Looking At the Long-Term

Fresh off his trip to Africa, Russ Feingold wrote a column for CS Monitor on America's failure to engage Muslim nations. He notes that many Muslim nations face a youth bulge in their demographics that presents both an opportunity and a threat. If we fail to engage them, our opponents will be all too happy to fill the void. Also on CS Monitor today is a column on the painfully slow, but still noteworthy progress of the African Union. The challenges face by the AU are many, and any progress is good news. The Western reaction to Darfur has certainly highlighted for Africans exactly how much they can depend on the West for help.