Rwanda Is Conducting Military Operations In Mozambique

 

Rwanda has been fighting in Mozambique. Since August it appears the 1,000 troop force has been successful in taking back control of Cabo Delgado. The armed insurgency is thought to be connected to either ISIS or al-Shabab. There still remains uncertainty if this is entirely local or work from an external terrorist organization. Discord in the area was growing in 2017, which escalated into violence. Rwanda is not the only country active in Mozambique. Mostly African countries of the Southern African Development Community are aiding Mozambique's military. The question is whether or not President Filipe Nyusi will become more dependent on President Paul Kagame. Long term occupations do not work and there is potential for a violation of national sovereignty. Rwanda has seen the horrors of conflict. Having experienced a civil war and genocide military entanglements could endanger the decades of peace. The gas rich region is also of interest to foreign investors, which maybe way it the conflict in Mozambique has gotten more attention. TotalEnergies was forced to halt work on the liquified natural gas project due to the attack in Palma. The conflict will enable Rwanda to have more of an influence in Mozambique. The actions of  regional organizations are being put to the test. The SADC risks making the situation are larger humanitarian crisis if more military operations are conducted. Rwanda could find itself  in a larger war of attrition. 

Haitian Refugees Are Met With Violence At The US Border

 

Haiti has been in a state of crisis since the assassination of President  Jovenel Moise. The 2010 earthquake and another in 2021 has caused much damage to the island nation. Haitians made the dangerous journey across Latin America to seek safety. Limited economic opportunity and increasing crime have forced them to flee. Upon reaching the Texas border, refugees were met with violence from border patrol. The Biden administration had promised humane treatment of immigrants, refugees, and others seeking asylum. Instead, it demonstrates behavior similar to that of the previous administration. Plans are under way to have the refugees deported by flight. Detention centers are still operational and could be a public health risk with an ongoing pandemic. These actions demonstrate that no matter who is president US immigration policy still maintains its racist and xenophobic attributes. The reason people flee from Latin America and the Caribbean is due to US foreign policy. The US supported Moise who was clinging to power despite election results. The support for autocratic or authoritarian regimes in the region made certain nations no longer safe to live in. Haiti has been subject to US interference for an entire century. If President Joseph Biden goes through with mass deportations of Haitian refugees, this will only further alienate leftist factions of the Democratic Party. More people will come unless the US ends manipulation of foreign governments and military intervention around the globe.   

Former Algerian Abdelaziz Bouteflika Has Died

 

One of Algeria's longest serving presidents has died. A 20 year presidency saw an end to the Algerian Civil War in 2002. His leadership was able to survive the Arab spring in 2011. However, when Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced he was running for a fifth term, protests broke out. Questions surrounding his health and growing corruption became concerns among Algerians. The response was to end emergency rule. This was done prior to the 2019 demonstrations. His career as a political figure began in 1962. Prior to this he fought for Algerian independence joining the National Liberation Army. Eventually, he would participate in the 1965 military coup  deposing Ahmed Ben Bella. Algeria under his presidency attempted to gain closer ties to France, while improving  relations with Sub-Saharan African states. The 2005 French riots harmed relations with France. The discrimination of the Algerian French population and rising Islamophobia became a concern. Tuareg rebellions in Mali and tension with Morocco became major issues in his second term. Suffering a stroke in 2013, many believed that President Bouteflika was no longer fit to govern. Over the decades, the country was becoming more authoritarian similar to Tunisia and Egypt. Algeria is charting a new political course. The hinderance to change comes from the military and the NLF Party that Abdelaziz Bouteflika contributed to.   

Vaccine Mandates Are Going Into Effect

 

The Biden administration has announced vaccine mandates are going into effect. Business with more than 100 employees will either require them to take a COVID-19 vaccine or get regularly tested. Federal workers are subject to the same rules. This policy may not produce the desired results. Another issue is related to an individual's choice related to their health. Part of the reason the population may be hesitant to get COVID-19 vaccines is that medical professionals had not done enough to educate the public. Doctors must talk with their patients about these new vaccines and which one would work best for them. The US government wants to see an end to the pandemic, but mass vaccination may not cause that. The multiple variants that have emerged prove that is not an ordinary virus. The mistake was to ignore the World Health Organization's recommendations on masks. Those who are vaccinated should still wear one, because there is a chance of still getting the virus. Public health measures should be taken seriously. The US has become more lax over social distancing over the past few months. Growing fears of the Mu and Delta explain why this policy has gone into effect. If a variant emerges that is vaccine resistant, then the only method would be either lockdown or quarantine. The global economy and population could not survive that. Vaccine mandates could cause more political and public health policy disagreements. 

President George W. Bush Announces Military Action In Afghanistan (2001)

 

As a result of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the US went to war with Afghanistan. President Bush announced the military action to the US public in October of 2001. The Taliban did not declare war on the US. Al-Qaeda did not have political control over the country, but was present there. The US demanded that Osama Bin Laden be extradited. The Taliban only would do this if the US provided evidence of his involvement in the attacks. The Bush administration did not do this and embarked on airstrikes and a ground invasion. The Afghan War was not about freedom or fighting terrorism. The country has vast mineral wealth, which has not been fully extracted. Afghanistan contains iron, lithium, copper, cobalt, chromium,   and uranium . The Bush administration's agenda was to advance the military industrial complex and expand the arms industry. The invasion of Iraq was the next logical step in the neoconservative vision. Afghanistan was the first  experiment in nation building and imposing  liberal democracy by military force. The US  entered into a country with two factions fighting each other. The Northern Alliance was fighting the Taliban prior to US invasion. The war was fought for 20 years and drew parallels to the US defeat in Vietnam.      

The Military Takes Power In Guinea

 

A coup has been staged in Guinea. The country's new leader Mamady Doumbouya has declared curfew for Guinea. Certain industries are exempt and are encouraged to continue their work. President Alpha Conde who has been in power for ten years is in custody. Tensions have been building ever since he ran for a third term. The 2020 presidential election saw accusations of fraud. Conde was once more president, which caused growing protests. Guinea is a country rich in resources, but the country struggles economically. The UN, ECOWAS, and African Union have condemned the coup. All have called for Alpha Conde's release. The change in the constitution allowed Conde to run for a third term. If this never happened, Guinea would not be in this condition. The concern is that bauxite mining might come to a halt if the country gets too unstable. Although mining increased under Conde, the average citizen did not see an increase in wealth. What remains unclear is if  ECOWAS will either invade or impose sanctions. This was done to Gambia. However, this was not done to Mali. The uneven application of rules and policies display a clear bias. 

Jocelyn Bell Burnell Awarded The Copley Medal

 

Jocelyn Bell Burnell won the Copley Medal. This is the oldest scientific award still in existence. She was instrumental in the discovery of pulsars. Pulsars are a type of star that rotates and emits high amounts of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation comes out of the magnetic poles. They are spherical in shape and have mass that exceeds that of the sun. Pulsars were only discovered in 1967 and changed what scientists knew about outer space. Space is a strange environment of black holes, planets, stars, comets, asteroids, and dark matter. Pulsars are just another strange object that astronomers and astrophysicists examine. Classified as a neutron star its rapid spinning from a far away distance makes it look like a blinking  of lights. Burnell did not get a Nobel Prize in 1974, but instead it went to her PhD supervisor. She was a graduate student that contributed to a major discovery and would not get recognition until decades later. Jocelyn Bell Burnell continues to study various binary starts and has assisted in the construction of radio telescopes. Later She served as president of  the Institute of Physics. Being the first to identify pulsars was an important  advancement in the field of astrophysics.