What has occurred in Sudan has caused me great personal sadness for the Sudanese people.
I spent a month in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1954.. Making a documentary film, SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, provided me an opportunity to visit much of this vast area and meet a diversity of people.
Sudan was comprised of the North, which was predominat…
What has occurred in Sudan has caused me great personal sadness for the Sudanese people.
I spent a month in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1954.. Making a documentary film, SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, provided me an opportunity to visit much of this vast area and meet a diversity of people.
Sudan was comprised of the North, which was predominately Moslem including Black Nubians, and the South, diverse tribes existing under British rule and with scant ‘civilized’ amenities.
In the North there seemed a decent group that was achieving independence from the Egyptians and British in 1956. In February 1955, tribal fighting erupted in the South. The South has been a brutal hodgepodge ever since. At times Northerners ravaged huge areas of the South. Darfur has been a regular slaughter field.
The discovery of oil in the South further complicated northern-southern Sudanese relations. Ultimately an independent South Sudan was created. Its tribal leaders are still at loggerheads with the people suffering greatly.
Sudan (in the North) started shakily as a ‘country.’ It was a pass through country for radical leaders who sought to support Congolese Rebellions in the 1960s. Clashes between civilian tribal leaders escalated. A dreadful general seized power in the 1980s and ruled for a generation. He was deposed and, ultimately, two other generals, one more dreadful than the other, seized power.
Despite a ‘democratization’ agreement, they have launched what seems a civil war for personal power and loot.
Now there is total chaos and massive killings. As foreigners and Sudanese seek to flee, what I knew as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is in tatters. I have scant hope that this poor and ravaged area, both Sudan and South Sudan, will become livable, viable nations in the foreseeable future.
Who remembers that the Nubians of Sudan ruled Egypt 700-600 BCE?
Keith I would love to see your film. Is it available anywhere...any way ? You may have already told me, but I've been so focused on my work around our Civil War of 160 years ago that I don't recall. My work seems trite compared to people in the midst of these on going hostilities...but I'm afraid of where we are headed...and much of it is because we have not come to grips, we have not reconciled our issues of race, of enslaver and enslaved.
I just attended an annual conference held by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation in Winchester VA held in a ballroom in the very grand George Washington Hotel. It was attended by mostly older white men. At 70 I felt like one of the younger demographics...except for a 15 year old from California who is probably the next Bruce Caton/ JamesMcPherson, HCR...name your historian. There were no black folks in the room...none, zero....and very few women. I ended up recording Ron Maxwell's talk...because the event producers were not prepared to record anything....and Ron asked if it could be done. I intend to return next year with some black friends and women who are interested in the topics...and maybe suggest an appropriate presenter that breaks the color/gender barrier. Anyway I pray for sanity in Sudan and a quick peace...but I doubt that's likely.
Mike S, she should be a presenter at this conference...and if they won't do that I have a "history/art" event we are starting to create that she would be perfect for, not far from Winchester/DC/Baltimore/Gettysburg/Harpers Ferry/Antietam.
I don't have the power to make it happen for their event, but I can suggest it. For the event we want to do, consider her on the list...we will be reaching out, when we have some details together. Watch for "Crossroads of History" at the Hagerstown Aviation Museum Dome Hanger., sometime after September .. this is the first public, put the intention out there moment
Mike I am appalled by how few people get off their duff to support or learn about important history. Perhaps if it could be presented in a sports motif there would be better interest and attendance.
Thanks for asking about my Sudan documentary. It turned out be be historic. The Southern Sudan was cut off by the British and Prime Minister Ismail Azhari had to call a special cabinet meeting to vote me permission to film in the South. The southern tribal uprising in February, 1955 killed any further ‘Sudan documentaries.’With a. CBS editor I finished the film in October, 1954. He thought it was good.
Two months later my family disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle and I became occupied with other matters. I have the film on DVD but, frankly, am not inclined to have it copied to sent out. Apologies, but I now use my energy more sparingly.
For all who are reading Keith Wheelock's posts here with great interest, here is a capsule history of his life published in 2006 as part of the Princeton [University] Personalities series. I tried to include the complete text below, but Substack refused. Also go to the link for the handsome photo of Professor Wheelock, which Substack also refuses to post:
Mike I’m not a doctor, though if I were, it probably should be in phrenology. Though my book at U Penn was accepted as my dissertation and they offered me credits for courses I would teach and a special ‘book program’ for my PhD, I preferred the non-academic tranquility of the Congo 1960-1966.
But can you be certain that your film is preserved and/or that someone else can get it out? As you undoubtedly know, it could be invaluable in any kind of future negotiations.
Are you writing a long memoir? Your father’s story? Thank you again for sharing yours.
Virginia I had intended to give it to a friend of mine who had. Been named ambassador to Sudan in 1967. The the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 resulted in a break of diplomatic relations. Later I wrote the Sudan desk at State Department mentioning the documentary and offering to send copies that could be deposited in Sudanese government and university archives. Never got a response.
I have written five extensive booklets, including documents that encapsulate portions of my life. Few members of my family have bothered to read them. I do provide some personal insights on Heather’s blog and elsewhere.
My involvement in Eisenhower Fellowships and Edward R. Murrow’s THIS I BELIEVE commenced in the 1950s. I was instigator of a book that incorporated these two in 2016. General Colin Powell wrote the forward.
Keith, so many of us here would be eager to read your booklets! I read your comments with great interest, as your perspective and experience are fascinating. If it makes you feel any better, my great grandfather, grandfather, and father all wrote memoirs - and I’m the only one who has read them besides my dad’s secretary, who typed them. I don’t get it.
KR I don’t get it either! Personally, I was captivated by my dad’s diary of his experiences with the Army Signal Corps in WW I (pilot in Spad planes, which kept crashing). If you go on Amazon and click on Congo Mercenary, you will see my write up and an extensive commentary on my Foreign Service involvement in Congo. For some of it, it took me over 40 years to become ready to discuss this publicly.
Keith, your work—both your film and the booklets/short books—have important historical value. I hope you were able to extricate your family from the Bermuda Triangle.
David Thanks for picking up the typo. In fact Ed Murrow was a friend of the family. We went fishing over week end. I recorded a THIS I BELIEVE on CBS for him in 1954 and last saw him in 1960 with President Eisenhower and Eisenhower Fellows.
