WASHINGTON - March 9 - As the international spotlight focuses on the Darfur crisis ahead of Friday's African Union meeting to discuss peacekeeping efforts in the troubled region, Africa Action today released its Africa Policy Outlook 2006. This annual publication forecasts the key issues and developments in Africa policy in the coming year, and analyzes trends in U.S. relations with Africa under the current administration. The "Africa Policy Outlook 2006" is now available at http://www.africaaction.org/resources/docs/PolicyOutlook06.pdf

Africa Action's Executive Director Salih Booker, co-author of the Policy Outlook, said, "This year, Africa will witness a new wave of U.S. soldiers landing on the continent for training and other missions, as Washington takes aim at reshaping Africa to better serve America's security interests. But American involvement in actual peacemaking or peacekeeping missions in Africa is far less likely, even as genocide continues in Darfur, Sudan."

The "Policy Outlook 2006" analyzes last year's "compassionate showmanship" by the Bush Administration and other rich country leaders and the reality of the promises made on aid, debt cancellation, and HIV/AIDS. It also probes the current trends in U.S. Africa policy that often receive less scrutiny but that are, in fact, very revealing - the expanding U.S. military presence on the continent and the U.S. pursuit of Africa's oil resources.

Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Policy Analysis & Communications and co-author of this year's report said, "When it comes to U.S. relations with Africa, the pre-occupation of U.S. officials with conventional geo-strategic concerns stands in stark contrast to the expressed concern of the American people regarding the ongoing genocide in Darfur and global health challenges like HIV/AIDS and the Avian flu. Africa's human development challenges remain urgent despite last year's proclaimed Africa focus by rich country leaders."

Africa Action notes that some of the largest countries on the African continent currently face insecurity and conflict, though most are in the process of a transition requiring U.S. and international support this year. When it comes to Sudan, Africa Action emphasizes the "hierarchy of geo-strategic interests" that guides U.S. policy toward this key country, and charges that the Bush Administration's intelligence-sharing relationship with Khartoum continues to inhibit its response to the ongoing genocide in Darfur, where a United Nations intervention is urgently needed.

Booker and Colgan note, "In 2006, the narrow notion of security promoted within current U.S. Africa policy, and the attendant rejection of the more holistic concept of 'human security', will be challenged by the growing threat posed by public health concerns and other global issues. This dichotomy will also highlight the divide between African priorities and American imperatives on today's most urgent global challenges."

The "Africa Policy Outlook 2006" is now available on the organization's website at http://www.africaaction.org/

###