Two decades ago, at a conference in Gdansk, Poland, marking the 25th anniversary of Poland’s Solidarity Movement, Radek Sikorski, now the foreign minister of Poland, gathered Lech Wałęsa, the head of the movement that arguably set the clock ticking down on Soviet tyranny, and other Solidarity alumni and dissidents still facing their own evil empires.
At the final dinner, I sat across from former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. Soviet betrayal of Poland profoundly affected Brzezinski. He worked for Jimmy Carter, but when it came to defeating communism in Europe, he was a hawk. A few Iranian dissidents were also at the table. They asked Brzezinski why Iranians should not enjoy the same freedom and liberty that post-Communist Poland had. Brzezinski said nothing; he just got up and walked away.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio receives regular plaudits as a steady hand within the Trump administration. Whereas Brezinski promoted accommodating theocracy, Rubio has pushed for democracy. In Venezuela, Rubio was the main advocate to end Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship, even if he lost the debate about who should come next. Just as Poland always loomed large for Brzezinski, Rubio’s goal likely remains bringing freedom to Cuba, a goal within reach.
When it comes to freedom and security in Africa, however, Rubio is similar to Brzezinski: He eschews consistency. Mentally at least, he just gets up and walks away.
Consider Somaliland: Pro-Taiwan, pro-Israel, and pro-American, support for Somaliland should be a no-brainer. Once an independent country scarred by genocide after a failed union, the United States already recognizes Somaliland’s borders. Detractors such as Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), who lay blame for human rights abuses in Sudan on Somaliland, appear more hostage to a staffer with a personal axe to grind than rooted in the realm of reality. Rubio should see through it. Wavering on Somaliland recognition helps Beijing and the Houthis, undermines what could be the most pro-American and pro-Trump country in Africa, punishes rather than rewards democracy, and denies access to rare earth resources.
Rubio also flubs the Democratic Republic of Congo. As Félix Tshisekedi, the country’s dictator, whose chief qualification for office was as a former pizza delivery boy in Belgium, waived promises of vast mineral contracts before the White House, Rubio has embraced Congo’s narrative completely, blaming Rwanda for instability and allegedly supporting insurgents in eastern Congo. It is not Rwanda that is destabilizing the region, but Tshisekedi, who leans on the same racial incitement that led to the anti-Tutsi genocide in Rwanda and now seeks an unconstitutional third term, throwing the country into chaos. Unrest in Eastern Congo grew in proportion to lifting sanctions on Kinshasa, which turned around and purchased top-shelf military goods from Beijing, believing equipment rather than competence could give them an edge in any war. There is no substitute for a national dialogue in Congo about the country’s governance, constitution, and future.
Perhaps Rubio relies entirely on outside academics or Amnesty International, but both are as biased on Rwanda as they are on Israel or the United States. Professional aid groupies, such as those Rubio purged from USAID, resented Rwandan President Paul Kagame for refusing to embrace their model of dependency and instead cracking down on corruption and turning Rwanda into a new Singapore, yet on this one issue, Rubio embraces them uncritically. Today, Rwanda is the only country on Earth to defeat dysfunctional corruption. Its economy operates on European standards and, indeed, ranks higher than Italy, Spain, and Poland in anti-corruption. Congo, on the other hand, ranks alongside Haiti and Afghanistan.
Rubio’s unilateral sanctions on Rwanda would be analogous to sanctioning Israel for responding to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault. Even his predecessor, Antony Blinken, did not go so far.
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Now, Rubio’s default to his department’s worst instincts or lobbyists risks instability across the continent. Rwanda held the Islamic State at bay in Mozambique, but its forces may now withdraw. The same pattern could repeat in South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Meanwhile, Tshisekedi’s antics upend any hope of the Lobito Corridor reorienting African trade from China to the U.S.
Pro-American, pro-free market Africans deserve the U.S.’s support, not disdain.
Michael Rubin is a contributor to the Washington Examiner‘s Beltway Confidential. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.