Podcasts about africom

Send us a textU.S. Army Special Operations Command Sergeant Major JoAnn Naumann returns to the podcast—this time from the range at Fort Bragg—for a conversation on leadership, transformation, and enabling the next generation of special operations forces.With nearly three decades in uniform and two years as the senior enlisted leader of USASOC, CSM Naumann shares the mindset shifts, hard-won lessons, and bottom-up insights that have shaped her time in the seat. She opens up about the transition from doer to enabler, why modeling honest feedback is non-negotiable for leaders, and how she's staying grounded while helping shape the future of Army Special Operations.In this episode, they explore:Why she believes she has the best job in the Army—and how she stays energized by the Soldiers around herWhat it means to lead across 80+ countries, and how she stays connected to the ground truthHow USASOC is driving transformation in structure, tech, and human performance—and why speed and soldier feedback are essentialThe challenge (and opportunity) of going from “operator” to enabler—and how shifting mindset scales impact across 36,000 teammatesWhy NCOs must be willing to say “that's a dumb idea”—and the importance of modeling that kind of candor for the forceThe value of reading, curiosity, and lifelong learning in sustaining leadership at the highest levelsHow she adapts her approach to different commanders—and what it really takes to make that relationship workWhether you're an NCO navigating your first staff job, a commander looking to build trust across the chain, or a lifelong learner looking for leadership insights forged under pressure, this episode delivers a front-row seat to how transformation happens—one question, one conversation, one Soldier at a time.Command Sergeant Major JoAnn Naumann currently serves as the Senior Enlisted Leader for U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), where she advises on matters affecting over 36,000 Soldiers across the special operations enterprise.Born and raised in New Jersey, CSM Naumann graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in American Studies and Government before enlisting in the Army in 1996 as a 35P Voice Language Analyst. She completed the Arabic Basic Course at the Defense Language Institute and Advanced Individual Training at Goodfellow Air Force Base.Over nearly three decades of service, CSM Naumann has held a range of leadership positions, including assignments with the 311th MI Battalion, the 344th MI Battalion, and Special Mission Units. She has deployed 14 times across CENTCOM and AFRICOM, and previously served as the Senior Enlisted Leader for Special Operations Command–Korea (SOCKOR), and as the Command Sergeant Major for the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Intelligence Brigade.She is a graduate of the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy and has completed numerous military schools, including the Military Freefall Course, Airborne and Air Assault Schools, and the SOF Intel Leaders Course.CSM Naumann's awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal (1OLC), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, and the Order of Saint Michael. She is married to SGM (Ret.) Thomas Baird, who most recently served as the TRADOC G3 Sergeant Major.

Send us a textThe Ones Ready crew is back with your daily drop, and today's episode is hotter than the LRSO's payload. Jared breaks down the latest in defense news with a healthy dose of sarcasm, fury, and common sense—none of which were found in the FY26 budget. From the Navy's sixth-gen fighter dreams to Putin's never-ending land grab, the episode covers it all. We're talking U.S. evacuation plans in Bahrain, AFRICOM vs EUCOM turf wars, drone warfare budget gymnastics, and why building a micro nuke in Alaska is finally something to get excited about. Oh, and apparently we're ready to go to war over Greenland…?If you like watching bureaucratic chaos unfold in real-time while Jared dunks on generals and defends SpaceX like it's a religion, this one's for you.

Send us a textIt's another beautifully chaotic episode of the Ones Ready Daily Drop, and today we're launching straight into the bureaucratic bonfire. Jared's back with updates so wild you'd think the Pentagon was drunk texting Congress. From billion-dollar GPS launches to PFAS exposure going prime time, we're diving headfirst into drone dread, six-gen fighter delays, Space Force spending black holes, and the VA disability floodgates cracking wide open.Also: A WWII hero finally gets his due, Canada's prepping for WWIII by 2028, and NATO's still hoping its members hit 2% defense spending...by 2036. Meanwhile, GPS going dark could cause global chaos (shocker), and everyone's pretending we'll somehow counter Ukraine-style drone strikes with... what, PowerPoints?

Ça n'est pas tous les jours en RDC qu'un homme politique d'un tel rang est condamné à une telle peine… Ce verdict fait la Une de la presse congolaise.« L'ancien Premier ministre Matata Ponyo est condamné à 10 ans de travaux forcés, relève Actualité CD, ses co-prévenus – un ancien gouverneur de la Banque centrale du Congo et le patron Sud-africain de la société Africom - à 5 ans de travaux forcés. Les trois hommes étaient poursuivis depuis 2021 ans dans l'affaire de la débâcle du parc agro-industriel Bukanga Lonzo. Les condamnés ont été reconnus coupables d'avoir détourné plus de 285 millions de dollars liés à ce projet initié sous le régime du président Joseph Kabila. »Matata Ponyo n'était pas présent à l'audience. La Cour constitutionnelle a ordonné son arrestation immédiate et la confiscation de ses biens au prorata des sommes détournées.Irrégularités en pagaille…« C'est l'épilogue spectaculaire d'un feuilleton politico-judiciaire qui dure depuis près de quatre ans », s'exclame Afrik.com.Afrik.com qui revient longuement sur les origines de ce scandale politico-financier. « Lancé entre 2013 et 2016, Bukanga Lonzo devait symboliser la renaissance agricole de la RDC. Ce projet d'envergure nationale visait à transformer un vaste espace en centre agro-industriel moderne, créateur d'emplois, fournisseur de denrées alimentaires locales, et levier contre la pauvreté rurale. Mais les espoirs ont rapidement laissé place aux soupçons, relève Afrik.com. Dès novembre 2020, un rapport accablant de l'Inspection générale des finances, l'IGF, avait mis en lumière de graves irrégularités : choix arbitraire de partenaires, absence de mécanismes de contrôle, surfacturation, détournements massifs et abandon du chantier. L'IGF en a alors attribué la responsabilité principale à Matata Ponyo, alors Premier ministre. »Et s'en est ensuivi une longue bataille judiciaire… « Pour Matata Ponyo, le dossier est avant tout politique, pointe encore le site panafricain. Dans une vidéo publiée en mars dernier, il dénonçait une instrumentalisation du pouvoir judiciaire pour l'écarter de la scène politique. »Une justice sélective ?En tout cas, poursuit Afrik.com, « au-delà du cas Matata, ce dossier cristallise les limites de la gouvernance en RDC. Il illustre la difficulté chronique du pays à concrétiser des projets de développement malgré des ressources importantes, à cause de la corruption, du clientélisme et de l'absence de redevabilité. La condamnation d'un ancien Premier ministre pourrait être perçue comme un signal fort de la part du pouvoir en matière de lutte contre l'impunité. Mais pour beaucoup, relève encore le site, elle soulève surtout la question de la sélectivité de la justice. Pourquoi certains dignitaires de l'ancien régime ou même du régime actuel échappent-ils à toute poursuite ? Pourquoi cette affaire ressurgit-elle à des moments clés de la vie politique congolaise ? »Le site congolais L'Interview CD renchérit : « ce verdict suscite de vives réactions dans un contexte politique déjà tendu en RDC. Matata Ponyo, figure de l'opposition et ancien candidat à la présidentielle de 2023, où il s'était désisté en faveur de Moïse Katumbi, reste une personnalité influente. Ses partisans voient dans ce verdict une tentative du pouvoir en place, sous la présidence de Félix Tshisekedi, d'éliminer un adversaire potentiel en vue des prochaines échéances électorales. »Qui plus est, poursuit L'Interview CD, « cette condamnation pourrait exacerber les tensions entre le pouvoir et l'opposition, dans un pays où la justice est souvent accusée d'être instrumentalisée. »Et le site congolais de conclure : « alors que la RDC fait face à des défis sécuritaires et économiques persistants, cette condamnation risque de raviver les débats sur la transparence et la lutte contre la corruption. Pour l'heure, Matata Ponyo et ses avocats envisagent de faire appel ou de saisir des instances internationales, tandis que ses soutiens appellent à une mobilisation pour dénoncer ce qu'ils qualifient de “justice sélective“. »Au Sénégal aussi…Enfin, un autre ancien ministre sous les feux de la Justice… Cette fois au Sénégal. « Ismaïla Madior Fall, ministre de la Justice sous Macky Sall, a été inculpé, relate Walf Quotidien, puis assigné, hier, en résidence surveillée par les juges de la commission d'instruction de la Haute cour de justice pour “corruption et détournement de deniers publics“ présumés. »Ironie du sort, pointe Walf Quotidien : Ismaïla Madior Fall porte désormais à la cheville le bracelet électronique qu'il avait lui-même instauré quand il était garde des Sceaux…

Ça n'est pas tous les jours en RDC qu'un homme politique d'un tel rang est condamné à une telle peine… Ce verdict fait la Une de la presse congolaise.« L'ancien Premier ministre Matata Ponyo est condamné à 10 ans de travaux forcés, relève Actualité CD, ses co-prévenus – un ancien gouverneur de la Banque centrale du Congo et le patron Sud-africain de la société Africom - à 5 ans de travaux forcés. Les trois hommes étaient poursuivis depuis 2021 ans dans l'affaire de la débâcle du parc agro-industriel Bukanga Lonzo. Les condamnés ont été reconnus coupables d'avoir détourné plus de 285 millions de dollars liés à ce projet initié sous le régime du président Joseph Kabila. »Matata Ponyo n'était pas présent à l'audience. La Cour constitutionnelle a ordonné son arrestation immédiate et la confiscation de ses biens au prorata des sommes détournées.Irrégularités en pagaille…« C'est l'épilogue spectaculaire d'un feuilleton politico-judiciaire qui dure depuis près de quatre ans », s'exclame Afrik.com.Afrik.com qui revient longuement sur les origines de ce scandale politico-financier. « Lancé entre 2013 et 2016, Bukanga Lonzo devait symboliser la renaissance agricole de la RDC. Ce projet d'envergure nationale visait à transformer un vaste espace en centre agro-industriel moderne, créateur d'emplois, fournisseur de denrées alimentaires locales, et levier contre la pauvreté rurale. Mais les espoirs ont rapidement laissé place aux soupçons, relève Afrik.com. Dès novembre 2020, un rapport accablant de l'Inspection générale des finances, l'IGF, avait mis en lumière de graves irrégularités : choix arbitraire de partenaires, absence de mécanismes de contrôle, surfacturation, détournements massifs et abandon du chantier. L'IGF en a alors attribué la responsabilité principale à Matata Ponyo, alors Premier ministre. »Et s'en est ensuivi une longue bataille judiciaire… « Pour Matata Ponyo, le dossier est avant tout politique, pointe encore le site panafricain. Dans une vidéo publiée en mars dernier, il dénonçait une instrumentalisation du pouvoir judiciaire pour l'écarter de la scène politique. »Une justice sélective ?En tout cas, poursuit Afrik.com, « au-delà du cas Matata, ce dossier cristallise les limites de la gouvernance en RDC. Il illustre la difficulté chronique du pays à concrétiser des projets de développement malgré des ressources importantes, à cause de la corruption, du clientélisme et de l'absence de redevabilité. La condamnation d'un ancien Premier ministre pourrait être perçue comme un signal fort de la part du pouvoir en matière de lutte contre l'impunité. Mais pour beaucoup, relève encore le site, elle soulève surtout la question de la sélectivité de la justice. Pourquoi certains dignitaires de l'ancien régime ou même du régime actuel échappent-ils à toute poursuite ? Pourquoi cette affaire ressurgit-elle à des moments clés de la vie politique congolaise ? »Le site congolais L'Interview CD renchérit : « ce verdict suscite de vives réactions dans un contexte politique déjà tendu en RDC. Matata Ponyo, figure de l'opposition et ancien candidat à la présidentielle de 2023, où il s'était désisté en faveur de Moïse Katumbi, reste une personnalité influente. Ses partisans voient dans ce verdict une tentative du pouvoir en place, sous la présidence de Félix Tshisekedi, d'éliminer un adversaire potentiel en vue des prochaines échéances électorales. »Qui plus est, poursuit L'Interview CD, « cette condamnation pourrait exacerber les tensions entre le pouvoir et l'opposition, dans un pays où la justice est souvent accusée d'être instrumentalisée. »Et le site congolais de conclure : « alors que la RDC fait face à des défis sécuritaires et économiques persistants, cette condamnation risque de raviver les débats sur la transparence et la lutte contre la corruption. Pour l'heure, Matata Ponyo et ses avocats envisagent de faire appel ou de saisir des instances internationales, tandis que ses soutiens appellent à une mobilisation pour dénoncer ce qu'ils qualifient de “justice sélective“. »Au Sénégal aussi…Enfin, un autre ancien ministre sous les feux de la Justice… Cette fois au Sénégal. « Ismaïla Madior Fall, ministre de la Justice sous Macky Sall, a été inculpé, relate Walf Quotidien, puis assigné, hier, en résidence surveillée par les juges de la commission d'instruction de la Haute cour de justice pour “corruption et détournement de deniers publics“ présumés. »Ironie du sort, pointe Walf Quotidien : Ismaïla Madior Fall porte désormais à la cheville le bracelet électronique qu'il avait lui-même instauré quand il était garde des Sceaux…

