The Big Stick

I suppose it was inevitable that the US State Department would threaten Kenya with the old "big stick." Jendayi Frazer, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, has broached the topic of withholding US cash from Kenya. She couldn't get Raila and Kibaki to meet face to face so, being peeved, she now goes to the closet and pulls out the old "big stick." Back in Teddy Roosevelt's day, the "big stick" was overwhelming military power, but today it is money.

In my opinion, withholding cash is not a very useful diplomatic tool and a lousy excuse for inept diplomacy. Withholding cash to Kenya only hurts poor people. Raila and Kibaki certainly don't need US cash, they are very rich men. Scuttling programs for institutional reform, economic progress and development only move Kenya in reverse, not forward.

Kenya is the cornerstone of the Horn. Kenya is so important to stability in the Horn that Ms. Frazer spent four whole days in Nairobi. When instant success did not manifest itself, she pulled out the "cash card" from her deck of diplomatic tools.

At a time when a humanitarian disaster looms, it is certainly time to withhold cash from Kenya.

This is standard procedure for Ms. Frazer.

What happened in Eritrea? The US abdicated its responsibility to the demarcation of the Ethio-Eritrean border and President Afeworki has been an angry man ever since.

Now, Afeworki has succeeded in completely destroying the economy and the people of Eritrea are suffering. Most people in Eritrea depend completely upon remittances from their relatives and friends in the diaspora.

Afeworki has been behaving badly recently and Jendayi reaches into her bag of diplomatic tools, digs even deeper, and pulls out the dreaded "State sponsor of terrorism card." Playing this card would make it a crime for an American to send cash to a relative in Asmara. Remember, hundreds of thousands of people are directly dependent upon cash remittances from family in the United States for survival. Placing obstacles in the way of these remittances only causes more suffering of poor people.

Once again, my point is: I don't think hurting poor people is a very effective diplomatic tool. Fat cats and despots are completely unaffected. Threating poor people with more poverty simply highlights the fact that Americans are not very good diplomats.

Kenya is in acute crisis now. It needs skilled diplomacy now, not the "just add water" stuff from the Americans or the "cut and run" of Kufuor.