Face it: ‘New’ counter-terror policy in Africa lacks political will to change course
The House passed a bill that sounds good superficially, but doesn’t end the useless militarized approach or get to root problems.
William Minter is the editor of AfricaFocus Bulletin. He has been a writer, researcher, and activist since the
mid-1960s, concentrating on African and global issues. He taught in Tanzania and Mozambique at the
secondary school of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) in 1966-68 and 1974-76. He has worked
with Africa News Service (now allAfrica.com ), with the Washington Office on Africa , and with other Africa-
related groups. Since November 2020 he has also served as a senior consultant with the new US-Africa Bridge
Building Project, directed by Imani Countess.
Minter has been a writer, researcher, and activist since the mid-1960s, focusing particularly on southern Africa
and international issues. He studied at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria in 1961-62. He holds a Ph.D. in
sociology and a certificate in African studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Minter’s most recent book is No Easy Victories: African Liberation and American Activists over a Half Century,
1950-2000, co-edited by Gail Hovey and Charles Cobb Jr.
The House passed a bill that sounds good superficially, but doesn’t end the useless militarized approach or get to root problems.
Thinking has changed. Therefore, outside powers must avoid the same mistakes in Mozambique.
On security, economy, and heath: we need to think about new frameworks rather than retreating to policies of the past.
President Trump may lose his reelection bid, but that will not be enough. We need fundamental change rather than a return to the status quo ante.