His son Casey and I spoke at a dinner with PBS execs some years later.
Keith as to history as "sports" battle re-enactments are sort of that. I used to use football terminology in setting up camera positions...50 yd line...end zone...if you trust sending me your DVD, I'll get it copied and back to you. I could arrange for Fed Ex or UPS to pick it up on my dime and get it back to you.
Three hours later, throughly awake, I read “family” instead of “father.” Bravo for continuing as you have.
As one of those who has lived on “lived” history, I remember the Bermuda Triangle stories but shall have to look up whether the mystery was ever resolved.
Virginia Obviously I’ve looked into the Bermuda Triangle stories. Nothing definitive. On occasion it appears that there are electronic oddities, one of which misdirected some Navy planes many years ago. Also, some tropical storms arise suddenly.
Actually, a number of boats and ships have vanished over the years, in the Caribbean, the Atlantic, the Pacific, and elsewhere. Especially before top level communications, there were no historical answers. The media has considerable responsibility for over blowing the Bermuda Triangle. Sailing is a risky sport, as is mountain climbing. I am thankful that I sailed through a hurricane with nothing untoward except a scary several hours. Some outcomes are far worse.
I once was married to a mountaineer and when I’d see him off on his adventure guiding trips I held in the back of my mind that it might be the last time I’d see him. It was a weird space to be in, but one I fully accepted. As to areas of the ocean that are problematic, for so long people didn’t give much credence to the “rouge wave” sinking ships seemingly out of nowhere. As I have read, but cannot cite, there is more current evidence for this phenomena and may be associated with certain areas of the world’s seas, currents & wind being a big factor. I have read/heard that just a few days ago search & rescue efforts for some folks sailing has been called off…no trace has been found.
Barbara I have witnessed many rogues in my life, including rouge waves. Fortunately, I have also encountered many comforting waves. On balance life indeed can be good, despite bumpy moments.
"the women who had led the uprising that got rid of al-Bashir were largely excluded from the government that followed; armed groups were at the table instead." We ought to learn more about peace making than war making.
Keith and Mike and others. When I see a comment stream from you all, I pick up my coffee and look forward to your discussion. As perhaps the 89-year old of the group, Keith, I hope there is a permanent archive for your writings and products, some of which you share here at LFAA. Does your university have a provision for submitting a personal archive for it's distinguished professors, which I suspect you must be? Some universities are asking this of retired figures in their field, hoping to get beyond the surface of individual's contributions to their discipline (e.g., published papers, correspondence, calendars, etc). The intent, as explained to me, is to go deeper in preserving the record of individual's, the context, their interactions, remembrances, their avocations, the person and professional. I think now that a lot of the records we used to rely up are not being maintained (e.g., death information, church records, family bibles) and budgets for going deep get cut, life stories of the typical, in some cases, broadens the historical record. Too, the electronic compilations, do disappear as we die without writing down passwords or the documentation software goes poof as updates make our favorites become obscure. In your case, not the typical, but the exceptional, deep and broad in recordable contributions, I would hope that they would welcome and give home to your experiences, films, public and person experiences, etc, for future generations. Yor life is a historical resource with notions, depth, idiosycracyies, and details no where otherwise available, unless of course a definitive autobiography has been written and made available. Arching, like this, can be a time-consuming effort, but also an opportunity to have the last word, so to speak, and finish your thoughts as to what was important, the So What did you learn in your 89 years? Much you share freely here. But like HCR, we are but a small priviledged Band of Strangers. A thought.
True of the department, but archivists are a different crowd. Lost my parking permit two years ago, only my former executive assistant knows me, and now annually I have to take training on internet security to keep email account and use of university licensed software. I wouldn't think you'd go quietly. One last dump into the archive, if I remember.
Fred After 23 years a last hurrah from my department and, within a few years, anyone trying to contact me at the college was told ‘no info on Wheelock.’ But some of my students still remember.
A while ago, when my wife and I were lunching out, a lady came up to effusively recall the impact of classes she took with me 20 years ago. She said that she had described the affect to a retired West Pointer who wanted to become a teacher. I offered syllabi and whatever.
My record was a call from a person I had helped in 1960 at a Middle East Institute reception for my NASSER’S NEW EGYPT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS (NY, London, 1960). Sixty-three years later is a personal record.
Fred, thanks for the coffee cup compliment. I like your observation. Some of my historian friends, like Jay Wertz (Smithsonian Great Battles of the Civil War) are documenting interviews with WWII vets and more recent vets. Folks with Keith's experience would be a treasure trove. I did a DVD project with Helen Bentley 10 years ago focused on her TV series, the Port that Built a City. I have some of those DVDs available. With the right backing we could expand on that concept. We have footage of Helen talking about her political career, Nixon, Agnew that we didn't use for the Port DVD. She was the first female chair of the Maritime Commission...and it's a great story. It's easy to produce interviews today with zoom. Jared Frederick just interviewed me a few days ago about our behind the scenes work on Gods & Generals. It's been posted on his YouTube Channel "Reel History". We are up to 7600 views. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYGOYuoNABA
We lived in Winchester, VA about 40 years ago. We were displaced Californians who were there for 2 years for my husband’s job. Our son was in the 6th grade and learned about the civil war in a private country day school. Same outcome but a different slant on things. As we knew no one when we first arrived there we spent our weekends going to the Civil War battlefields, it was a sobering time for us. I wonder how the town has changed in those years gone by. There was certainly no grand George Washington Hotel!
Barbara I spent time there 30-40 years ago and shooting re-enactment video's at New Market & Cedar Creek and shooting Gods & Generals 20 years ago. It has not changed very much. I would be very interested to see the history text book your son learned from. I went to both the National Cemetery & the Confederate section of the old town cemetery while I was there. THAT was when it all became VERY real for me. I'll write about that on my page for tomorrow.
We no longer have the text books from so long ago, but I think the slant was more nuanced than written down. It was always about states rights, northern aggression . We did met many wonderful people there and continued friendships for years. We were lucky to be white, my husband is English and Northern Virginia is very Anglophile and Episcopalian.
Back in California we once had dinner with Ken Burns when the Civil War series came out on PBS. It was an evening to remember and the conversations were wonderful.
Hi Keith. I just saw this post. We had painters in here last week and we moved a lot of things into bins for safe keeping. We are just getting reorganized. I'll be on the lookout for your file. You've had quite a life experience. Thanks for sharing.