Episode 4 of the Mental Dialogue Perspective returns to unpack U.S. propaganda surrounding Burkina Faso's interim president Ibrahim Traoré—praised for pushing African unity and resource control, yet accused by AFRICOM's General Langley of misusing gold reserves. We also tackle Shedeur Sanders' NFL draft slide: was it racial politics by team owners or a matter of talent? We keep asking the questions America's afraid to.

This week, Madeline and David wrap up our two-part episode about AFRICOM, Burkina Faso, and Traore!PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/pickmeupimscared/postsSOURCES: https://www.defense.gov/About/combatant-commands/https://hoodcommunist.org/2022/09/29/a-guide-to-shutdownafricom/amp/https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/03/16/afri-m16.htmlhttps://www.communistpartyofkenya.org/87-recent-news/246-oint-statement-of-the-communist-party-of-kenya-and-the-zimbabwe-communist-party-on-the-expansion-of-africomhttps://mronline.org/2021/10/05/building-a-movement-to-shutdown-africom/https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/africomhttps://hoodcommunist.org/2020/10/01/africom-and-nato-are-terrorist/amp/https://monthlyreview.org/2024/06/01/the-actuality-of-red-africa/https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/socialist-viewpoint-us/julaug_12/julaug_12_27.htmlhttps://www.workers.org/2018/10/39384/https://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news/2023/2023-07-20-al-bulushi-teen-vogue.phphttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-africom-us-military-africahttps://www.defensepriorities.org/explainers/rethinking-africa-command/https://countrystudies.us/libya/30.htmhttps://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199846733/obo-9780199846733-0193.xmlhttps://www.accord.org.za/analysis/african-military-marxism-is-its-past-its-future/https://hoodcommunist.org/2021/09/30/building-a-movement-to-shutdown-africom/https://blackallianceforpeace.com/events/2024actionsagainstafricomhttps://www.communistpartyofkenya.org/87-recent-news/246-oint-statement-of-the-communist-party-of-kenya-and-the-zimbabwe-communist-party-on-the-expansion-of-africomhttps://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/03/16/afri-m16.htmlhttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-africom-us-military-africahttps://www.defensepriorities.org/explainers/rethinking-africa-command/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/07/world/africa/07congo.html?_r=2https://www.theafricareport.com/380259/us91africa-africom-makes-its-case-tariffs-for-south-africa-women-under-fire/https://www.blackagendareport.com/africom-congohttps://blackallianceforpeace.com/africomwatchbulletin//edition47https://sfbayview.com/2013/12/declaration-would-contract-drc-to-concede-to-m23/https://www.blackagendareport.com/african-unity-and-new-cold-warhttps://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/05/26/unity-is-an-imperative-reclaiming-african-liberation-day-60-years-on/https://www.blackagendareport.com/liberia-and-challenges-us-imperialismhttps://thegrayzone.com/2021/11/30/africom-corporations-dr-congo-climate-china/https://defensescoop.com/2025/01/29/us-algeria-defense-cooperation-mou-agreement-to-expand-military-cooperation/https://www.blackagendareport.com/africom-watch-bulletin-50https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/counterterrorism/africom-led-operation-extracts-u-s-government-personnel-from-sudan/https://realistreview.org/2021/11/02/america-played-a-big-role-in-sudans-coup/https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2021/01/27/us-africa-command-official-hails-new-beginning-in-sudan/https://www.blackagendareport.com/useunatos-regime-change-playbook-burkina-faso-and-captain-ibrahim-traorehttps://www.military.africa/2024/09/us-forces-returning-to-chad-but-with-a-different-objective/https://apnews.com/article/niger-chad-us-troops-withdrawal-russia-aa852a79bac39aaa679af3663b56deaahttps://peoplesworld.org/article/u-s-africom-africa-and-the-world-in-the-crosshairs/https://legalafrica.org/from-gaddafi-to-traore-africa-must-unite-against-neo-imperialism/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/14/africom-imperial-agenda-marches-onhttps://foreignpolicy.com/2010/07/21/the-truth-about-africom/https://blackagendareport.com/africom-crying-russia-libya-pot-and-kettle-syndromehttps://www.mintpressnews.com/ibrahim-traore-burkina-faso-west/289538/

This week, Madeline & David talk about AFRICOM, Kony 2012, and whether or not X is a rockabilly band!PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/pickmeupimscared/postsSOURCES:https://www.defense.gov/About/combatant-commands/https://hoodcommunist.org/2022/09/29/a-guide-to-shutdownafricom/amp/https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/03/16/afri-m16.htmlhttps://www.communistpartyofkenya.org/87-recent-news/246-oint-statement-of-the-communist-party-of-kenya-and-the-zimbabwe-communist-party-on-the-expansion-of-africomhttps://mronline.org/2021/10/05/building-a-movement-to-shutdown-africom/https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/africomhttps://hoodcommunist.org/2020/10/01/africom-and-nato-are-terrorist/amp/https://monthlyreview.org/2024/06/01/the-actuality-of-red-africa/https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/socialist-viewpoint-us/julaug_12/julaug_12_27.htmlhttps://www.workers.org/2018/10/39384/https://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news/2023/2023-07-20-al-bulushi-teen-vogue.phphttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-africom-us-military-africahttps://www.defensepriorities.org/explainers/rethinking-africa-command/https://countrystudies.us/libya/30.htmhttps://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199846733/obo-9780199846733-0193.xmlhttps://www.accord.org.za/analysis/african-military-marxism-is-its-past-its-future/https://hoodcommunist.org/2021/09/30/building-a-movement-to-shutdown-africom/https://blackallianceforpeace.com/events/2024actionsagainstafricomhttps://www.communistpartyofkenya.org/87-recent-news/246-oint-statement-of-the-communist-party-of-kenya-and-the-zimbabwe-communist-party-on-the-expansion-of-africomhttps://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/03/16/afri-m16.htmlhttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-africom-us-military-africahttps://www.defensepriorities.org/explainers/rethinking-africa-command/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/07/world/africa/07congo.html?_r=2https://www.theafricareport.com/380259/us91africa-africom-makes-its-case-tariffs-for-south-africa-women-under-fire/https://www.blackagendareport.com/africom-congohttps://blackallianceforpeace.com/africomwatchbulletin//edition47https://sfbayview.com/2013/12/declaration-would-contract-drc-to-concede-to-m23/https://www.blackagendareport.com/african-unity-and-new-cold-warhttps://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/05/26/unity-is-an-imperative-reclaiming-african-liberation-day-60-years-on/https://www.blackagendareport.com/liberia-and-challenges-us-imperialismhttps://thegrayzone.com/2021/11/30/africom-corporations-dr-congo-climate-china/https://defensescoop.com/2025/01/29/us-algeria-defense-cooperation-mou-agreement-to-expand-military-cooperation/https://www.blackagendareport.com/africom-watch-bulletin-50https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/counterterrorism/africom-led-operation-extracts-u-s-government-personnel-from-sudan/https://realistreview.org/2021/11/02/america-played-a-big-role-in-sudans-coup/https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2021/01/27/us-africa-command-official-hails-new-beginning-in-sudan/https://www.blackagendareport.com/useunatos-regime-change-playbook-burkina-faso-and-captain-ibrahim-traorehttps://www.military.africa/2024/09/us-forces-returning-to-chad-but-with-a-different-objective/https://apnews.com/article/niger-chad-us-troops-withdrawal-russia-aa852a79bac39aaa679af3663b56deaahttps://peoplesworld.org/article/u-s-africom-africa-and-the-world-in-the-crosshairs/https://legalafrica.org/from-gaddafi-to-traore-africa-must-unite-against-neo-imperialism/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/14/africom-imperial-agenda-marches-onhttps://foreignpolicy.com/2010/07/21/the-truth-about-africom/https://blackagendareport.com/africom-crying-russia-libya-pot-and-kettle-syndrome

In this jam-packed episode of Upgrade America, we take you on a whirlwind through the biggest stories shaping our world:AFRICOM 2.0 and Gaddafi's ghost haunting Africa's futureThe possibility of the first African Pope making historyUFOs are real? National Archives drops bombshell UAP footage and reportsThe FED opens the crypto floodgates: Bitcoin banking is hereShannon Sharpe's latest controversy – fair or foul?Trump's surprising push for domestic manufacturing — is he delivering?Are labor unions a dying breed?Hybrid human-animal experiments in Japan: sci-fi or scary reality?Police forces swapping out gas guzzlers for EVsCapitol Trades: See what your politicians are investing inHow AI is making it terrifyingly easy to find you through your photosThailand's RoboCops: AI policing is no longer sci-fiAnd finally, the Upgrade America fitness tip: Why you should be sprinting!

