Leaked email urges US diplomats to stress American 'generosity' to African leaders

A leaked email to staff in the US State Department's Bureau of African Affairs urged diplomats to "unabashedly and aggressively" remind African governments of the "generosity" of the American people, the Guardian has obtained. The message was sent by Nick Checker, who became leader of the bureau earlier this month.

According to the leaked text, the email says: "It's not gauche to remind these countries of the American people's generosity in containing HIV/Aids or alleviating famine" and that doing so is "essential to counter the false narrative that the United States isn't in many cases the largest donor and to ensure that we can more effectively leverage that assistance to advance our interests." Checker, who previously spent more than a decade with the CIA as a conflict analyst, wrote that in Africa "the stakes are often limited, indirect and largely negative (risk management)" and that "Africa is a peripheral – rather than a core – theater for US interests that demands strategic economy." The email also flagged engagement opportunities such as "negotiating settlements to ongoing conflicts (eg, DRC-Rwanda, Sudan)" and cited critical mineral development and the energy sector as promising areas for investment.

The email drew sharp criticism from former officials. A former senior state foreign service official called it "offensive and downright racist" and said its suggestions were against US national security interests.

Key Topics

Politics, Nick Checker, Usaid, Usaid Closeout, State Department, Drc