I'd like to point out that the elephant in the room, mentioned twice by HCR, is the failure in Sudan (and lots of other countries in Africa) to include women in the government, in negotiations, in calls for equity. Misogyny, which certainly existed before the imperialist programs of the west (and I include the medieval Muslim empires that took over the Roman Empire as part of the West, not just the 19th-century race for empire) but was emphasized as a positive good by the hyper-misogynist empire builders, has been a huge contributor to the kinds of militia-driven dictatorships that have been part of the situation in African countries for ages. When attacks on women and girls, refusal to give women full rights of citizenship, restriction of women's economic independence, and restrictions on the education of women and girls become the watchwords of a military/political movement, violent dictatorships inevitably follow.
I had done my first read through the Letter as my coffee brewed. As it finished, I got up to pour cup #1. As I walked into the kitchen, my thought was "And yet again, what women do is ignored and overrun by men."
"This pattern was especially problematic in Sudan, she wrote, where the women who had led the uprising that got rid of al-Bashir were largely excluded from the government that followed; armed groups were at the table instead."
The patriarchy strikes again. While I am regularly annoyed by patriarchy's local insults, when I think about its effects on global history, it begins to look a bit apocalyptic.
Or worse, that Burns comment " if we are going to stop the 'continued cycle of violence and human suffering,' negotiators must stop prioritizing the voices of “the armed and corrupt” over those actually interested in real political reform." applies to conditions in the US of A
War. Which I see as an extension of ball games. It will never end. That's the way the human animal is programmed. Damn shame. Evolution went too far. Or, not far enough, or we would be focusing on things that don't destroy the GD planet...like art.
Competition you mean? More often (not always) how the male human animal is programmed... is what i see. If women were running the world, in general... i believe that peace would often be negotiated first... and as win-win... not as zero sum. To me, we haven't evolved far enough yet.
I doubt there is enough time for the humans to evolve past their current behaviors. And, it's not that women aren't running the show; in humans, women are complicit, letting the men be the rulers and "have their fun". No other mammal has a set up where the females and the offspring have no safe places. How many millions of women are now in refugee camps with inadequate household products or even ways to take a bath while their children run wild.
I am 100% sure that the authoritarians in this country as well as Putin’s worst oligarchs are all in to support the worst options for that country. Chump and Bannon did way more than attack democracy here, they supported authoritarian evil around the world. With the stage set for another Biden/chump race, will the repubs have codified enough of their evil to win next time (sort of like Hitler did)? The world is waiting, but the authoritarians are on the March everywhere…
Robert Reich, here on Substack, has an excellent analysis today on the puzzle of why Trump, who has led a seditious, treasonous uprising against the USA is being allowed to "run" for President since, as Reich points out, and, some of us have pointed our here: Running for office as a known seditionist is illegal.
As I have long hypothesized, and now know for a fact watching Trump: It is simply impossible to arrest a rich white male in America. Even Jeffrey Epstein, who was first arrested in Florida when a 14 year old girl testified to a detective there, was let go by the Bush administration. (google it, it is true).
Thank you Keith for the valuable historical framing of Sudan wars. Per CNN & BBC News report, two (2) Fronts for the Wagner group are shipping Sudanese Gold off books & overland to the CAR, Central African Republic (sic).
Got a good source for current Wagner group operations in the CAR. Double thanks in advance. 🙏
Every time I see the words “Wagner Group” I feel a chill. It’s a private renegade army (or several). Am I correct that it is funded by oligarch money stolen when the USSR came apart?
This morning I hear that China has stated that the former USSR countries have no right to national sovereignty. Is there rebellion brewing in China?
Overpopulation and climate change are starting to boil
over.
Everyone, apologies for the both on-topic and digressions as I try to put together a coherent view of where we are as a world. Colonialism, exploitation, still rampant as climate change tears at humanity is a lot to absorb.
I think China’s reactions to what Russia is doing in Ukraine are completely colored by what China wants to do with Taiwan. They are carefully watching, learning, and seeing how the West reacts as they assess their own risks for their own misadventure. In my own very humble opinion, we (the West, not just the US) should be arming and training Ukraine with everything they need to win this war as quickly as possible, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also to send a strong message to China.
This has been weighing on me. For certain we have the means to get this war done and over, so why aren't we? What benefit is there for the US to donate "only almost enough"?
Not that I'm an expert by any means, but each NATO nation needs to tread carefully so it does not appear it's at war and risk being attacked. They have to be careful not to entice a nuclear response, too. The appearance must be "a little help from friends" rather than a no-holds- barred proxy war. Sometimes I think Putin is goading Western nations, particularly the US, by his war crimes just so we bite the bullet so to speak, and he can retaliate full on. He already is forming alliances with nuclear capable nations---and no doubt speeding Iran's nuke capacity to completion.
Nancy, this is just in, from Diane Francis' column. It may offer good news for us both:
"As Ukraine prepares its counter-offensive... on April 21, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group met in Germany and revealed that 230 tanks and 1,500 armored vehicles were headed to Ukraine and that many had been already delivered. The scale of this armored deployment shocked Wagner Group head Evgeny Prigozhin who posted on Telegram that an armed force that size, with 100,000 Ukrainian troops and air defense systems, was bad news for Russia and a “concern” because it indicated “serious opposition”. He and others have criticized Russia’s military as well as Putin’s “maximalist” goals, and an uncharacteristic public dispute has broken out within Russia’s elite..."
Yes, whenever I see "Wagner Group" I get chills. Then I think, "Enbridge Group"? "ExxonMobil Group"? "Fox Group?" Are they "corporationizing" and evolving into their own private armies. Lucky for them they only have to pay senators and congresspeople and the NRA to legitimize and recruit civilian soldiers for insurgents and armies.
They've had some shadowy success by advocating individuals' self-arming for purposes of mayhem and undermining civilization, haven't they! Killing school children, minorities and women are just unfortunate incidents of warfare. The theme of arming for a revolution is very popular with the disaffected right wing whackos. I get chills, too.
Bryan The Wagner group has been a ‘cheap’ Russian asset in at least 8 SubSaharan African countries. On occasion they provide an authoritarian leader a. Praetorian Guard to do his killing. Roger Cohen had an excellent article in the NYT on Central African Republic in which the Wagner group figures.