¡Capitán Traoré en el punto de mira de Occidente!Hoy es miércoles y toca #LALLAVE. Escúchanos en nuestros canales de YouTube y Spotify: https://youtu.be/R9GtIvmGO0whttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/la-llave/episodes/Capitn-Traor-en-el-punto-de-mira-de-Occidente-e31simsEl día 3 de abril el General de AFRICOM Michael Langley puso al capitán Ibrahim Traoré en el punto de mira de occidente. La semana pasada hubo otra intentona de golpe de estado, financiada por Francia y AFRICOM y organizada desde Costa de Marfil bajo la supervisión de Outtara. Desde que Ibrahim Traoré, su junta y el pueblo Burkinés han decidido unirse a la Alianza de los Estados del Sahel y recuperar la independencia y soberanía establecida por Thomas Sankara, el precio a dicha libertad a sido muy alto. En el podcast de hoy analizamos: ¿ por que un Afroamericano es el encargado de ser el verdugo de Traoré?¿Qué paso la semana pasada en Costa de Marfil? ¿Quién esta detrás de la intentona de golpe de estado? ¿Qué políticas tiene Traoré para su pueblo, la región y África?¿Qué tiene que ver la nacionalización de las minas de oro con la persecución de Traoré?¿Cuál es su legado? Como siempre acompañado de música: LamyMista O #SabiasqueÁfrica#OtraÁfricaesposible#AES#allianceduestatesdusahel #IbrahimTraoré#Traore#BurkinaFaso#Burkinabooks#AfricanStream#allafricanpeoplerevolutionaryparty#AFRICOM#neocolonialism#Françafrique

In this compelling episode of COHORT W, host CW4 Jessie Morlan sits down with CW4 Ronald Carrion, Adjutant General Warrant Officer Intermediate Level Education–Follow On (WOILE-FO) Instructor, to explore the modernization of Professional Military Education through the lens of the Human Resources mission set.With over 20 years of experience supporting warfighter readiness across Iraq, Afghanistan, AFRICOM, and beyond, CW4 Carrion brings a unique blend of operational depth and instructional expertise. As a leader shaping the future of HR Warrant Officers, he discusses the evolving role of the Adjutant General Corps, the critical skills needed for success in large-scale combat operations, and how PME must evolve to remain relevant and impactful.

Send us a textIt's April 4th, and Peaches is bringing you the news that makes commanders panic and E-4s roll their eyes.Today's drop hits everything from AFRICOM possibly getting stuffed back under EUCOM (because geography isn't real), to a $2 billion gunship that looks like it flew straight out of Planes (2013).Meanwhile, the Air Force is grounding pregnant aircrew, the Space Force is begging for a bigger allowance, and a fired general's name is blasted across the DoD like a bad Yelp review. Add in NATO drama, orbital warfare threats, and a bunch of space startups flexing on legacy contractors—and you've got yourself a fully loaded episode of “what the hell are we doing?”

