, food insecurity and global pandemics, as well as shaping technological and economic future.

"The new U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa represents a reframing of Africa’s importance to U.S. national security interests," the White House said in a fact sheet.

One of the main US objectives in sub-Saharan Africa is to foster openness and open societies, according to the US administration.

"Open societies are generally more inclined to work in common cause with the United States, attract greater U.S. trade and investment, pursue policies to improve conditions for their citizens, and counter harmful activities by the People’s Republic of China, Russia, and other actors," the statement said.

Commenting on the development, US political analyst Don DeBar says that the term "open society" is highly ironic, given the reality of American policy in the region.

"The US military has seized de facto operational control of Africa's military forces via AFRICOM, the Pentagon's military command, which was brought to life by Obama after backing the 2010 French coup against President Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast and then the war on Libya and murder of Muammar Gaddafi. These two prominent proponents of Pan-Africanism were removed from power and dispatched - Gbagbo to the ICC and Gadhafi to the cemetery - to enable the recolonization of the continent," DeBar told Sputnik.

"And now Washington intends to counter 'harmful activities' - that would be offering Africa a choice between colonial relations and 'win-win' trade with equals - by China and Russia. We shall see what the people of the continent choose as they take command of their destiny from the colonizers," DeBar added.

After visiting South Africa on Monday, Blinken will head to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from August 9-10, His final stop will be Rwanda from August 10-12, where the secretary of state will discuss shared priorities, including peacekeeping, and raise democracy and human rights concerns with senior Rwandan government officials and civil society members.