This is a ‘cut rate’ way for the Russians to intrude in Africa. It was the first use of the Wagner group. Often they are paid locally as mercenaries and also carry off loot. The Chinese intrude with major infrastructure investments (and Chinese work crews) with pawn shop conditions. America has had Africa on the back burner for generations—since I served there for 6 years at the time of massive independents.
Thank you for this very informative summary, Keith. I share your anguish and view that neither Sudan or S. Sudan will have peace and viability for a long time to come; if ever.
I have mentored some former S. Sudanese refugees ("The Lost Boys of Sudan") for 20 years and we have shared many tears and pain regarding their homeland. Some have been able to get back to see family (one who returned several times to rescue kidnapped nieces-that's a whole other story!) Since they were attacked by those in the northern regions, Khartoum has never been a destination - Nairobi and Kampala (they don't remember the days of Idi Amin) are considered safe locations. However, getting family members there is a logistical nightmare. The father from one family is currently in Nairobi and another of my families is going to Kampala this summer-hoping family can get there from Juba. One of several reasons I'm forever sleepless!!
The region that eventually became the independent country of South Sudan in 2011 suffered decades of civil war (and the terror continues) from 1983 that torched the landscape, killed at least 2 million, and displaced 4 million effectively ending South Sudan's ability for "independence" and self reliance. China & Saudi Arabia are the current players in both countries due to large oil & gold reserves. As has been the operandi modus for centuries, wealthier countries exploit native people and land for power, natural resources, and money.
The misery never ceases, and it will never end as long as weapons are what the male of the human species chooses to use against one another. The U.S. is the largest exporter of weapons in the world so we always have a role although not every conflict is our fault nor can we resolve all (or even some!) Heck, we can't even stop the massacre of our own citizens these days.
Janet, I am in profound awe at your standing in the breech to lend a helping hand to our fellow earthlings in need, particularly of those youths who have been co-opted to fight. It’s like two sides of a coin…one causing battle and misery and the other trying to ameliorate it….what a weird species we are!
Russia has also been involved in a proxy war with France in western Africa, with impoverished Chad (neighbor of Sudan) formerly France's local source of militarized thug control. Sudan also neighbors the Central African Republic, which has long been friendly toward Russia.
John Russian (American) involvement in Africa was heavy in 1970s. Angola (Cubans), Ethiopia (Somalia) and elsewhere. Russia is simply tweaking in Africa, esp with Wagner Group. China more deeply involved with infrastructure loans under pawn shop conditions.
Kieth, I think that, in limited particular cases, Russian involvement is heavier than you might realize. Mali comes to mind. And Russia was talking to Sudan about establishing a naval base like the one they have in Syria.
Regarding CNN's suppositions about Wagner Group involvement in the current mess, I suspect that Wagner helped to airlift fleeing paramilitary troops that Wagner had helped train. (And then, if Russian foreign policy is par for the course, these trained paramilitaries will be brought back to Sudan and perhaps integrated into the army.)
John I believe that China has already ‘cashed in’ on a naval base in theHorn of Africa. My sense is that China is more deeply involved, while Russia is dealing on the periphery esp with Wagner.
Perhaps, with Wagner, Russia is providing military support to anti-western African countries as part of an organized division of labor with China in a shared campaign against the long-standing western hegemony over that continent. (George Orwell actually touched on this in a prescient geopolitical commentary in "1984.")
'The bombastic host received the largest audience on the conservative network'
'His last show was this past Friday, April 21. The network said that the 8 p.m. time slot, which Carlson has held since April 2017, will be filled on an interim basis by “rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named.” It will be called “Fox News Tonight.”
'The announcement came less than a week after Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which had sued the network for false claims about the 2020 election, for $787.5 million hours before opening arguments were to begin. Carlson was among several on-air personalities expected to testify.'
'Carlson did not immediately respond to a message asking for comment on his departure.' (WAPO) See gifted link below.
🐦 Happy as can be to deliver this one to you all! Like that headline!
Since I am always a little cynical, I bet it had more to do with his comment on hating Trump rather than exposing lies, if you know what I mean. Rupert has shown no evidence of being contrite so far. But hallelujah, they're starting to fall like flies! (Go E. Jean Carrol!)
Keith, thank you for this long insightful post. Since Africa is full of minerals, oil, etc. I fear the tribal warfare will continue with the help of various outsider groups looking to control those resources. In Sierra Leone where I was for three and half years, it was diamonds and rutile. The people at the top were busy getting as rich as they could while the ordinary people lived subsistence lives. Our local ferry only had a gas motor when it was election time. The rest of the time, it was pulled by hand using wooden implements that fit around the cable. And for a bit of colonial history, the only roads paved upcountry were those where the Queen travelled when she visited. And did we celebrate the country's freedom at Fourth Bay College...nope, it was the anniversary of the Queen's visit. During our time there, there was a war between Benin and the rest of Nigeria, so there were traders selling Benin bronzes to finance the war. The railroad in Sierra Leone was narrow gauge, so trains could not go over a certain speed or they would fall off the tracks. Why narrow gauge...Guinea next door (formerly French) had regular gauge and the colonial powers didn't want to the two to fit together. Outsider contributions to these continuing problems has a long and terrible history and add to the tribal conflicts.
Michelle Minerals have long been a major attraction of Africa. Uranium for the Manhattan Project came from Congo. The conflict between British and French colonies has been never ending. These days terrorists and other armed groups have rendered mineral hunting in Africa dangerous.
Indeed, everyone else seems to see (or has seen) Africa forever as a place to plunder in various ways including the slave trade. I did smile at your Nubian comment. When we were in Luxor on a tour of tombs with Mary Elizabeth (complete with boots and a pith helmet) and her mother, we were looking at wall paintings. There was the outsized pharaoh and underneath him, some very small figures who were black. Mary Elizabeth (from Texas on a grand tour financed by Daddy) proclaimed that things hadn't changed in 5000 years. Glad to know that Nubians did prevail for a while. Whenever I think of total chaos in the hunting of minerals, I always think of the Congo in particular. I find your sports comment interesting. We never watch professional sports. And the scene in college sports has become pretty chaotic also, so we are almost finished with that too.
Virginia The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1954 did not prepare me for the horrors of Congo (1960-1966) as a Foreign Service Officer. There I was deeply involved in the rescue of over 3,000 foreign hostages under death sentences by the Congolese rebels.