Welcome to the One CA Podcast. Today, Brian Hancock interviewed Ismael Lopez about OHDACA and Humanitarian Relief and his experiences as a Marine Civil Affairs Officer.  Brian's profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-j-hancock/ Ismael's profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishrlopez/  Transcript available below. --- One CA is a product of the civil affairs association  and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on the ground with a partner nation's people and leadership. We aim to inspire anyone interested in working in the "last three feet" of U.S. foreign relations.  To contact the show, email us at CApodcasting@gmail.com  or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www civilaffairsassoc.org --- Great news! Feedspot, the podcast industry ranking system rated One CA Podcast as one of the top 10 shows on foreign policy. Check it out at: https://podcast.feedspot.com/foreign_policy_podcasts/ --- Special Thanks to the creators of Jazz & Bossa Cafe for the sample of Positive March Music. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHeCxa0rMQ4 --- Transcript: 00:00:10 BRIAN HANCOCK Welcome to One Civil Affairs Podcast. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Brian Hancock, and I will be your host for this session. Today we have with us Major Ishmael Lopez to discuss civil affairs and the ongoing relief effort in the Gaza Strip. Let's talk a little bit more about that training piece. Part of readiness is being able to do your job. The Marine is an expeditionary force, perhaps becoming even more expeditionary with the expeditionary advanced base operations. construct, the chief of the Navy signed off on. So very interesting training opportunities for the fleet right now. And you mentioned Balakatan and some of those other exercise type missions that you've done. 00:00:53 BRIAN HANCOCK And I know you've probably done Marine Corps Warfighting exercise and mentioned JRTC. But what are some of these other missions you've done? You've talked about a dock up. A dock up is joined at the hip with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, HADR. The Navy has a huge role in HADR for just a whole bunch of reasons. Has your detachment participated in any HADR missions? Is that another training opportunity that you have with your Marines in detachment? 00:01:21 ISMAEL LOPEZ We as a detachment have not. However, I do have individual Marines who have participated in HADR missions. Not a whole lot of experience, but there's some resident within the detachment. And to your point, there is huge training opportunity there for understanding how to integrate into an HADR response specific to DOD's role in supporting the State Department. We do have the opportunities for training with USAID, but that's all classroom. And we try to get as much exposure to that as possible. But as far as real-world HADR scenarios where we're able to integrate with the State Department and even into a joint task force or a multinational task force, it is very limited. I know that that is being discussed for future iterations of Balakatan specifically to have a HADR response, which makes sense, right? Because Balakatan is becoming a massive multinational exercise that features activities across the spectrum of military operations. Once that piece of it is integrated, then it's truly a well -thought -out, deliberate exercise on how to integrate HADR, whereas right now it's sort of sprinkled on top. The Marines, sailors, and even the Army, civil affairs practitioners that are supporting, are supporting steady -state engineering projects. And I think that's a missed opportunity because there's so much more that we can provide than project management. And there are opportunities there, but... If I'm a commander sitting on top of a joint task force, that's not where I would place those assets because it's going to happen. They're not caught off guard and they understand, okay, where is the USAID person that I need to be linked up with? Who do I need to be syncing up with? Again, looking for those opportunities. 00:03:22 BRIAN HANCOCK opportunities. I hear you. I know you've done a fair amount of work in South America with all the attention on ACOM and sometimes UCOM. I don't think we talk enough about, I think there are many opportunities in South America to do great things. And if we take a look at the Tierra del Fuego with all the earthquakes and the volcanoes and the things happening there and climate change and disasters, there seems to me more disasters, which is going to increase the chance that our government is temporarily overwhelmed and might have to issue a diplomatic cable and request assistance. For us in Title X, that's probably just some of our unique capabilities like rotary wing, pull up a nuclear ship and just start giving power to a large area. There's amazing things that we can do. And I know that there are disasters happening in South American countries, which tend to be a little more fragile. Do we have those opportunities? Is that something that we just haven't mapped out? How would we go about helping our South American brothers? 00:04:25 ISMAEL LOPEZ struggle with this because like you, I see the opportunities that are down there and they're plentiful. I worked down at the embassy in Bogotá, Colombia for three years during my FAO tour. And while I was there, I was a counter -narcotics maritime operations planner. So really fancy title for managing Section 333 funding programming. But our partners in that region are all about working with us. training with us, opening up their countries for us to train. They want to fight with us. In Colombia, we were trying to organize an additional exercise outside of the standard unit toss that goes on in South America. So as we started trying to test, does this concept work? What are going to be some of the challenges? What does it look like for closing ship to shore in a contestant environment? Colombia has amazing terrain that is very similar to that that you will find in the first island chain, surprisingly. A lot of people wouldn't know that, but it's there. So when you consider distance and cost associated with being able to provide realistic training that mimics the future fight, you have it in the same hemisphere. The challenge is, the NDS calls out very specifically, services, your priority is... UCOM. Your priority is AFRICOM. Your priority is CENTCOM. Your priority is writ large is Indopaycom. We'll focus on that. And so that automatically causes the services to look elsewhere rather than looking down south. And so that means that resources, manpower, etc. are going to get pulled to support efforts down there because it's not called out specifically in the NDS. And now it's being focused on other parts of the world. Fortunately, Marine Forces Reserve has shifted from trying to compete with the active component to adding relevancy by focusing on developing those opportunities in Latin America. I know the Army does a lot with the TSOCs down there, but more can be done and should be done, in my opinion. I think the relevancy is there and transferable to other parts of the globe. It's just getting past the, hey, I understood that this document calls this out. but there are opportunities here that align to what we're trying to get after in the NDS. And the other piece of that too is when you consider if we're having assets down there, it reduces the number of available resources that can respond to contingencies. And I think that's part of that equation. 00:07:09 BRIAN HANCOCK I think so. It's really not a bridge too far from our existing mental models. The energy may be in PayCon, but at the same time, you're still going to JRTC. Is that the Deep Pacific? No, not at all. But there's still value in that training. If you can go to Columbia and move through similar islands, have similar river problem sets, similar terrain problem sets, and get that experience at a fraction of the cost of going to the Deep Pacific, that's not something we should overlook. And we can't ignore the fact that there's increasing levels of adversary activity in South America, I don't think we should take that for granted. And doing these mill to mill and working together side by side on various projects, there's nothing but good stuff there. So I'm hopeful that we may in the future put a little bit more energy into that theater. 00:08:02 ISMAEL LOPEZ Yeah. And the one last piece of it I think that we take for granted is the belief that our partners in the Western Hemisphere are going to stay aligned to us. because we have those shared values. But when you have our competitors knocking on the door and saying, hey, we want to train with you. We want to provide you money. We want to do all these things. And we're taking for granted that relationship. It's only going to last so much longer before the number of partners that we have on there are going to be very limited. Yeah. 00:08:33 BRIAN HANCOCK You know, it kind of reminds me of the Sims game. I don't know if you've played this. But there's a relationship meter. And if you want to have positive relationships with another avatar in this simulation, you have to interact with them. You have to do that fairly regularly because over time, that relationship meter decays. Relationships aren't static like that. They're usually moving forward or they're sliding backwards. And if we're not in that game and we have hungry competitors, we can see where that could go. Let's talk about some of your work as a foreign area officer. That's a very coveted job for civil affairs and folks who think they may have a future intent to work for Department of State. A lot of folks don't get there. What did you do as a foreign area officer, and how do you get involved in that kind of work? 00:09:25 ISMAEL LOPEZ For the Marine Corps, I was actually able to use my experience as a civil affairs officer to springboard. into becoming a Latin America FAO. So in the Marines, we have two different ways of becoming a foreign area officer. There is the experience track, which is the one I fell into. And then the other one is a study track. So either route, you have solicitation for candidates, individuals who have experiences overseas, working specifically on the civ. side of the house, not necessarily the mill -to -mill piece, right? Because we're looking at international relations, foreign relations, etc. And then you have the study track, which is you get selected, you get sent to Monterey to earn a master's degree in international relations. Then they send you to the language school, DLI, for a language, and you get assigned a region. And then you get sent either to combatant command to work as a desk officer. or you get sent to a country overseas and you're going to work out at the embassy. So for me, I was able to parlay my experiences as a civil affairs officer, and then the board selected me as a Latin America foreign area officer. And what that did was that it opened me up to that role in the embassy. So my wife's active duty Air Force, and she's also a Latin America foreign area officer. She got sent to Naval Postgraduate School, earned her master's. Didn't have to go to DLI because she already spoke Spanish. And then she got orders to the embassy in Columbia. Family and I obviously went along. And as we were doing our introduction with the scout chief, she mentions my husband's a civil affairs officer and a FAO. And his eyes just lit up. He's like, we haven't had a Marine sitting in the naval mission for the Section 333 program in quite some time because we just don't have them. Part of the challenge is the cost associated with bringing one down. But since I was already there, in his eyes, he was getting two fails for the price of one. So because I had that, I was able to meet the requirement for the billet. And then I was able to serve as the program manager for the Section 333 program for roughly three years. 00:11:38 BRIAN HANCOCK Well done. And what an exciting mission. If I was younger, I'd want to run off there too and do something like that. I mean, my Spanish needs to be a little bit better, but I know I could brush it up. Hey, let's talk about the... Very difficult situation in Gaza right now. I don't think we can approach that with anything but sympathy for all involved. Certainly there's great suffering there by many different parties. And I know you were one of those folks who raised his hand and said, hey, I will help with some of that Gaza relief and did that mission, at least for some time. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with the Gaza relief mission? And are you comfortable sharing any lessons learned from your time? 00:12:20 ISMAEL LOPEZ Yeah, so it was very interesting when the Gaza relief mission kicked off for several reasons, right? The challenge there, very, very dynamic event, very tragic event. And then on one hand, we have to support our ally in Israel. But on the other hand, great suffering occurring to the people in Gaza as a result of the mission out there. So the struggle within DOD at the time was, what should we do from an ATA perspective to help those that are suffering in Gaza? So when we look at it from within DSCA, we were really waiting for inputs from OSD and even the NSC as to what is an appropriate humanitarian aid response. One that's not going to undermine our partner. But at the same time, sending a strong message to the people in Gaza and the international community that the United States is not going to sit idly by while people are suffering. So it's a very delicate balance that had to be found. So from an access property standpoint, I was looking into what could we do and how close could we get to provide items from the inventory that could provide life -saving support or even just support for those that are being displaced. into neighboring countries. What ended up happening was we, DSCA, specifically the humanitarian aid and the humanitarian demining division, was ordered to reallocate all the ODACA funding that had already been provided to the combative commands and used to support the Gaza relief missions, specifically the maritime bridge. So we had to deliver the bad news to the combative commands, like, hey, Any money that you have not obligated at this point, we have to pull. You were going to utilize that specifically for this mission. Concurrently, we had to assume risk. This was in the summer, right? Heading into the peak of hurricane season. So we had to decide what number were we comfortable with holding back in the event that a hurricane hit or earthquake hit and we knew it was coming and a partner was going to ask for assistance. And we wouldn't necessarily have the ability to ask Congress for additional funding. It was a fine balance there. At the end of the day, we ended up avoiding any major hurricanes in the Caribbean where a partner asked for support. So avoided that. We were able to support the Gaza Relief Mission, specifically the Maritime Pier, getting aid out there, providing those flight hours, the ship hours, getting aid as close as possible. But then we had to stop supporting that because the bridge was not as structurally sound as we all thought it was going to be. And we've been looking at other avenues of providing that support to the people of Gaza, primarily through our partners. The other challenge there is we can't actually enter an area of conflict for obvious reasons. So that added another layer of complexity to support the mission. But as we can and as we are allowed to, we continue to provide support. CENTCOM has been great identifying requirements and coordinating with the SCA to ensure that the folks that need that aid are getting that aid from us. 00:15:49 BRIAN HANCOCK That's great. It's a tricky situation. It goes out to everyone involved, but I'm glad there are folks out there like yourself who are doing what we can do to try and provide some support. Looking after civilians in conflict is a core part of what we do in civil affairs, no matter what branch you happen to be in as a civil affairs officer. So that is fantastic. I'd like to talk a little bit about one of the differences in the Army and the Marine Corps for civil affairs officers, such as yourself, and I'm beside myself, is that as a Marine civil affairs officer, 00:16:19 ISMAEL LOPEZ and I'm 00:16:22 BRIAN HANCOCK a Marine civil affairs officer, you at some point have to return to your primary branch. Whereas I can continue as a... civil affairs officer for the rest of my career if I choose to. Do you see that changing? Clearly there is a need for career professionals such as yourself to be able to stay in that MOS. What are your thoughts on that? 00:16:41 ISMAEL LOPEZ So this is the same thing with the foreign area officers, the Marine Corps. We have to go back and forth and because the primary mission of the Marine Corps is to support the infantry, right? I can make an argument for how Fayos and civil affairs does that too, but that's a harder conversation to have at the top. But I'm not sure if the, once the 17XX MOS is fully approved and implemented, how that's going to look for officers. Are they going to be able to just stay on that track? I've heard maybe it's going to happen. I've heard, no, it's not going to happen. So it's hard to say. 00:17:20 BRIAN HANCOCK it's hard to say. I saw a pre -decisional slide on that, which showed a glide path moving between civil affairs and PSYOP and space operations, 00:17:33 BRIAN HANCOCK operations, et cetera, all the way up to full kernel. That gave me the impression that it would become a career, though you would move around within that. But how things are rolled out, you know, the devil's in the details. 00:17:47 ISMAEL LOPEZ in the details. We shouldn't be bouncing back and forth because then you lose credibility in the field on both sides of it, right? So I am, by trade, a tank officer. 00:17:47 BRIAN HANCOCK in the details. 00:17:56 ISMAEL LOPEZ I no longer have an MOS in the Marine Corps because we did away with tanks. But if I'm out of tanks for three years because I'm serving in a civil affairs capacity or as a foreign area officer, and to say I did my company command time and I come back in and now I'm vying for a staff job or vying for battalion command, me being gone hurts me. It doesn't help me. 00:18:19 BRIAN HANCOCK Right. They see it like an additional duty. All of the Marine Corps civil affairs officers and NCOs I work with have been nothing but extremely professional and competent. So that is really a shame that that kind of stigma follows. 00:18:34 BRIAN HANCOCK But I see the chain of logic there. If we are forced to flow through it, the Marine Corps is very agile, turns a little faster than the Army. You've stood up these meth information groups. Where are you going to get the professionals to fill those ranks? At some point, we want to fill them with Marines instead of Army contractors. Right. 00:18:52 ISMAEL LOPEZ Right. 00:18:52 BRIAN HANCOCK So this is a capability to do that if you can stay in that field and move through these MOSs. You get three MOSs for the price of one. I thought it was a great idea. 00:19:02 ISMAEL LOPEZ Yeah. And I hope what you saw is correct. I think that's great. But I also see a challenge with civil affairs, psyops, MISO, very different capabilities. We all work within the information realm. You can't necessarily have a psyoper doing civil affairs and you can't have a civil affairs practitioner doing psyops because the way we approach that is not the same. And that in and of itself is challenging. So I think the Marine Corps really has to work and think through that because there is the influence Marine, which is a Marine that's trained in psyops, cyber and civil affairs. But it's going to take a level of maturity and professional understanding to do each one of those roles and stay in that lane without crossing over and potentially losing your credibility within one of those hats. I could totally see it in a civil engagement where all of a sudden now, because I am a PSYOP -er or because I have my PSYOP hat on, I'm thinking now through the threat lens. well, I'm supposed to be having this friendly conversation. Now it gets out of hand and the person I'm speaking to probably doesn't trust me as much as they initially did. That takes a lot of role -playing, a lot of training, a lot of reinforcing of this is what it is you're doing, vice the other. Yeah. 00:20:25 BRIAN HANCOCK Yeah. Well said. We're hitting the end of our time, so I'm going to ask you my last question, and that's next for Ishmael Lopez. 00:20:34 ISMAEL LOPEZ So I'm actually rotating out of... first civil affairs group. And I'm going to be joining Six Anglico up in Seattle, Washington joint base. Louis McCord, actually. I'm going to be a salt leader and then potentially transitioning to be the executive officer there. And this is part of the, I have to go back to my primary MOS, even though I don't have one. So I'm not in civil affairs for too long as it hurts my career progression. On the DSCA side of things, We're adding the civil affairs liaison title responsibilities to me specific to humanitarian aid and ODACA. So I'm going to be working closely with the combatant commands, country teams, hopefully the civil affairs schoolhouses across the services to provide HA specific training for civil affairs. And this is just a capability gap that I identified a year ago. So DSCA, we provide training to security cooperation professionals. But what they do is very different than what civil affairs does. So tailoring the training for the civil affairs audience. So very excited about the new opportunity. That's outstanding. 00:21:48 BRIAN HANCOCK outstanding. And I think you've identified a good opportunity there. I graduated from the civil military operations planners course there at Moss, and we didn't spend much time on this. It's a short course, of course, and you can't do everything. A little bit more robust opportunity for HADR and ODACA. Those are nothing but win -win missions, and you do them at every phase of conflict, including competition. So huge opportunity there. Whoever ends up getting you is going to be very lucky. You're an amazing Marine and a great person. So thank you for taking your time. If the audience has questions, feel free to write to One Civil Affairs Podcast, and we'll do our best to make a connection. Thanks again for your time, Ishmael, and have a good evening, Al. 00:22:39 ISMAEL LOPEZ Thank you so much, Brian. Thank you for the opportunity, and very kind.

2.26.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: House passes Trump budget, Federal layoffs, DOE Assault, Trump dismantles AFRICOM, Crockett Chronicles #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on this Tuesday's Edition of the Black Tech Building Show. I'm going to be discussing some thoughts from this weekend's Black Tech Events. Then get into a discussion called The Difference Performative Action and Real Action discussing Black Mis-leadership from America to Africa. For example, from Africom to the #gala4goals trash. Random Tech Demo. Lastly the latest Tech News.Recorded on 02/25/2025

On any given day, there are 2,500-3,000 United States Army personnel in Africa undertaking a variety of engagements with their African counterparts. The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) was established in October 2007, making it just over 17 years old—close to the age of majority. AFRICOM undertakes security exercises, civil affairs initiatives, and key leader engagements, among other activities. AFRICOM represents the third ‘D'—Defense—of U.S. foreign policy pillars, with defense and security being the most visible pillar across the continent. This has made AFRICOM the primary face of U.S. engagement for many African governments. This approach or reality has its advantages and drawbacks. Niger is perhaps the most telling case. The massive U.S. military presence in the country reflected the prominent role that defense and security objectives play in U.S.-Africa relations. The expulsion of U.S. forces from Niger in 2024 due to a disagreement over a military coup d'état diminished U.S. standing in the Sahel. Despite these challenges, AFRICOM plays an important role in ensuring the viability of the Global Fragility Act in the littoral states and Mozambique. AFRICOM's dual role as a security actor and partner in development creates both opportunities and tensions in U.S. engagement with African states.  Joining Into Africa is Brigadier General Rose Lopez Keravuori, Director of Intelligence (J2) at U.S. Africa Command. Brigadier General Keravuori will discuss AFRICOM's accomplishments, the challenges it has faced, and its evolving role in U.S.-Africa relations.  This event is made possible by the generous support of Open Society Foundations.

