President Joe Biden on Thursday pledged to designate Kenya as a “major non-NATO ally” during an official visit by Kenyan President William Ruto.
The elevated status, never before given to a sub-Saharan country, gives President Biden a braggadocio after a series of diplomatic disasters in Africa, while also providing a prestige shakeup for President Ruto, who is trying to implement an unpopular and legally questionable decision to send Kenyan police to gang-ravaged Haiti.
Biden Said meeting He wanted to grant the enhanced designation “in recognition of Kenya’s longstanding contributions to U.S. Africa Command’s area of responsibility and the world, and our own national interest in deepening bilateral defense and security cooperation.”
“Kenya is one of the U.S. government’s key counterterrorism and security partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and this designation will demonstrate that the United States views Africa’s contributions to global peace and security on an equal footing with other major non-NATO allies in the region,” he said.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Root on Thursday, Biden said: Said The title was awarded as a “culmination of many years of cooperation.”
“Our joint counterterrorism operations have degraded ISIS and al-Shabaab across East Africa. Our mutual support for Ukraine has rallied the world to uphold the U.N. Charter. And our joint efforts in Haiti are helping to pave the way to reduce instability and insecurity,” Biden said.
Armed gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherisier and his men in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on March 5, 2024. (CLARENS SIFFROY/AFP via Getty Images)
On the latter point, Ruto said he was determined to send Kenyan troops to Haiti because gangs would not be allowed to destroy the country.
“Gangsters and criminals have no nationality. They have no religion. They have no language. They have one language – to be dealt with firmly within the bounds of the law,” he said.
Kenya offered Last summer, he was called upon by the United Nations to lead a multinational peacekeeping force in Haiti. The security situation in Haiti began to deteriorate rapidly after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021. In March 2024, unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry took over as de facto leader. Banished He was expelled from Kenya after a spate of gang violence while he was in the country to negotiate a long-stalled intervention plan with President Ruto.
Henry Resigned He paved the way for a transitional council to appoint a provisional government in April and plan elections within two years, removing a major obstacle to planned intervention because there were fears that Haitians would reject attempts by foreign troops to keep the corrupt and unpopular Henry in power permanently.
Kenyan courts have previously I was blocked Ruto’s plans for intervention were blocked by a ruling that the country had no constitutional power to send police forces into foreign territory. In March, before Henry resigned, he Signed The “reciprocal agreement” with President Ruto appears to have removed some of the legal obstacles to intervention. Kenya’s opposition parties have denounced the agreement as a ploy to circumvent the law and have vowed to pursue further legal action.
Some Kenyan officials Said With Henry’s resignation, Haiti will no longer have any semblance of a “political government,” making it impossible to send in police. Appointed An interim president and prime minister were installed in early May and appear to have addressed that dissent.
Ruto continued to push for police to be deployed and it looked like that was finally going to happen this week, but the flight from Nairobi to Haiti did not go ahead as scheduled. Postponed the The flight was cancelled without explanation on Tuesday. 200 Kenyan police officers were reportedly waiting to board the plane when the flight was cancelled.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Kenyan President William Ruto hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, May 23, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Foreign Minister Ruto, who had arrived in Washington for an official visit at the time, insisted the intervention would continue. Kenyan officials said delays in procuring equipment for the intervention force, such as armoured vehicles and medical helicopters, might mean the operation could be postponed until after June.
The U.S. official added that there were complexities in negotiating rules of engagement between Haiti’s transitional government and Kenya, and deployment could not begin until that agreement was signed and submitted to the U.N. Security Council.
“They are facing harsh realities when it comes to the logistics of equipment,” a congressional aide said. Said of Miami Herald. A six-member delegation from Kenya reportedly determined that Haiti could not guarantee its own security, let alone the safety of hundreds of police officers.
The delay was an embarrassment for Biden and Ruto, who each wanted to announce the deployment of Kenyan troops to Haiti before Ruto left Washington. Biden has pledged about $300 million in aid to a non-existent multinational force in Haiti, some of which was procured through an improper use of the president’s emergency powers, drawing fierce opposition from Republicans in Congress.
“The long history of international intervention in Haiti has been a dismal failure, leaving the Haitian people worse off than they were before,” said Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, a Republican.
“Without some assurance that things will be different this time, we cannot spend U.S. taxpayer money on an open-ended, poorly planned mission in a country plagued by extreme gang violence and political instability,” Risch said.
Meanwhile, Biden is reeling from a series of humiliations in Africa, a country he declared a diplomatic priority early in his administration.
The U.S. military Kicked out The military conflict between Chad and Niger would divert important counterterrorism resources from the United States in the dangerous Sahel region. Biden Withdrawal A withdrawal from Niger would likely leave a $100 million airbase in Russian hands, along with an uncertain amount of American equipment that may have to be left behind.
Supporters of deputy president and presidential candidate William Ruto celebrate his victory over opposition leader Raila Odinga in Eldoret, Kenya, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya has been highly supportive of U.S. security and foreign policy goals, Huge debt Pressure on China could limit the extent to which the US can engage China. Grant it Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status. Expand The deal would provide Kenya with certain benefits, such as greater freedom to purchase certain military technology and secure loans from the United States, but would not include security guarantees.
The B.B.C. I got it. Biden is taking a big diplomatic gamble by approaching Ruto, who was indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity over violence following Kenya’s 2007 elections. But the case later collapsed and Ruto is clearly eager to bolster his image as an international statesman. Human rights groups have also criticized Biden. Skeptical Eyes The Kenyan police record left me wondering whether they were the best choice to lead an intervention in Haiti.
US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman told the BBC that Ruto and Kenya were the administration’s best option for building influence in Africa, and that Kenya’s potential to become a technology hub made it worth the gamble.
“If you really want to focus on Africa, who is the right person to attend a state dinner? Kenya has been an ally of the United States for 60 years. It is arguably the most stable democracy in East Africa. President Ruto is a step forward and a true leader,” she said.