Countless millions of Africans have been killed—Biafra in Nigeria 1 million, perhaps 1 million in Mozambique, perhaps a million in Sudan—-and much more.
Busy with school, then marriage, job, and child, I only remember vaguely Africa in the early ‘50s (except for “The African Queen”), but the Congo was so brutal that it still resonates like the Holocaust.
Virginia Mumbo gumbo God of the Congo—Mister Kurtz, he dead. I remember the Casement Diaries, written by Roger Casement about the horror’s of King Leopoldo’s Congo—burning entire villages, amputations.
Casement, as Irishman, was involved in an espionage trip to Ireland in WW I. Originally there was great public concern for Casement. Then his personal diaries were circulated highlighting that he was gay. Zippo to public or government concern.
During my Congo time, Congolese were brutally executed in front of Lumumba monuments. Other killings were even more dreadful.
I loved The African Queen, although it was romantic about pre-WW I Congo.
Keith, your long lifetime of experience is very valuable. Based on the fact that you were making a documentary in Sudan in 1954/55, I can imagine that these days you need to be very choosy about where you bestow your energy. Have you considered using a speech-to-text application to record the experiences and insights that you may not have captured in your writings up to this point? This recent review in PC Magazine says that both Windows 10/11 and the Mac OS offer free voice-to-text apps that, per the reviewer, were shown in tests to be about as good as the speech-to-text software that have a price tag: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/best-speech-to-text-apps-and-tools
Elizabeth Thanks for your suggestions. I sprinkle some of my experiences on Heather and elsewhere. I wrote up my experiences in five, well-documented booklets. No one in my family has actually read them—one member read at least one booklet.
If you go on Amazon, my review of Congo Mercenary includes a fulsome commentary on some of my Congo experiences. As creator of international bond ratings, I had some ‘interesting’ experiences dealing with such sovereign credits as England, Iran, and Israel. This I have no published widely because of the sensitivity. I include this in my ‘booklet.’
I did a 15 minute ‘show and tell’ at my 60th high school reunion. If you’re interested, I could e-mail you a copy.
As the new young bride said on the first night of her honeymoon when she got out of bed to bake a cake, "I digress. . . ":
As a resident opera freak here, allow me to chime in: Verdi's Aïda isn't really that specific as to time period. Ghislanzoni, the librettist, set the story in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, roughly 2700-2200 BCE. The Khedive of Egypt originally had come up with the idea for a celebratory opera for the opera house in Cairo to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Verdi declined that offer. However, a bit later, Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, proposed to the Khedive a plot for an opera set in ancient Egypt. The Khedive referred Mariette to theatre manager Camille du Locle, who then sent Mariette's story idea to Verdi. Long story short, Verdi liked the story and he and his librettist honed the plot and Verdi composed the music. The opera premiered in Cairo in 1871.
Aïda is referred to as an "Ethiopian Princess", having been made a slave for the daughter (Amneris) of the Egyptian King (aka a "Pharaoh", take your pick). Aïda's father, Amonasro, is the King of the Ethiopians and has been taken prisoner by the Egyptians. Aïda's identity as a Princess isn't revealed until later in the opera at a key moment. Radames (sometimes spelled "Rhadames") is the commanding General of the Egyptian army, is secretly in love with Aïda, though he is betrothed to Amneris, Princess of Egypt. Mayhem ensues. . . it's opera.
My guess is the opera is set much earlier than 700-600 BCE. There has been some discussion recently in productions of Aïda as to whether the character should be depicted as dark-skinned. In the past, many sopranos in the role did use make-up to darken their skin. This has begun to be frowned upon, especially with the stigma around "black-face" make-up and its connotations. (There have been LOTS of kerfuffles in opera lately about depicting the ethnicities of characters in operas, and in stage works in general. That's another discussion. . . ) The great soprano Leontyne Price was the first African-American to perform the rôle at the Met, which was seen as returning the rôle to a character more closely resembling the character's actual race. Opera houses in the US have eschewed the use of darker make-up for Aïda, but it can still be found in Europe and abroad.
Bruce I defer to you on the historical antecedents of Verdi’s Aida. Though an opera house was constructed for its performance at the opening of the Suez Canal, Verdi did not appear. I saw Aida in this opera house in 1958. The bugs in the cushioned seats may have come from Verdi’s time.
This was just after US Marines went into Lebanon after the coup in Iraq. It was amusing to watch the American naval officer wave an American flag in The Mikado.
How I love Opera music. I must say, as a social worker, the stories and plots are more drama than common sense! A little couples counseling would have spared many tragedies (Just kidding.) Speaking of Black opera singers, would any of us have wanted to miss the splendid voices? I keep hearing the late Jesse Norman...extraordinary. There is also an irony in her singing Wagnerian operas. May Wagner turn over in his supremacist grave! LBNL, there is a new young Black contralto whose voice is sterling, but I cannot think of her name at the moment.
Hope You might enjoy Robert Greenberg of GREAT COURSES on opera. He is a magical musical maestro. His introduction to great music is a master’s course. His recent MUSIC AS A MIRROR ON HISTORY is absolutely brilliant.
I am a Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Mozart, and one or two others opera fan. I was just playing AIDA in my car. According to Greenberg opera began during the baroque period.
Thank you, Keith for all of your input today. You are a remarkable man! Thank you for all you have done for our country and others. I too would like a copy of the scenes description of your documentary! My address: Sharon Stearley 3285 W State Road 340, Brazil, IN 47834-7351
Why are not the African nations that have succeeded in building viable economies operating in a more or less democratic environment, despite ethnic problems, stepping in to work for a solution in the Sudan? It is in their interest to do so, since the Sudan's problems can be contagious, particularly in view of Russian meddling.
Jack Tribalism, corruption, and a wide difference between the rich and poor have been hallmarks in Africa since independence. Ethiopia was the first African ‘country.’ The Sudan next in 1956.
Nigeria was the first independence hope. The Biafra revolution in 1970 cost about 1 million lives.
South Africa was expected to be a success story after Mandela. In recent decades a Black mafia has emerged through the ANC. It’s a shambles now. I have difficulty identifying any African country as a sustained success story. Rwanda was The Economist’s ‘country of the year’ about 4 years ago. It has slumped since then.
Minerals are still a major African attraction. Personally, I would only return to Africa in an urn.