Donald Trump tomou posse como 47.º Presidente dos EUA, levantando incertezas quanto à política externa, especialmente com o continente africano. No seu primeiro mandato, Trump mostrou pouco interesse pelo continente africano. O docente da Escola Superior de Relações Internacionais da Universidade Joaquim Chissano, Calton Cadeado, acredita na manutenção do status quo nas relações EUA-África e observa a saída dos EUA da OMS e do Acordo de Paris como um reforço da postura unilateral de Donald Trump. RFI: Donald Trump descreveu o início da sua gestão como uma "era dourada", prometendo apostar na prosperidade americana. Por outro lado, diversos líderes africanos manifestaram interesse em fortalecer os laços com os EUA, destacando esperanças em parcerias económicas e cooperação mútua. O que se pode esperar das relações entre os Estados Unidos e o continente africano nos próximos quatro anos?Calton Cadeado: À primeira vista, é esperar mais do mesmo. Não há grandes alterações. Uma grande evidência disso é o número de convidados africanos que não estão presentes nos eventos presidenciais. Isso já diz algo, porque a África nunca foi uma prioridade para os Estados Unidos sob a liderança de Donald Trump. Isso ficou ainda mais explícito no passado, e não há muita expectativa de que isso venha a mudar.Em que medida a política de Donald Trump pode travar o desenvolvimento e as relações entre os Estados Unidos e a África?Não vejo possibilidade de travar as relações entre os Estados Unidos e a África. Vejo uma continuidade do que já está em curso. Por isso digo: mais do mesmo. Há, por exemplo, algum receio de que projectos como o corredor do Lobito, em Angola, sejam interrompidos. Mas não acredito que os Estados Unidos abandonarão a política de apoio a questões de saúde, por exemplo. Também não vejo os Estados Unidos a desistirem de alargar a sua presença no continente africano por meio do AFRICOM, algo que, apesar de difícil de concretizar, continua relevante. Além disso, abandonar completamente o continente africano significaria abrir espaço para a China e a Rússia, que estão activamente à procura de fortalecer as suas influências.Mas quando Donald Trump anuncia a saída dos Estados Unidos da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), isso terá inevitavelmente consequências à escala global, mas também para o continente africano?De facto, essa saída simboliza um ataque ao multilateralismo, algo que já se esperava de Donald Trump. No entanto, é importante considerar o lado bilateral das relações, que ele provavelmente vai tentar manter. Sair completamente seria uma tragédia para as ambições geopolíticas americanas. Por outro lado, Trump pode simplesmente ignorar políticas que Joe Biden implementou e que foram bem recebidas em África, como a defesa de uma maior presença africana no Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas. Essa é uma questão que Donald Trump provavelmente não discutirá, como já ficou evidente nos seus discursos. Outro aspecto importante são as cimeiras entre os Estados Unidos e a África, cuja realização permanece incerta. Mas, se não acontecerem, não será uma surpresa, pois já é o que se espera de Donald Trump.O que pode acontecer caso essas cimeiras não se realizem nos próximos quatro anos?Está claro que, para os Estados Unidos sob Donald Trump, a África não é uma prioridade. A menos que algo extraordinário aconteça no continente, Trump dificilmente gastará recursos em iniciativas como as cimeiras EUA-África, especialmente se essas acções não trouxerem benefícios económicos directos para os Estados Unidos.Em que medida, China e Rússia podem capitalizar um possível recuo dos Estados Unidos no continente africano?Quando Joe Biden fez a visita histórica a Angola, no contexto do corredor do Lobito, muitos interpretaram isso como um colapso da influência russa em África. Contudo, a Rússia, devido à guerra na Ucrânia, enfrenta dificuldades económicas e políticas que limitam a sua acção no continente. Já a China parece mais bem posicionada para capitalizar qualquer recuo dos Estados Unidos. No entanto, é difícil medir os resultados a curto prazo, pois são apenas quatro anos, e mudanças significativas ou estratégicas não são esperadas nesse período.Por que motivo disse que a Rússia está a perder presença em África?A guerra na Ucrânia tem impactado severamente a economia russa, e já existem sinais claros de que o país enfrenta desafios significativos. Isso lembra o colapso da URSS, que também enfrentou dificuldades económicas semelhantes. Além disso, a Rússia está cada vez mais focada em questões internas e em alianças estratégicas próximas das suas fronteiras. O grande braço da política externa russa, o Grupo Wagner, também se encontra fragilizado. Actualmente, parece que a Rússia está mais preocupada em proteger a sua segurança interna do que expandir a sua influência externa.Donald Trump gerou indignação ao usar termos depreciativos para se referir a países africanos. Essa retórica ainda influencia a percepção e as relações diplomáticas?As relações diplomáticas têm um histórico importante. Em Moçambique, por exemplo, há uma percepção de que as relações com os republicanos sempre foram boas, ao contrário dos democratas. Contudo, a retórica de Trump reforça a desconfiança e o cepticismo em relação à hegemonia americana. Essa visão é amplificada pelo nacionalismo de Donald Trump, que prioriza abertamente os interesses dos Estados Unidos, mesmo que isso prejudique outros países.Acredita que a OMS pode sobreviver à saída dos Estados Unidos?Esse é um grande teste para a OMS, que sempre dependeu muito dos Estados Unidos como maior contribuinte. A organização precisará de procurar recursos de potências emergentes, mas isso tem um custo elevado. A China, por exemplo, está mais focada em ganhar dinheiro do que assumir a liderança mundial.Como interpreta a saída dos EUA do Acordo de Paris? E de que forma os países africanos podem defender seus interesses climáticos?A saída de Trump do Acordo de Paris era previsível, dada a sua coerência em priorizar os interesses americanos. Para países africanos como Moçambique, isso representa um desafio para se reinventar e procurar parcerias alternativas. É uma oportunidade de reduzir a dependência excessiva dos Estados Unidos e de encontrar soluções internas para lidar com problemas climáticos.

In episode 103, Sunny, Slank, & Ahki Da G discuss the  counter-revolutionary role played by the IMF and AFRICOM in the Sahel region of Africa, the origins of Hip-Hop and the current beef between Fat Joe & FBA, and other topics.

