There are no optimistic scenarios formuch of Africa. Poverty, injustice,war, crime, saturation with weapons, ethnic hatred, diminishing resources, disease, over-population and a myriad of other problems, will continue to plague the continent, resulting in legions of disenfranchised young people looking for dignity and a way out of themisery; affiliations with terrorist organizations offer both. The developed world will express concern but, unless they are directly impacted,will do little to relieve the root causes in Africa that lead people to choose terrorism. Some humanitarian efforts here, some military assistance there, some words condemning corruption, some words threatening large-scale military intervention, appear to be the extent of theWest's reaction, at least overtly, to the growing terrorist threat in Africa. Perhaps this is not even the wrong approach.With somany seemingly overwhelming problems in Africa, it could possibly be futile for the developed nations to try tomanage themall. Judiciously choosing which problems,where and howmuch to spend on them may be the best strategy. By accepting that not all root causes of terrorism can be eliminated through limitedWestern aid or military intervention, and focusing on those that are realistically amenable to being solved, terrorism can perhaps be prevented from occurring in some areas where it has not occurred, and reduced or eradicated in some areas where it already exists. In the final analysis there is only one place capable of resolving the root causes of terrorism in Africa, and that is Africa.While other nations can help, until all of Africa's leaders make a determined effort to eliminate corruption, poverty, disease, obstacles to democracy, huge disparities of income, environmental degradation, social injustice, barriers to the press and lack of effective family planning, there is no hope that the continent can avoid serving as a breeding ground for terrorists. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.