'Nationhood' requires certain pre-requisites such as economic viability, ethnic balance, reasonable natural borders, and some degree of skill in governance. Absence of even one of these leads to the failures that you describe. But were these places better off in the past as colonies where outsiders plundered their resources and called the shots (figuratively and literally)?
Not at all, Jack. Indeed those parental governments caused the vacuum by not being inclusive and instructive, and keeping the spoils to themselves. Sort of like handing the keys to the car to an adolescent who's never had a driving lesson.
What has occurred in Sudan has caused me great personal sadness for the Sudanese people.
I spent a month in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1954.. Making a documentary film, SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, provided me an opportunity to visit much of this vast area and meet a diversity of people.
Sudan was comprised of the North, which was predominately Moslem including Black Nubians, and the South, diverse tribes existing under British rule and with scant ‘civilized’ amenities.
In the North there seemed a decent group that was achieving independence from the Egyptians and British in 1956. In February 1955, tribal fighting erupted in the South. The South has been a brutal hodgepodge ever since. At times Northerners ravaged huge areas of the South. Darfur has been a regular slaughter field.
The discovery of oil in the South further complicated northern-southern Sudanese relations. Ultimately an independent South Sudan was created. Its tribal leaders are still at loggerheads with the people suffering greatly.
Sudan (in the North) started shakily as a ‘country.’ It was a pass through country for radical leaders who sought to support Congolese Rebellions in the 1960s. Clashes between civilian tribal leaders escalated. A dreadful general seized power in the 1980s and ruled for a generation. He was deposed and, ultimately, two other generals, one more dreadful than the other, seized power.
Despite a ‘democratization’ agreement, they have launched what seems a civil war for personal power and loot.
Now there is total chaos and massive killings. As foreigners and Sudanese seek to flee, what I knew as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is in tatters. I have scant hope that this poor and ravaged area, both Sudan and South Sudan, will become livable, viable nations in the foreseeable future.
Who remembers that the Nubians of Sudan ruled Egypt 700-600 BCE?
Keith I would love to see your film. Is it available anywhere...any way ? You may have already told me, but I've been so focused on my work around our Civil War of 160 years ago that I don't recall. My work seems trite compared to people in the midst of these on going hostilities...but I'm afraid of where we are headed...and much of it is because we have not come to grips, we have not reconciled our issues of race, of enslaver and enslaved.
I just attended an annual conference held by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation in Winchester VA held in a ballroom in the very grand George Washington Hotel. It was attended by mostly older white men. At 70 I felt like one of the younger demographics...except for a 15 year old from California who is probably the next Bruce Caton/ JamesMcPherson, HCR...name your historian. There were no black folks in the room...none, zero....and very few women. I ended up recording Ron Maxwell's talk...because the event producers were not prepared to record anything....and Ron asked if it could be done. I intend to return next year with some black friends and women who are interested in the topics...and maybe suggest an appropriate presenter that breaks the color/gender barrier. Anyway I pray for sanity in Sudan and a quick peace...but I doubt that's likely.
Mike,
"I intend to return next year with some black friends and women who are interested in the topic"
Invite Nicole-Hannah Jones. Others will come if she does, and, she probably will if you give her a long lead heads up.
Thank you.
Mike S, she should be a presenter at this conference...and if they won't do that I have a "history/art" event we are starting to create that she would be perfect for, not far from Winchester/DC/Baltimore/Gettysburg/Harpers Ferry/Antietam.
Making her a presenter is an outstanding idea!
I don't have the power to make it happen for their event, but I can suggest it. For the event we want to do, consider her on the list...we will be reaching out, when we have some details together. Watch for "Crossroads of History" at the Hagerstown Aviation Museum Dome Hanger., sometime after September .. this is the first public, put the intention out there moment
Perhaps my wife and I will attend. It sounds like a great gathering Mike.
Mike I am appalled by how few people get off their duff to support or learn about important history. Perhaps if it could be presented in a sports motif there would be better interest and attendance.
Thanks for asking about my Sudan documentary. It turned out be be historic. The Southern Sudan was cut off by the British and Prime Minister Ismail Azhari had to call a special cabinet meeting to vote me permission to film in the South. The southern tribal uprising in February, 1955 killed any further ‘Sudan documentaries.’With a. CBS editor I finished the film in October, 1954. He thought it was good.
Two months later my family disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle and I became occupied with other matters. I have the film on DVD but, frankly, am not inclined to have it copied to sent out. Apologies, but I now use my energy more sparingly.
For all who are reading Keith Wheelock's posts here with great interest, here is a capsule history of his life published in 2006 as part of the Princeton [University] Personalities series. I tried to include the complete text below, but Substack refused. Also go to the link for the handsome photo of Professor Wheelock, which Substack also refuses to post:
https://www.towntopics.com/mar1809/stratton.php
Fascinating. Talk about a rich life!
Thank you.
Elizabeth, I just finished reading about Dr. Wheelock. A tremendous academic a fantastic walk.
Thanks for posting.
Mike I’m not a doctor, though if I were, it probably should be in phrenology. Though my book at U Penn was accepted as my dissertation and they offered me credits for courses I would teach and a special ‘book program’ for my PhD, I preferred the non-academic tranquility of the Congo 1960-1966.
Old habits Keith. I matriculated through PhD in engineering and was conditioned to call my professors “doctor” out of respect.
Phrenology! After reading your bio......You're kidding, right?
It is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology
Thank you Elizabeth. I'm grateful.
But can you be certain that your film is preserved and/or that someone else can get it out? As you undoubtedly know, it could be invaluable in any kind of future negotiations.
Are you writing a long memoir? Your father’s story? Thank you again for sharing yours.
Virginia I had intended to give it to a friend of mine who had. Been named ambassador to Sudan in 1967. The the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 resulted in a break of diplomatic relations. Later I wrote the Sudan desk at State Department mentioning the documentary and offering to send copies that could be deposited in Sudanese government and university archives. Never got a response.
I have written five extensive booklets, including documents that encapsulate portions of my life. Few members of my family have bothered to read them. I do provide some personal insights on Heather’s blog and elsewhere.
My involvement in Eisenhower Fellowships and Edward R. Murrow’s THIS I BELIEVE commenced in the 1950s. I was instigator of a book that incorporated these two in 2016. General Colin Powell wrote the forward.