Qui va gagner la nuit prochaine aux États-Unis ? Kamala Harris ou Donald Trump ? La bataille est beaucoup suivie aussi en Afrique. Cheikh Tidiane Gadio connait bien l'Amérique du Nord. Il est diplômé de l'Université d'État de l'Ohio. Puis, il est rentré au Sénégal, où il est devenu ministre des Affaires étrangères sans discontinuer pendant neuf ans et demi, de 2000 à 2009. Un record national ! Aujourd'hui, il préside l'IPS, l'Institut panafricain de stratégie, en charge de la paix, de la sécurité et de la gouvernance. En ligne de Dakar, il confie ses espoirs et ses craintes au micro de Christophe Boisbouvier. RFI : Quel bilan faites-vous de la politique africaine du président Biden ? Cheikh Tidiane Gadio : Je crois que Biden a quand même réussi certaines choses qui ont été très, très positives pour l'Afrique. Un des grands problèmes que l'Afrique avait avec des dirigeants américains, c'est qu'en général, ils ne s'intéressaient pas trop à l'Afrique. Il y a eu quelques ruptures. George Bush, qui est républicain, avait lancé le MCA [Millennium Challenge Account, NDLR] et avait montré un intérêt réel pour un nouveau partenariat avec l'Afrique. Mais ce que Biden a réalisé, à mon avis, est allé beaucoup plus loin. Il a, par exemple, ramené [en décembre 2022 à Washington] le sommet États-Unis - Afrique qu'Obama avait instauré. Ensuite, il s'est battu récemment pour que l'Afrique soit dotée d'un siège permanent au Conseil de sécurité, mais sans droit de veto, ce qui est absolument à discuter, bien sûr. Globalement, je crois que c'est un grand homme d'État qui a vraiment le sens du service à son pays et un peu à l'humanité. Je trouve qu'il a beaucoup d'empathie aussi, et je pense qu'il est antiraciste. Il a eu une excellente collaboration avec Obama et ensuite, il a une bonne collaboration avec Kamala Harris. Donc, au total, il a beaucoup aidé l'Afrique. À lire aussiSommet États-Unis/Afrique: Joe Biden acte le retour diplomatique des États-Unis sur le continentSur le plan sécuritaire, les effectifs militaires américains en Afrique sont tombés de 5 000 soldats en 2017 à 1 500 soldats aujourd'hui. Est-ce que c'est parce que les Américains veulent partir ou parce que les Africains ne veulent plus des Américains ?Alors, paradoxalement, je ne crois pas que ce soient les Africains qui ne veulent plus des Américains. Mais les Africains veulent une forme de coopération beaucoup plus affirmée, beaucoup plus présente et réelle en matière de renseignement, d'intelligence, d'équipements en satellites par exemple, de surveillance des mouvements des jihadistes et autres. Beaucoup de choses sur lesquelles les Africains ont exprimé beaucoup d'intérêt et de besoin et ils n'ont malheureusement pas eu de réponse favorable. Et effectivement, il y a le grand débat maintenant sur la présence de l'Occident en Afrique, mais je ne crois pas que les États-Unis soient particulièrement ciblés. Ce qui se passe avec la France, l'Union européenne et tout ça, c'est lié quand même à un passé assez spécial qui n'est pas le même que les relations qu'on a eues avec les Américains.Au Niger, après le putsch de juillet 2023, les Américains ont espéré pouvoir conserver leurs bases militaires, à la différence des Français, mais finalement, au mois de mars dernier, ils ont été chassés eux aussi. Est-ce le signe que leur offre sécuritaire n'est pas aussi concurrentielle que celle des Russes ? Absolument. Je pense que les Russes sont tombés à un moment, en Afrique, où ce que j'appelle le populisme et certaines formes de souverainisme ont amené un certain nombre de nouvelles politiques. Et les Russes ont su en profiter. Mais pour moi, l'Afrique ne doit pas chercher, disons, entre guillemets, à rompre avec l'ancienne tutelle parce qu'on a négocié une nouvelle tutelle, ce n'est pas bon pour l'Afrique. Et j'espère que les Africains vont se ressaisir de ce point de vue. Donc, pour les Américains, comme vous le savez, Africom, les différentes initiatives qu'ils ont en matière de sécurité, ce n'est pas très inclusif. Ils contrôlent à peu près tout. Moi, j'ai des informations sur leurs relations avec le Nigeria dans la lutte contre Boko Haram, c'était assez distant, c'étaient des conseils. Très peu de matériel ou de financements. Mais l'engagement qu'on pouvait attendre des États-Unis en tant que puissance mondiale qui a subi de lourdes pertes à cause du terrorisme et qui a une coalition mondiale de plus de 60 pays, cet engagement, on ne l'a pas franchement vu en Afrique, et ça, je crois, c'est une brèche ouverte dans laquelle les Russes se sont engouffrés.À lire aussiLes États-Unis font le point sur leur stratégie militaire en Afrique de l'OuestVous ne voyez pas d'autres pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest sur lesquels les Américains pourraient s'appuyer sur le plan sécuritaire, comme le Nigeria, le Ghana ou la Côte d'Ivoire ?Et même le Sénégal, hein. Il y a des formes de coopération sur lesquelles les Américains ne font pas beaucoup de publicité, mais il y a quand même une certaine proximité. Je sais qu'ils travaillent beaucoup avec le Nigeria parce que c'est la puissance non seulement de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, mais peut-être la puissance continentale la plus importante. Et le Nigeria vit une situation extrêmement dramatique avec Boko Haram - 40 000 morts, c'est quand même beaucoup -, et cette organisation reste très active. L'État islamique reste très actif aussi. Le Ghana, bien entendu, a toujours été un pays partenaire des États-Unis. La Côte d'Ivoire intéresse les Américains aussi bien au plan économique qu'au plan sécuritaire. Et le Sénégal aussi, bien entendu, est un pays qui est généralement visé par l'Amérique comme étant un pays modèle, surtout en matière de démocratie et autres.Et vous pensez que les relations entre les États-Unis et le Sénégal vont continuer sur le plan sécuritaire malgré l'arrivée du Pastef au pouvoir à Dakar ?Ça, c'est effectivement une grande question. Le Pastef se réclame du souverainisme dans lequel ils sont en train de mettre un contenu. Donc, je crois que tous les partenaires traditionnels sont à l'affût, essayent de comprendre pour bâtir une nouvelle relation. Vous savez, en diplomatie, comme disait l'autre, l'ambiguïté constructive est une bonne chose, ce qui gêne, c'est quand vous n'êtes pas prévisible, quand on n'arrive pas à prédire un peu l'avenir immédiat. Et c'est ce qui arrive avec monsieur Trump justement, qui n'est vraiment pas prévisible du tout. Et je pense que ça va être un problème dans ses relations avec l'Afrique.Comment voyez-vous l'avenir des relations États-Unis-Afrique, selon que c'est Kamala Harris ou Donald Trump qui gagnera demain ?Alors si c'est Kamala Harris, j'ai beaucoup d'espoir que ça va se passer beaucoup mieux que si c'est Donald Trump. Les raisons sont simples, moi, je suis un Africain panafricainiste, qui ne compte pas sur les États-Unis ou sur l'Europe ou sur l'Asie pour le renouveau de l'Afrique ou pour la Renaissance africaine. Pas du tout, par contre, j'ai toujours pensé que, par exemple, le cas d'Obama est un grand malentendu. Beaucoup d'Africains se sont mis à rêver, à espérer qu'Obama fasse de grandes choses pour l'Afrique. Je disais qu'Obama n'est pas élu pour servir l'Afrique, il est élu pour servir les États-Unis. Donc, Kamala fera la même chose. Son pays sera absolument prioritaire pour elle. Par contre, Trump s'est déjà manifesté par des comportements, par rapport à l'Afrique, absolument incroyables. Les insultes contre les Haïtiens, les Haïtiens sont un symbole pour tous les Africains, pour tous les panafricanistes. C'est vraiment un pays fondateur de la reconquête de notre dignité en tant que noir et africain. Donc, les traiter de mangeurs de chiens, de chats domestiques, et cetera, c'est extrêmement grave, et je pense qu'il sait que ce qu'il dit n'est pas vrai, mais c'est important pour lui pour des raisons populistes et des raisons de campagne. Et ensuite, il a fait une affirmation absolument extraordinaire que Kamala Harris allait au Venezuela et au Congo récupérer les pires prisonniers les plus sanguinaires pour les importer aux États-Unis pour détruire leur pays. Alors, ce genre de propos, quelqu'un ne peut les tenir et avoir de très bonnes relations avec nous. Et ses allusions au quotient intellectuel très bas de Kamala, ça remonte à l'anthropologie coloniale raciste contre les Noirs. Il y a tellement des textes qui ont été écrits sur le fait que nous aurions un quotient intellectuel très, très bas, et cetera, ce qui est absolument faux. Voilà, en gros, le fait que je n'ai pas beaucoup d'espoir que, si Trump triomphe, les relations soient réchauffées et aillent dans la bonne direction. Et la bataille, par exemple, pour le siège de membre permanent au Conseil de sécurité, dirigée un peu par Joe Biden, est-ce que Kamala va reprendre ça ? Sans aucun doute. Mais je ne suis pas sûr que Trump soit intéressé par cela. Il ne mentionne quasiment jamais l'Afrique dans ses discours. Et voilà. Et, si c'est le cas, s'il gagne, certains Africains disent que c'est une bonne chose, qu'il s'occupe de ses affaires, et nous, on s'occupe de nos affaires, et la vie est belle pour tout le monde. Et donc, les expectations…À lire aussi«Mangeurs de chats ou d'oiseaux»: la rumeur infondée d'une campagne trumpiste anti-migrants haïtiensLes attentes...Les attentes par rapport à Trump, c'est que tout le monde retient son souffle, c'est une sorte d'angoisse mondiale, de stress mondial. Les gens se posent beaucoup de questions sur ce qu'il va faire s'il retourne au pouvoir, ce qui est possible. Mais beaucoup de gens que je connais souhaitent que ce soit plutôt Kamala, une femme leader. Et donc, nous, les hommes féministes, on est tout à fait en phase avec elle, on lui souhaite bon vent.L'une des hantises des Américains, c'est l'installation à venir d'une base navale chinoise sur la façade atlantique du continent africain. Est-ce que vous pensez que Donald Trump et Kamala Harris partagent cette inquiétude ? Forcément. Du temps d'Obama, de l'administration Obama, j'en avais parlé avec des amis d'un tel dispositif. En leur disant que vous avez décidé de faire ce que vous appelez un pivot, un pivot pour aller vers l'océan Pacifique, et vous dites que c'est là-bas où va se jouer les grandes stratégies géopolitiques et autres du monde avec la Chine, l'Australie, le Japon, et cetera, la Corée. Maintenant que vous avez décidé cela, vous allez abandonner l'Atlantique, et là nous pensons que vous faites une grande erreur parce que l'Atlantique sera toujours très, très important, parce qu'il borde l'Europe et l'Afrique qui ne sont pas quand même rien dans la géopolitique mondiale. Donc, je pense que c'était une erreur de leur part de tourner le regard ailleurs que vers l'Afrique. Et là, si un pays africain s'apprête à accueillir une base chinoise, dans ce cas, je me pose toujours la même question : quel est l'objectif de ce pays ? Est-ce que ce pays est prêt ou a compris que la défense de l'Afrique, la façon d'aider l'Afrique à relever les défis sécuritaires, elle sera entre Africains et que ce soient les Africains eux-mêmes qui vont prendre leur destin en main et défendre le continent ?

The commander of the U.S. Africa Command (also known as AFRICOM) says the organization is focused on partnering with African nations to combat violent extremist organizations, transnational criminal groups, and the security impacts of climate change. General Michael Langley briefed journalists last week at the State Department. He spoke one-on-one with Zimbabwe-born journalists --- including Pearl Matibe – about commanding AFRICOM.

On Daybreak Africa: Mali's army says it foiled an attack by extremists on a military training camp in the capital, Bamako, on Tuesday. Plus, South Sudan eyes the resumption of Oil production. The WHO says Cancer kills millions each year despite efforts to tackle the disease. Britain looks to Italy for help amid surge in English Channel migrants. We'll examine factors that could impact Senegal's November 17 parliamentary elections. The commander of the U.S. Africa Command discusses AFRICOM's mission. Haitians in Ohio react to allegations they are eating residents' cats and dogs. For this and more tune in to Daybreak Africa!

The US is supporting Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian targets and cracking down on internal dissent.

AMSC's M and Assessments directorate for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). Mr. Landauer shares his perspectives on various topics, including his background and career journey, AFRICOM's responsibilities and challenges, and its extensive geographic scope. During the discussion, Mr. Landauer offers valuable insights on delegation, feedback, and the evolving role of civilians in the workplace. He provides career advice for those aspiring to join the Senior Executive Service, emphasizing the importance of delegation, seeking feedback from mentors, and self-awareness. He also discusses the keystone symbol of the Senior Executive Service, highlighting the role of removing barriers and advocating for the team. Mr. Landauer also shares his recommendations for leadership development books, such as “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” “Extreme Ownership,” and “The Culture Code.” His advice underscores the significance of self-awareness, seeking feedback, and the importance of continuous learning in leadership development. For questions, suggestions, or feedback, write us at usarmy.leavenworth.tradoc.mbx.armyu-amsc-podcast@army.mil To learn more about the Army Management Staff College, visit our website at https://armyuniversity.edu/amsc No DOD or U.S. ARMY ENDORSEMENT IMPLIED. Any references to commercially available products or works are used for research and educational purposes only. Mention of any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or the United States Government. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not state or reflect those of the United States Government and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. The mention of companies by name is solely for the purpose of representing educational framework and should not be implied as endorsement. Music: "Carolina" (Intro) & "Fort Scott" (Outro) composed by David Howey. r. David Howey hosts a virtual meeting with special guest Paul Landauer, the J8 Resources

