The Russian Bear Returns to Africa

....While the web of strategic access and other ties that Russia has been reconstituting and expanding in Africa does not necessarily presage a return to a zero-sum Cold War competition across the continent, the long-term implications of these engagements should nonetheless be of concern to Africans and non-Africans alike, especially when, as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates noted last week, “Russia’s behavior over the past week has called into question the entire premise of that dialogue and has profound implications for our security relationship going forward.” Given Africa’s increasingly recognized geopolitical significance as well as the strategic importance of its natural resources to the security of the United States, American policymakers and analysts would do well to be wary of the Russian bear’s return to the Dark Continent.