Keith, so many of us here would be eager to read your booklets! I read your comments with great interest, as your perspective and experience are fascinating. If it makes you feel any better, my great grandfather, grandfather, and father all wrote memoirs - and I’m the only one who has read them besides my dad’s secretary, who typed them. I don’t get it.
KR I don’t get it either! Personally, I was captivated by my dad’s diary of his experiences with the Army Signal Corps in WW I (pilot in Spad planes, which kept crashing). If you go on Amazon and click on Congo Mercenary, you will see my write up and an extensive commentary on my Foreign Service involvement in Congo. For some of it, it took me over 40 years to become ready to discuss this publicly.
Dear KR, I couldn’t agree more — it’s about time we got to celebrate and learn even from “our Not Doc Wheelock!”
Keith, your work—both your film and the booklets/short books—have important historical value. I hope you were able to extricate your family from the Bermuda Triangle.
Elizabeth My dad, brother, and lovely stepmother disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.
I think you mean Edward R. MUrrow.
David Thanks for picking up the typo. In fact Ed Murrow was a friend of the family. We went fishing over week end. I recorded a THIS I BELIEVE on CBS for him in 1954 and last saw him in 1960 with President Eisenhower and Eisenhower Fellows.
His son Casey and I spoke at a dinner with PBS execs some years later.
Keith as to history as "sports" battle re-enactments are sort of that. I used to use football terminology in setting up camera positions...50 yd line...end zone...if you trust sending me your DVD, I'll get it copied and back to you. I could arrange for Fed Ex or UPS to pick it up on my dime and get it back to you.
Mike My documentary is historical—I have a typed description of the scenes. If you are truly eager, send me your mailing address.
Keith I'd love to see this and work with you. I'm plugged into some pretty serious history types. I'll elaborate later. Address:
Mike Wicklein
5805 Clearspring Rd
Baltimore MD 21212
please send with some form of tracking.
Your last paragraph, Keith! What in the world? Tell us more.
NYTimes article on the tragedy involving Keith Wheelock's family, 1/31/1955:
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/01/31/92844762.html?pageNumber=21
Thank you. Yikes, what a bad thing to have happened.
Three hours later, throughly awake, I read “family” instead of “father.” Bravo for continuing as you have.
As one of those who has lived on “lived” history, I remember the Bermuda Triangle stories but shall have to look up whether the mystery was ever resolved.
Virginia Obviously I’ve looked into the Bermuda Triangle stories. Nothing definitive. On occasion it appears that there are electronic oddities, one of which misdirected some Navy planes many years ago. Also, some tropical storms arise suddenly.
Actually, a number of boats and ships have vanished over the years, in the Caribbean, the Atlantic, the Pacific, and elsewhere. Especially before top level communications, there were no historical answers. The media has considerable responsibility for over blowing the Bermuda Triangle. Sailing is a risky sport, as is mountain climbing. I am thankful that I sailed through a hurricane with nothing untoward except a scary several hours. Some outcomes are far worse.
I once was married to a mountaineer and when I’d see him off on his adventure guiding trips I held in the back of my mind that it might be the last time I’d see him. It was a weird space to be in, but one I fully accepted. As to areas of the ocean that are problematic, for so long people didn’t give much credence to the “rouge wave” sinking ships seemingly out of nowhere. As I have read, but cannot cite, there is more current evidence for this phenomena and may be associated with certain areas of the world’s seas, currents & wind being a big factor. I have read/heard that just a few days ago search & rescue efforts for some folks sailing has been called off…no trace has been found.
Barbara I have witnessed many rogues in my life, including rouge waves. Fortunately, I have also encountered many comforting waves. On balance life indeed can be good, despite bumpy moments.
"the women who had led the uprising that got rid of al-Bashir were largely excluded from the government that followed; armed groups were at the table instead." We ought to learn more about peace making than war making.
Keith and Mike and others. When I see a comment stream from you all, I pick up my coffee and look forward to your discussion. As perhaps the 89-year old of the group, Keith, I hope there is a permanent archive for your writings and products, some of which you share here at LFAA. Does your university have a provision for submitting a personal archive for it's distinguished professors, which I suspect you must be? Some universities are asking this of retired figures in their field, hoping to get beyond the surface of individual's contributions to their discipline (e.g., published papers, correspondence, calendars, etc). The intent, as explained to me, is to go deeper in preserving the record of individual's, the context, their interactions, remembrances, their avocations, the person and professional. I think now that a lot of the records we used to rely up are not being maintained (e.g., death information, church records, family bibles) and budgets for going deep get cut, life stories of the typical, in some cases, broadens the historical record. Too, the electronic compilations, do disappear as we die without writing down passwords or the documentation software goes poof as updates make our favorites become obscure. In your case, not the typical, but the exceptional, deep and broad in recordable contributions, I would hope that they would welcome and give home to your experiences, films, public and person experiences, etc, for future generations. Yor life is a historical resource with notions, depth, idiosycracyies, and details no where otherwise available, unless of course a definitive autobiography has been written and made available. Arching, like this, can be a time-consuming effort, but also an opportunity to have the last word, so to speak, and finish your thoughts as to what was important, the So What did you learn in your 89 years? Much you share freely here. But like HCR, we are but a small priviledged Band of Strangers. A thought.
Fred The trip from distinguished professor to extinguished is swift.
indeed ... still an incredible treasure you are, Distinguished Professor Keith.
True of the department, but archivists are a different crowd. Lost my parking permit two years ago, only my former executive assistant knows me, and now annually I have to take training on internet security to keep email account and use of university licensed software. I wouldn't think you'd go quietly. One last dump into the archive, if I remember.
Fred After 23 years a last hurrah from my department and, within a few years, anyone trying to contact me at the college was told ‘no info on Wheelock.’ But some of my students still remember.
A while ago, when my wife and I were lunching out, a lady came up to effusively recall the impact of classes she took with me 20 years ago. She said that she had described the affect to a retired West Pointer who wanted to become a teacher. I offered syllabi and whatever.
My record was a call from a person I had helped in 1960 at a Middle East Institute reception for my NASSER’S NEW EGYPT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS (NY, London, 1960). Sixty-three years later is a personal record.