Welcome to a compelling episode of The Women in the Arena Podcast, brought to you by Iron Butterfly Media. Today, we shine a spotlight on the extraordinary journey of Command Sergeant Major (CSM) JoAnn Naumann, from her early days as a Voice Language Analyst to her current role as the Command Sergeant Major of United States Army Special Operations Command, where she is responsible for approximately 36,000 people across 80 countries. The mission of U.S. Army Special Operations Command is to organize, train, educate, man, equip, fund, administer, mobilize, deploy and sustain Army special operations forces to successfully conduct worldwide special operations, across the range of military operations, in support of regional combatant commanders, American ambassadors and other agencies as directed.Throughout her career, CSM Naumann has been on an impressive fourteen deployments across CENTCOM and AFRICOM regions. She's taken on some pretty high-stakes roles too, like being the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) J2 Senior Enlisted Advisor and serving as Command Sergeant Major for the 15th Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) within the JSOC Intelligence Brigade and Special Operations Command - Korea.Her military education is just as extensive, including the Arabic Basic Course, Air Assault Course, and Basic Airborne Course, as well as specialized courses like the Military Freefall Course and Special Operations Forces Intel Leaders Course. She's also a graduate of the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy.Tune in to hear CSM JoAnn Naumann's compelling journey to military leadership spanning 28 years of dedicated service. CSM Naumann shares insights on leadership and how she prioritizes wellness amidst her demanding career. Don't miss this episode for a glimpse into CSM Naumann's impactful contributions and her leadership ethos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ambassador Cindy Courville joins Mike Shanley to discuss her work as the first Ambassador for the African Union. She talks about what it was like to enter into that role and how she worked with African Leaders to ensure their voices were heard, as well as what it meant to them to have someone assigned to Africa. Ambassador Courville describes the way the relationships have changed throughout different Presidencies and that it is critical to choose our next President based on the needs of other countries. Lastly, Ambassador Courville talks about what someone looking to get started in the development and diplomatic sector should be focused on. Tune in to learn more about the African Union.    IN THIS EPISODE: [1:49] What is Ambassador Courville's view on global security? [2:43] What does she see as the interplay between intelligence and development in promoting development outcomes?  [5:32] What was Ambassador Courville's experience being the first Ambassador to the African Union and what was her role? [9:25] How have the policies changed since the first implemented policies? [14:28] What did it mean to the African Leaders to have an Ambassador assigned to them? [16:25] Has there been momentum on the foundation of engagement with African nations and leaders under the Biden administration?  [19:56] How do the current African leaders see geopolitical options to them in the US, China, and other nations? [24:26] What is Ambassador Courville's insight on good development and the importance of interagency work? [27:25] What is Ambassador Courville's insight to someone that wants to cut development funding or diplomatic funding? [31:53] Ambassador Courville's advice for someone getting started in the development or diplomatic sector.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:  If we fall or shift to a more authoritarian situation, that is not in the best interest of African countries or developing countries in general.  We need to have a democracy and a leadership that is focused on maintaining democracy, not curtailing the rights and freedoms of Americans.  The more politically and economically stable we are, the less you have to use other tools, and you only want to use those other tools in the most extreme situations.    QUOTES: [21:35] “The Africans have been extremely forgiving and understanding. I would say, extremely democratic in their outlook, so they recognize the dynamics and shifts on a level that the average American just doesn't get. I'm not just talking the leadership of Africa, but the people themselves, and so you can't expect them not to engage.” - Ambassador Cindy Courville [24:33] “If I were writing the policy for USAID today, or for the administration, not just for Africa, but in general, I would say we need to increase the size of USAID. USAID's mission is so huge, but the number of personnel and NGOs are great, but we need more continuity in that process.” - Ambassador Cindy Courville [31:19] “We haven't resolved our civil war issues, women's issues, all of those things that are fundamentally part of a democracy.” - Ambassador Cindy Courville   RESOURCES: NSL4A Steering Committee  Aid Market Podcast Aid Market Podcast YouTube   BIOGRAPHY: Ambassador (retired) Cindy Courville, Ph.D. currently serves on the executive board of the National Security Executives and Professional Association (NSEPA) and as a member of the Steering Committee of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).  Previously Ambassador Courville served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Social Science Foundation Board for the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Within the U.S. government national security enterprise Ambassador Courville has served in a number of positions for nearly 20 years in the Department of State, the National Security Council, the Defense Intelligence Agency , and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  In the academic arena,  Ambassador Courville taught at the National Intelligence University, Occidental College, and Hanover College. Ambassador Courville served as the first U.S. Ambassador to the African Union where she was significantly instrumental in organizing and managing the fiftieth U.S. mission in Africa from November 2006-May 2008.  She led the U.S., European Union, and Non-African Observer countries negotiating efforts to design and implement the Strategic Planning Management Unit to support the African Union Mission to Somalia.  Also, she facilitated engagements with the ambassadors from Algeria, Ethiopia, and Uganda to develop a strategic engagement plan for the launch and sustainment of a Ugandan People's Defense Force led African Union peacekeeping mission to Somalia. In addition, Ambassador Courville led a team of experts that developed a Disaster Readiness Program.  Under her leadership, this effort was fully funded at $1 million to assist the African Union in the creation of a standardized, coordinated system to monitor, address and remedy humanitarian crises in Africa. From 2004 – 2006 at the National Security Council (NSC), Dr. Courville served as the Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for African Affairs.  She was responsible for developing and implementing critical strategic bilateral U.S. – Africa policy and relations that contributed to the advancement of U.S.- Africa political, economic, military partnerships, and security alliances.  Dr. Courville served as the White House and NSC lead working in collaboration  with the Nigerian government and the Special Court for Sierra Leone Office of the Prosecutor that helped bring  former  Liberian President Charles Taylor to justice for war crimes at The Hague.  In addition, Dr. Courville led the NSC interagency process that resulted in the U.S. training, airlifting and deployment of African Union troops in Darfur.  Also, she helped to create  and launch the Corporate Council on Africa, a public private partnership in support of the Presidential Malaria Initiative. Ambassador Cindy Courville received her Ph.D. and M.A. in international studies from the University of Denver and received her M.A. and B.A. in political science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  Also, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Louisiana, selected as  the Korbel School of International Studies 2014 Alumni of the Decade, and received the University of Denver Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award. Ambassador Courville is a Shell Oil Fellow, Ford Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow, International Career and Advancement Fellow and Department of Defense Executive Leadership Development Fellow.

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, meets in DC to celebrate 75 years and to plan for more war around the globe. But before that, the international No NATO - Yes Peace Counter Summit exposes facts of NATO's blood-soaked history. A coalition of more than 100 organizations met in DC for a day-long program on Saturday July 6, followed by a march and rally in front of the White House on Sunday July 7. For this hour, we present part one of our coverage of the summit. We start with the keynote address by German Parliamentarian Sevim Dagdelen, delivered on July 6, 2024 at St. Marks Church on Capitol Hill. Also includes remarks by German journalist, historian and peace activist Reiner Braun, and by activist and writer Djibo Sobukwe.  The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people's voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

Africa is rising but the neo-colonial and imperialist forces in the corporate media are working to control the narrative in their favor. To counter this, journalist and international political scholar, Ahmed Kaballo, started a new media outlet, AfricanStream.media, that reports in English primarily on social media targeting youth. Clearing the FOG speaks with Kaballo about the shifts occurring on the African continent and how African Stream is already impacting the dialogue within and outside of Africa. Kaballo also discusses Libya, events in the Sahel Region, South Africa and Sudan and how their coverage of Palestine is changing minds. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The United States announced that it will remove its troops from Niger in September after the government ordered them to leave. Mali and Burkina Faso have done the same. Chad is the most recent country in the Sahel Region of Africa to order the US out. This follows a wave of resistance against French colonization in the region. Clearing the FOG speaks with Abayomi Azikiwe of Pan African News Wire about the growing resistance in the Sahel and the United States. He discusses the unfulfilled promises of the Biden administration and the uncommitted movement in this presidential election. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Derek welcomes back to the pod , associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, to discuss the situations in Niger and Chad now that the two nations have respectively kicked out most US troops. They discuss the State Department's underwhelming treatment of some African heads of state, how this dynamic differs when working with a military junta, what specifically precipitated the US withdrawals from Niger and Chad, AFRICOM's security-focused framing, how Russia's role in the region factors into things, and more. Be sure to check out Alex's new Substack Sawahil, the successor to his excellent Sahel Blog. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

On this episode of American Prestige, we welcome back to the pod, Alex Thurston, associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, to discuss the situations in Niger and Chad now that the two nations have respectively kicked out most US troops.We discuss the State Department's underwhelming treatment of some African heads of state, how this dynamic differs when working with a military junta, what specifically precipitated the US withdrawals from Niger and Chad, AFRICOM's security-focused framing, how Russia's role in the region factors into things, and more.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Será o Corpo Africano criado pela Rússia uma concorrência a AFRICOM dos Estados Unidos? Como garantir a sustentabilidade dos estádios que acolheram a última Taça das Nações Africanas na Costa de Marfim? Dezenas de milhares de pessoas festejaram o Carnaval de Colónia.

Today's Story: Expanding Space Force

In August, the U.S. Africa Command, aka AFRICOM, reported that it had killed 13 al-Shabaab fighters in southern Somalia. Though the U.S. government said that it did not kill any civilians this time around, several past airstrikes have claimed innocent lives. In one notable example from March 2018, U.S. drone operators killed a 22-year-old mother, Lul Dahir Mohamed, and her 4-year-old daughter, Mariam, as they hitched a ride in a pickup truck with suspected militants. In a recently published article for The Intercept, Nick Turse offers an unprecedented account of the March 2018 strike, thanks to his reporting in Mogadishu and a secret Pentagon investigation he obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. As Nick writes, “This is a story about misconnections, flawed intelligence, and fatal blindness. It started with bad cell service and ended with an American missile obliterating civilians the U.S. didn't intend to kill, but didn't care enough to save.” Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien sat down with Nick, contributing writer at The Intercept, to discuss his piece, a post mortem of that fatal drone strike, and the wider context of AFRICOM's drone war across the region from the Obama administration through the present day. They also discussed why this special operations strike cell “seemed like they did everything wrong,” according to one American drone pilot who worked in Somalia.Please note that this episode contains content that some people may find disturbing, including graphic depictions of deadly drone strikes. Listener discretion is advised.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nicholas Richard-Thompson and Tunde Osazua from the Black Alliance for Peace join Breht to discuss AFRICOM, or The United States Africa Command - responsible for U.S. military operations and imperialism on the continent. Together they discuss the ongoing conflict in Palestine, the connections between black liberation movements and palestinian liberation, BAP's Month of Action against AFRICOM, recent coups in West Africa, developments in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, the recent history of Libya, the role of French neo-colonialism on the continent, the revolutionary contributions of Patrice Lumumba and Kwame Nkrumah, and much more!      Learn more and support Black Alliance for Peace    Follow Nicholas on Twitter    Follow Tunde on Twitter   BAP Chicago's Twitter Check out Rev Left's episode on Thomas Sankara Revolution in Sahel?   Get 15% off any book from Leftwingbooks.net    outro music 'Terrorist?'  by Lowkey Support Rev Left Radio  or make a one time donation: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/revleft

At the end of July, the Presidential Guard of Niger, backed by the military, unseated the current president, Mohamed Bazoum, in a coup supported by the people. In response, the United States and France, with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), began planning a military intervention to return Bazoum to power. West African nations, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, quickly declared solidarity with the new government, a move that could turn a military intervention into a greater regional conflict. To understand what is happening in Niger and how it fits into the bigger picture of the rejection of neo-colonialism and US hegemony, Clearing the FOG speaks with Abayomi Azikiwe, the editor of the Pan-African News Wire. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

In this episode of the Patrick Henningsen Show on TNT Radio which aired on August 16, 2023,  Patrick talks with independent French researcher and journalist Freddie Ponton, about how recent events in Niger have suddenly exposed the USA's attempted militarisation of the African continent and what Washington has been attempting to do over the last 20 years, as they lose their grip on global domination, and new powers emerge to balance out the international system. Looking back, it seems that NATO's takedown of Libya was a major trigger. Also, Freddie comments on the waning political fortunes of Ukrainian presidential actor Volodymyr Zelensky, and his crazed comments on Crimea. All this and more.  More from Freddie: Twitter  TUNE-IN LIVE to TNT RADIO for the Patrick Henningsen Show every MON-FRI at 12PM-2PM (NEW YORK) | 5PM-7PM (LONDON) | 2AM-4AM (BRISBANE): https://tntradio.live

Victoria Nuland has gone to Africa. Gone to Africa to talk some sense into the Nigeriens and convince them to return to the shackles of Paris. Gone to Africa to harvest blood diamonds and cobalt. Gone to Africa to masturbate on Gaddafi's grave. Gone to Africa to trade glass beads for slaves. Victoria Nuland has gone to Africa to help the bank boys keep their dicks in the mother continent, to help keep the siphon tubes stuck into the mother continent, to help keep the Russians and Chinese out of the mother continent. Traveling around the mother continent in the mask of a medieval plague doctor, collecting the fat leeches and replacing them with new ones. The AFRICOM emblem looks like a vagina, and Victoria Nuland looks like an involuntary pelvic exam. She makes me feel like a lost kid in a cornfield at dusk. She has mushroom clouds in her eyes. Soon Victoria will leave Africa and go home, back to the land where corporations are people and flags are gods, where the presidents have dementia and the poor have college degrees, where alienation flows like water and bullet casings fall like rain, where people wear airpods to mute the screams of their hearts and the homeless, where the middle class talk only to their Uber drivers and strangers they've mistaken for their Uber drivers, where soldiers march for fascism while flying rainbow flags, where war is a lucrative industry and journalism is a crime. She'll come home to a house that no millennial will ever be able to afford, into the loving embrace of her blood-spattered husband. They will make freakish, horrifying love that night, and she will fall asleep and dream of passing out cookies  while the world turns to fire. I had a dream, too. One of the strange ones that always come true. A pentagon was smashed to pieces by a giant black fist. I don't know what it means or what future it portends, but I do know Victoria Nuland  wasn't passing out any damn cookies. Reading by Tim Foley.

