Sal(Cape Verde): Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has set a new tone in US relations with Africa on a whirlwind seven-nation trip, sometimes ruffling feathers with a message that Africans must tackle their own problems.
On her longest trip yet as the top US diplomat, Clinton crisscrossed the continent for 11 days from an AIDS clinic in rural South Africa to the war zone of Democratic Republic of Congo to a roundtable with Nigerian faith leaders.
Clinton came armed with examples she repeated throughout the trip -- pointing to India as proof that democracy works in developing countries and hailing Botswana for ensuring its mineral wealth funds a first-class infrastructure.
To the diverse audiences, Clinton delivered a consistent message -- the fate of Africa is up to the Africans and that the United States, while ready to work with them, has no "magic wand" to solve endemic problems.
She was taking on the road a message delivered by President Barack Obama on a visit last month in Ghana, where the first African-American US leader urged Africans to stand up and take charge of their future.
Clinton, who ended her trip today here in the small Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde, tailored the theme to each country -- urging Kenya`s rival leaders to reconcile and warning Nigeria that corruption was threatening the government`s very legitimacy.
Bureau Report
