by Nils A. Haug
- “The number of Christians intentionally murdered, let alone tortured, raped, kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam far exceeds the number of Gazans killed unintentionally as Israel directs its fire at terrorists who hide behind civilians. Indeed, Israel is defending its population from the very same jihadist assaults faced by African Christians.” — Charles Jacobs and Uzay Bulut, Gatestone Institute, December 25, 2024.
- Africa, it seems, is simply not a priority for the West at this time — and that appears exactly why China, taking advantage of this vacuum, is making deep inroads throughout Africa (and the other unprioritized continent, South America) economically, financially, and politically – predominantly through their “Belt and Road” seductive-sounding loan initiatives, many of which turn out to be debt-traps.
- In a strategy described as ISIS’s “global long game”, the movement aims to permeate all of Africa. Currently, its affiliates successfully operate in “Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Somalia, Mozambique, and West Africa.”
- Hence, it is imperative that the West, particularly the US and Europe, significantly increase its presence in Africa. Only in this way is there a chance of containing Islamist jihadism, and ensuring that democracy prevails on the world’s second-largest continent; one with a population that could soon reach two billion.
- Accordting to Lt. Col. Joseph G. Bruhl of the US Army’s Southern European Task Force, Africa, “In 2019, Russia held the first-ever Russia-Africa summit—hosting 45 African heads of state. China holds a similar event called the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation. The U.S. hosts no such initiative.” Why not?
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