Zambia in the Crosshairs

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-admin-threatens-withhold-hiv-192256406.html

The US acts as if its AIDS treatment and prevention programmes are rooted in altruism. That's never been the case. These were opportunities for the Empire to exercise soft power, make contacts, lay foundations for future business investment, and establish relationships with political leaders. It's always been about the fact that if the US doesn't do this, then some other powerful nation will.

But this isn't how it's understood by the public or presented in the media. The same is true of US troops stationed overseas. Trump acts as if the US is doing some great favour to the nations of Europe or Japan by stationing tens of thousands of troops on their soil and thus he's bitter that they won't support his war with Iran - a war based on lies, and a war that he never bothered to consult with anyone about.

The truth is most of the people in these countries would rather American troops were not there. Their presence actually endangers them. There are those who profit to be sure but most of the people would rather see them leave. The fact that they're stationed there is an expression of the Empire's power and their subjugation. Germany, Italy, and Japan have been occupied by US troops since 1945. That's not how it's presented but that's how it is.

Aid packages have always come with strings attached. The US expects a kind of favoured status and priority. This has always included access to resources. When nations are in financial trouble the US sends in the bankers and bureaucrats who come to 'help' but in fact enslave these nations in debt. And when they can't pay or fall behind, the US extracts concessions - things like resources or a willingness to accept the US planting a military base in their territory. These bases are like colonial cities and boost the local economy but also bring in lots of crime, car accidents, prostitution, rape, and other problems too. The late Chalmers Johnson (1931-2010) wrote about this extensively in his American Empire Trilogy.

Trump is not doing anything different than what other administrations have done - he simply isn't going through all the motions and diplomatic niceties. He's a thug and a gangster and so his style is blunt and threatening. He wants Zambia to hand over their resources or he'll cut them out of humanitarian aid. He doesn't care if people die. He couldn't care less.

But you know what? The people at the IMF and World Bank have never cared either. And what are the IMF and the World Bank? These are just extensions of Wall Street, the City of London, Bay Street, the Bankenviertel, and La Defense.

And while people may cringe at Trump's style, the truth is Wall Street is thrilled and though they won't say it publicly, there are more than a few Democrats who feel the same way. They don't want to dispense with the humanitarian aid because they understand it's cheap diplomacy and power projection but they want the resources for the American economy. This is also why a lot of Democrats are looking the other way while Trump destroys Iran. They can't stand him but he's useful and while he won't fight Moscow, he's removing obstacles for the coming war with China.

The article makes it abundantly clear - this move against Zambia is about China. The Americans want the resources and more specifically they want them taken away from the Chinese.
Zambia has a choice to make. They can approach Beijing and see if the Chinese will offer a humanitarian aid package. If so, they can write off the United States but of course if they do that, they also know the CIA will take the gloves off.

Katanga is just across the northern border from Zambia. During the Cold War this was the site of great upheaval as different interests scrambled for its resources. The Belgians were heavily involved as were the Americans. The Congo Crisis of the 1960's resulted in civil war and assassinations and deaths which remain controversial to this day. For example Dag Hammarskjöld's plane was shot down over Northern Rhodesia - an area which today is Zambia. Many believe (with reason) that his plane was taken down by either a Surface-to-Air Missile or another aircraft. The Belgians and the CIA are rightly suspected of being involved.

The end result of the Congo Crisis was the dictatorship of Zaire under Mobutu Sese Seko. His overthrow in 1997 during the First Congo War led to a Second War in 1998. The conflicts resulted in over 5 million dead.

These are the stakes for Zambia and the ghosts of Congo loom over all their calculations as Africa could easily explode once again. The Congo situation has never been properly resolved and tensions remain high throughout all of Sub-Saharan Africa. The Americans are still there, still waging various proxy wars - though you wouldn't know it from Western media which focuses on the Russian presence. And of course the Arab Gulf states have also become more involved.

China remains powerful but unable (at present) to project military power in the region. This may prove decisive and lead to Zambia's acquiescence to US demands. We'll have to see what happens. They may try to triangulate but the country doesn't really have enough international clout to pull that off in the way nations like Türkiye or India can.