Today on the Show: We'll hone in on Africa, with a laser focus on Niger, Mali, the Russia-Africa Summit, and AFRICOM. We'll also we continue our drumbeat coverage on Kenya's announcement through the UN/US to send a thousand cops to suppress US sponsored thugs and death squads who have expanded their violence and kidnapping siege on the streets of Port Au prince The post Flashpoints – August 3, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

In Part 2 of our interview with Anjan Sundaram, award-winning journalist and author, we discuss in detail his new piece in Foreign Policy, “Why the World's Deadliest Wars Go Unreported,” and his New York Times opinion piece on Rwandan President Paul Kagame, “He's a Brutal Dictator, and One of the West's Best Friends.” He joins us from Mexico City, where he moved two years ago to report on the threats faced by environmental defenders.

In Part 2 of our interview with Anjan Sundaram, award-winning journalist and author, we discuss in detail his new piece in Foreign Policy, “Why the World's Deadliest Wars Go Unreported.”

Amy is a fellow Navy communicator who brings to the fight combat experience, broadcast journalism, and an expert voice on the uses of active duty representation online. In this episode, we'll dive deep into an issue I discuss routinely: the military's role in teaching its troops media literacy and the Navy's current uses of active-duty military influencers. Amy Forsythe is an award-winning military journalist who served five combat tours supporting combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been on assignment worldwide telling the military story. Amy started her career as a U.S. Marine combat correspondent and serves as Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Her photos and video taken while on assignment worldwide have been featured in numerous international and national media outlets and continue to be used for historical purposes. She's been assigned to units such as Joint Special Operations Command, AFRICOM and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. She has covered military exercises and operations in places like Niger, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Palau, Romania and Poland. Amy was named one of Success Magazine's top 50 Women of Influence in 2022 and recently published her first book titled  "Heroes Live Here." The book is a 'love letter' to Marines from Camp Pendleton and includes stories, photos, and artwork from those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11.She lives in San Diego, California, and is involved in many veteran-service organizations. Amy was recently inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame in the 'Historian' category for her many years of covering military operations worldwide.Find Amy here - https://bit.ly/459sugEVisit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTERRead my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com

This edition features stories on Airmen weapons staying at deployed locations, AFRICOM's HIV/AIDS prevention plan, Airmen helping Polish maintenance officers become familiar with the C-130 aircraft, actor Gary Sinsie performing for service members, changes to evaluation processes and a CV-22 and A-10 aircraft completing a team training exercise. Hosted by Senior Airman Robbie Arp

   Adam currently serves as the Security Operations Supervisor at Global Rescue    In this episode, you will hear about the assessment and selection process for Special Forces medics and about the training that these medics receive and how this is put to the test in real-world situations such as deployments to the CENTCOM AOR as well as Africa.  Adam talks about preparing for prolonged field care scenarios and other interesting training opportunities for Special Forces Medics.  He points out many lessons learned from his experiences providing point of care treatment for combat casualties and how important it is to be able to maintain laser focus on the mission and have a shared mental model with the entire team. He also describes some challenges associated with transitioning from working with elite teams in the military to the civilian sector.   Adam served as a Special Forces Senior Medical Sergeant with the 3rd Special Forces Group Airbourne at Fort Bragg. In this role he was involved in maritime operations, unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense and special reconnaissance missions in support of CENTCOM and AFRICOM.   He has a passion for readiness and resilience training and has worked tirelessly to assist units with prioritizing medical cross-training and making it “fun”.                            Find out more and join Team WarDocs at www.wardocspodcast.com Honoring the Legacy and Preserving the History of Military Medicine The WarDocs Mission is to improve military and civilian healthcare and foster patriotism by honoring the legacy, preserving the oral history, and showcasing career opportunities, experiences, and achievements of military medicine. Listen to the “What We Are For” Episode 47. https://bit.ly/3r87Afm WarDocs- The Military Medicine Podcast is a Non-Profit, Tax-exempt-501(c)(3) Veteran Run Organization run by volunteers. All donations are tax-deductible, and 100% of donations go to honoring and preserving the history, experiences, successes, and lessons learned in military medicine. A tax receipt will be sent to you. WARDOCS documents the experiences, contributions, and innovations of all military medicine Services, ranks, and Corps who are affectionately called "Docs" as a sign of respect, trust, and confidence on and off the battlefield, demonstrating dedication to the medical care of fellow comrades in arms.     Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @wardocspodcast Facebook: WarDocs Podcast Instagram: @wardocspodcast LinkedIn: WarDocs-The Military Medicine Podcast

President Biden "brought" leaders of selected African nations to the United States for a summit to “demonstrate the United States' enduring commitment to Africa," the White House claims. But just days before the meeting, the Biden administration imposed more economic sanctions on members of some excluded nations, a likely attempt to send a warning of what happens to those who do not comply with the US' imperialist demands. The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) organized a week of actions to coincide with Biden's summit. Clearing the FOG speaks with Rose Brewer of BAP's Africa Team about the long history of US intervention to exploit Africans, steal resources, and suppress liberation movements and how this comes home to impact people and social movements in the US. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Nicholas Richard-Thompson and Tunde Osazua from the Black Alliance for Peace join Breht to discuss AFRICOM, or The United States Africa Command - responsible for U.S. military operations on the continent. Together they discuss BAP's month of action against AFRICOM, the strategic role that AFRICOM plays in the maintenance of US empire, the importance of proletarian internationalism in the fight against capitalism-imperialism, neocolonialism and comprador regimes, the consequences of 14 years of AFRICOM, and much more.   Learn more and support Black Alliance for Peace here: https://linktr.ee/blackallianceforpeace   Follow Nicholas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nicholasseanrt   Follow Tunde on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TundeOsazua   BAP Chicago's Twitter: https://twitter.com/bap_chicago Outro music "I'm a African" by Dead Prez Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

The US and Europe have tried to make Africa a battleground in their Cold War against Russia and China. They‘ve even labeled Africa as NATO's “Southern Neighborhood” and are using AFRICOM as a mechanism to control the continent under the guise of protecting it from malign Chinese and Russian influence.What does this mean for sovereignty and independence across Africa and how are African countries pushing back?  To help break it all down Rania Khalek was joined by Mikaela Nhondo Erskog, a researcher at the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and a member of No Cold War and the Dongsheng News Collective.Article discussed in the episode: Africa Does Not Want to Be a Breeding Ground for the New Cold Warhttps://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/africa-new-cold-war/ Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

A preview of the latest bonus episode. Get access to it and hours and hours of bonus content by signing up at the $5 level.   Corey (@JamaicanJihadi) is a member of LANDS (Left Alliance for National Democracy and Socialism) Check out his interview with the Cadre Journal podcast     

Danny and Derek welcome Samar Al-Bulushi, assistant professor of anthropology at UC Irvine, contributing editor at Africa is a Country, and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, to discuss the US War on Terror in Somalia. They cover the background of US involvement in the Horn of Africa, the Islamic Courts Union, the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, the emergence of Al-Shabaab, AFRICOM, and more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

Mvemba is joined by Ambassador Andrew Young, Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Engagement of U.S. Africa Command. They discuss the three dimensions of the department's engagement in the region (defense, diplomacy, and development) over the past 14 years and unpack future goals of the strategic operation partnership.

In this conversation Charisse Burden-Stelly returns to the podcast, and is joined by Jodi Dean to talk about their new book Organize, Fight, Win: Black Communist Women's Political Writing.  Charisse Burden-Stelly is an Associate Professor of African American Studies at Wayne State University. Along with Gerald Horne she co-authored W.E.B. Du Bois: A Life In American History. She is a co-editor of the book Reproducing Domination On the Caribbean and the Postcolonial State. She is also the author of the forthcoming book Black Scare / Red Scare. She is a member of Black Alliance for Peace and was previously the co-host of The Last Dope Intellectual podcast. Jodi Dean teaches political, feminist, and media theory in Geneva, New York. She has written or edited thirteen books, including The Communist Horizon, Crowds and Party, and Comrade: An Essay on Political Belonging. She is also a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The first collection of its kind, Organize, Fight, Win brings together three decades of Black Communist women's political writings. In doing so, it highlights the link between Communism and Black liberation. Likewise, it makes clear how Black women fundamentally shaped, and were shaped by, Communist praxis in the twentieth century. Organize, Fight, Win includes writings from card-carrying Communists like Dorothy Burnham, Williana Burroughs, Grace P. Campbell, Alice Childress, Marvel Cooke, Esther Cooper Jackson, Thelma Dale Perkins, Vicki Garvin, Yvonne Gregory, Claudia Jones, Maude White Katz, and Louise Thompson Patterson, and writings by those who organized alongside the Communist Party, like Ella Baker, Charlotta Bass, Thyra Edwards, Lorraine Hansberry, and Dorothy Hunton. Dr. CBS and Dr. Dean introduce the text further in the discussion, and read some excerpts from it along the way as well. In conversation we talk about a number of the interventions made by Black Communist Women that are collected in Organize, Fight, Win. We also talk about how many of these women have often been written about, frequently to further intellectual frameworks that are not the Black Communist analysis and modes of organizing that they themselves espoused. We discuss the interventions these women made in relation to unionization efforts, anti-imperialism, anti-fascism, and the struggle for peace. We also discuss the difference between common manifestations of identitarian politics  today and the materialist analysis these Black Communist Women deployed.  We also talk about the internal critiques that they leveed against certain positions of the CPUSA, not in attempts to destroy the party, but in dedication to its mission. Organize, Fight, Win is available for pre-order from Verso Books and it will come out on this coming Tuesday. Black Alliance for Peace has a webinar kicking off the International Month of Action Against AFRICOM on Saturday October 1st. We'll include links to those as well as to pre-orders for Socialist Reconstruction: A Better Future all of which are named in the episode. We'll also include links to some previous discussions that relate to topics covered here. And as always if you like what we do, please support our work on patreon. You can become a patron of the show for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism.  Relevant links: Socialist Reconstruction: A Better Future   Black Alliance for Peace webinar on AFRICOM  Black Alliance for Peace's International Month of Action Against AFRICOM  Our previous conversation with Dr. CBS which provides a lot of useful context on anti-communism and anti-blackness and other terms and frameworks that are relevant to this discussion. Our previous discussion on Lorraine Hansberry's time at Freedom Our conversation with Mary Helen Washington (who was also referenced in the show)