Mark Sleboda let his underwear show in his podcast with Garland Nixon, revealing his deep contempt for Africa. The depth of this contempt affects his global analysis so one has to believe that he is in fact influenced by underlying racism,
He says that Russia/Soviet intervention in Africa was a ‘waste’
at 36.00.
For Sleboda Russia poured money and assets into Africa and ‘all of it was wasted’.
Russia and Africa?
One could go back many centuries but lets restrict our starting point to late 19th Century. Ethiopia as a Coptic Orthodox Church reached out to teh Russian Orthodox Church . The Berlin Conference, 1884, had instituted an arms blockade on Africa. The new weapons of mass destruction were machine guns and other automated weapons. The entire Berlin Conference was called to agree to the embargo of modern weapons to Africa. With the access to modern weapons and the assistance of Russian military officers to ensure appropriate military use, the Italians, who invaded Ethiopia, were thoroughly defeated. Ethiopia was the one African country that was able to fight back and maintain its independence with Russian resources.
When Italy sought a rematch the Italians were again loosing badly when they adopted chemical weapons which they had signed a treaty forbidding the use.
Then came 1917 when Russia in principle broke the Western arms embargo for all the world’s colonies. Without access to modern weapons from Soviet Union none of the colonies could have attained independence. Even those that had no fighting implicitly relied on the Soviet Union as it was the likelihood of Soviet support, demonstrated in Viet Nam, Korea, Malaysia and Algeria that signalled the end of colonial empires. Portugal refused to face the future (even the present!) and Soviet support of the liberation movements in Angola, Mozambique Guinea Bissau and the then Rhodesia led to their independence. Most historically significant was the effect of Soviet support for the ANC. At the critical battle of Cuito Cuanavale, though the Soviet’s were economically wounded at the time, it was their weapons which they had supplied to Cuba that led to the catastrophic defeat of the Apartheid regime in South Africa and directly to the independence of South West Africa/Namibia and to the unbanning of the ANC, and the freeing of Mandela and subsequent elections. It should be borne in mind that Mandela had been offered freedom many times before on condition he did not get involved in politics but Mandela preferred to stay in jail.
According to Sleboda this long line of historic successes were a ‘waste’.
Did Ethiopia waste her resources in defeating Italy? Did the African liberation movements waste their resources in attaining independence? Can Mark Sleboda look Algerians in the face and say Soviet support for your successful struggle for independence was a waste of time and money because you wasted the resources and nothing was achieved?
Even at a theoretical level of Marxism, Sleboda position is simply absurd. It is from the super exploitation of the colonies that European colonies obtain the resources to attack the Soviet Union. Even a former French President said that without French Africa France would be reduced to paltry small state. President Mitterand stated:
‘“Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century.” — Former Prime Minister François Mitterrand, in 1957
“… Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power.” — Former French President Jacques René Chirac, in 2008
‘“… A little country [France], with a small amount of strength, we can move a planet because [of our] relations with 15 or 20 African countries …” — Former French Minister Jacques Godfrain, in 2011
‘“We have to speak the language of truth: African growth pulls us along. Its dynamism supports us and its vitality is stimulating for us … We need Africa.” — Speech by French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, December, 2013
“… France, along with Europe, would like to be even more involved in the destiny of your continent … tomorrow’s economy will heavily depend on the strength and vibrancy of African businesses … The goal I have set is to double the level of trade between France and Africa in five years.” — Speech by Current President François Hollande at the Elysée Summit for Peace and Security in Africa, December, 2013
None of these French Presidents or Ministers saw Africa as a waste of time, unlike Sleboda.
As a paltry small European state could France be a threat to Russia?
Sleboda at other places shows himself fluent in history so my only explanation for his comments are his contempt for Africa and deep racism against Africans.