Holy Week

I just had an exciting Holy Week. Not really holy, but exciting nonetheless.
I had a chance encounter with His Excellency Alpha Omar Konare, former president of Mali and current President of the African Union. A man gifted with great wisdom, he talked about the fate of the African Continent. He foresees a great future for an Africa of 1,5 billion young people in 2030. An Africa as dynamic as China or India, but even younger. An Africa sitting on the richest mineral deposits in the world.
He also worried about peace. The rumblings heard in Chad bore no good news. The situation in Darfur has degenerated and the turmoil has spread to neighboring countries. Oil rich Chad, with one of the poorest per capita income in the world, is the next victim of the rot that spreads all over the Continent. The Sudanese rulers have attacked Chad for sheltering the Darfur refugees. I remember the pitiful state this huge country was in when I first saw it, just after its war with Libya. I saw a Belgian doctor amputating children's limbs in Faya Largeau, his only source of electricity, the battery of an old 2cv Citroen.
Today, with a huge oil enclave drilled by Exxon-Mobil-Chevron, and managed by Halliburton, the country is so corrupt that the Worldbank cut all funding. My last trip to the Exxon enclave reminded me of the heydays of the colonies.
Last week, the rebels reached the capital. The French "Epervier" armed forces sent 450 extra troops from the CAR. They sent a couple of Mirage F1 and bombed rebel columns.
Mr Konare fears a domino effect and the ensuing fall of the CAR , the Great lakes countries and the RDC if nothing stops the drift towards chaos.
I also spent a great week end in New York. Compared to the Paris blues, demonstrations and riots, what a difference!
Finally,we hear more and more about the urgency for the US to attack Iran. It is a dangerous game of chicken. The trouble this time is that the authorities of BOTH countries are just as reckless and as messianic. It is to be feared that a war against Iran might just involve the entire Middle east this time. So far Iran is the main beneficiary of the Iraq war and I understand the US frustration. But it is too late to react. we will have to live with a vastly accelerated proliferation.