A panel of distinguished guests spoke at the conference "Countering Terrorism in Africa through Human Security Solutions" yesterday in an effort to open discourse on the increasingly unstable state of Africa and propose methods to combat the growing formation of terrorist cells throughout the continent.
The two-day conference featured three panel discussions yesterday, identifying threats to Africa and examining counterterrorism strategies. It will continue with three more panel discussions today.
Yesterday's event was well attended by a variety of military, diplomatic, humanitarian and academic professionals, and a similar turnout is expected today.
Keynote speaker Dr. Michael Doran, a deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Defense, said the goal of the conference is to "build bridges between communities of people who don't talk to each other enough and need to talk to each other more."
Dr. Peter Uvin, director of the Institute for Human Security at the Fletcher School, echoed Doran in his introduction of the conference, saying that it should be seen as a way for military and developmental experts to share their ideas in addressing the state of Africa.
"It's a great moment for us to learn from each other and create a dialogue," he said.
Although Doran's expertise centers on the Iraq war and al Qaeda, he enthusiastically announced the creation of Africom, a new program the Department of Defense has established to address Africa's instabilities.
The goal of the program is to avoid at military intervention in Africa at all costs. Doran said the government recognizes that the use of military action signifies a failure.
To this end, he said, Africom seeks to "empower Africans to solve African problems through African means."
If it succeeds, it can be a model for activity in other parts of the world, he added.
Yesterday's panel focused on the social, political and economic threats that enable insecurity in Africa.
Moderated by Dr. James Forest, director of terrorism research at West Point, the panel included four speakers, all with varying types of expertise on the current state of Africa.
Dr. Pauline Baker, president of the non-profit organization Fund for Peace, spoke on the hardships Africans endure in their everyday lives, insisting that the African struggle is not merely against terrorists but also against such obstacles as the HIV epidemic and severe poverty.
She said that African terrorism has its roots in the slavery that surfaced there centuries ago. She identified poverty and the growing conflict between Christianity and Islam in Africa as two strong enablers of the continent's insecurity.
"What we really have is not just the threat of failed states, but failed regions," she said.
Former journalist Gayle Smith, the second panelist, said the state of African governments represents an "absence of glue" to hold them together.
Smith associated the insecurity of the continent with the rise of extremism.
"We're seeing the rise of democracies that can't deliver," she said, explaining that as a result of the unstable African governments, extremism is often the only channel to provide Africans with the basic needs in which they are lacking. For people with little hope, she said, extremism is very attractive.
Dr. Marc Sommers, a research professor at the Fletcher School and the third speaker on the panel, also recognized the lack of hope among Africans as a significant cause of insecurity.
Sommers focused on the role of youth in Africa and the high unemployment rate among African men.
There are "too many men with nothing to do," he said, which creates the potential for conflict and violence in the African states.
The fourth and final panelist was LTC Scott Womack, the U.S. Army's foreign area officer for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Womack said that his best recommendation was to pay attention to the inhabitants of the African states as opposed to being caught up in military or diplomatic measures.
He stressed the importance of presence, persistence, patience, and precision in Africa and advised the attendees to be wary of unintended consequences that could arise in response to any economic or political measures taken.
Doran predicted that the African instability would endure for a decade if not longer, "but it's in forums like this ... where the exciting ideas are going to come from."
Today's panels will focus on current efforts to improve security in Africa and creating collaborative strategies to address its volatile state. Its keynote speaker will be Mahamoud Adam Béchir, the Ambassador of Chad to the United States.