Fred, thanks for the coffee cup compliment. I like your observation. Some of my historian friends, like Jay Wertz (Smithsonian Great Battles of the Civil War) are documenting interviews with WWII vets and more recent vets. Folks with Keith's experience would be a treasure trove. I did a DVD project with Helen Bentley 10 years ago focused on her TV series, the Port that Built a City. I have some of those DVDs available. With the right backing we could expand on that concept. We have footage of Helen talking about her political career, Nixon, Agnew that we didn't use for the Port DVD. She was the first female chair of the Maritime Commission...and it's a great story. It's easy to produce interviews today with zoom. Jared Frederick just interviewed me a few days ago about our behind the scenes work on Gods & Generals. It's been posted on his YouTube Channel "Reel History". We are up to 7600 views. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYGOYuoNABA
Really interesting effort, Mike. Thanks for link to God's and Generals.
Yes! What Fred just wrote….totally agree.
Yes, Barbara!! Professor Wheelock is a spoil of shared treasures, with quite a fan club, I’m certain.
We lived in Winchester, VA about 40 years ago. We were displaced Californians who were there for 2 years for my husband’s job. Our son was in the 6th grade and learned about the civil war in a private country day school. Same outcome but a different slant on things. As we knew no one when we first arrived there we spent our weekends going to the Civil War battlefields, it was a sobering time for us. I wonder how the town has changed in those years gone by. There was certainly no grand George Washington Hotel!
Barbara I spent time there 30-40 years ago and shooting re-enactment video's at New Market & Cedar Creek and shooting Gods & Generals 20 years ago. It has not changed very much. I would be very interested to see the history text book your son learned from. I went to both the National Cemetery & the Confederate section of the old town cemetery while I was there. THAT was when it all became VERY real for me. I'll write about that on my page for tomorrow.
We no longer have the text books from so long ago, but I think the slant was more nuanced than written down. It was always about states rights, northern aggression . We did met many wonderful people there and continued friendships for years. We were lucky to be white, my husband is English and Northern Virginia is very Anglophile and Episcopalian.
Back in California we once had dinner with Ken Burns when the Civil War series came out on PBS. It was an evening to remember and the conversations were wonderful.
I'm applying for a Ken Burns/Library of Congress documentary grant that's due on May 15. Check out my page for more info on "Monumental Struggle".
Mike I would appreciate your mailing me my Egypt and Sudan films that I lent you, even if you haven’t screened them.
My mail address is Keith Wheelock
48 Constitution Hill West
Princeton, NJ 08540
Thanks,’Keith
Hi Keith. I just saw this post. We had painters in here last week and we moved a lot of things into bins for safe keeping. We are just getting reorganized. I'll be on the lookout for your file. You've had quite a life experience. Thanks for sharing.
I'd like to point out that the elephant in the room, mentioned twice by HCR, is the failure in Sudan (and lots of other countries in Africa) to include women in the government, in negotiations, in calls for equity. Misogyny, which certainly existed before the imperialist programs of the west (and I include the medieval Muslim empires that took over the Roman Empire as part of the West, not just the 19th-century race for empire) but was emphasized as a positive good by the hyper-misogynist empire builders, has been a huge contributor to the kinds of militia-driven dictatorships that have been part of the situation in African countries for ages. When attacks on women and girls, refusal to give women full rights of citizenship, restriction of women's economic independence, and restrictions on the education of women and girls become the watchwords of a military/political movement, violent dictatorships inevitably follow.
I had done my first read through the Letter as my coffee brewed. As it finished, I got up to pour cup #1. As I walked into the kitchen, my thought was "And yet again, what women do is ignored and overrun by men."
My thoughts exactly.
"This pattern was especially problematic in Sudan, she wrote, where the women who had led the uprising that got rid of al-Bashir were largely excluded from the government that followed; armed groups were at the table instead."
The patriarchy strikes again. While I am regularly annoyed by patriarchy's local insults, when I think about its effects on global history, it begins to look a bit apocalyptic.
Or worse, that Burns comment " if we are going to stop the 'continued cycle of violence and human suffering,' negotiators must stop prioritizing the voices of “the armed and corrupt” over those actually interested in real political reform." applies to conditions in the US of A
Same.
History of the human race, no? Women tend the house; men go out and "play".
and fight
War. Which I see as an extension of ball games. It will never end. That's the way the human animal is programmed. Damn shame. Evolution went too far. Or, not far enough, or we would be focusing on things that don't destroy the GD planet...like art.
Competition you mean? More often (not always) how the male human animal is programmed... is what i see. If women were running the world, in general... i believe that peace would often be negotiated first... and as win-win... not as zero sum. To me, we haven't evolved far enough yet.
I doubt there is enough time for the humans to evolve past their current behaviors. And, it's not that women aren't running the show; in humans, women are complicit, letting the men be the rulers and "have their fun". No other mammal has a set up where the females and the offspring have no safe places. How many millions of women are now in refugee camps with inadequate household products or even ways to take a bath while their children run wild.
Thank you for presenting this valuable background information.
I am 100% sure that the authoritarians in this country as well as Putin’s worst oligarchs are all in to support the worst options for that country. Chump and Bannon did way more than attack democracy here, they supported authoritarian evil around the world. With the stage set for another Biden/chump race, will the repubs have codified enough of their evil to win next time (sort of like Hitler did)? The world is waiting, but the authoritarians are on the March everywhere…
Jeri,
Robert Reich, here on Substack, has an excellent analysis today on the puzzle of why Trump, who has led a seditious, treasonous uprising against the USA is being allowed to "run" for President since, as Reich points out, and, some of us have pointed our here: Running for office as a known seditionist is illegal.
As I have long hypothesized, and now know for a fact watching Trump: It is simply impossible to arrest a rich white male in America. Even Jeffrey Epstein, who was first arrested in Florida when a 14 year old girl testified to a detective there, was let go by the Bush administration. (google it, it is true).
Trump knows what America he lives in.
No. Go here:
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/ignore-the-polls-a77
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-23-2023/comment/15175428
Thank you Keith for the valuable historical framing of Sudan wars. Per CNN & BBC News report, two (2) Fronts for the Wagner group are shipping Sudanese Gold off books & overland to the CAR, Central African Republic (sic).
Got a good source for current Wagner group operations in the CAR. Double thanks in advance. 🙏
Every time I see the words “Wagner Group” I feel a chill. It’s a private renegade army (or several). Am I correct that it is funded by oligarch money stolen when the USSR came apart?
This morning I hear that China has stated that the former USSR countries have no right to national sovereignty. Is there rebellion brewing in China?
Overpopulation and climate change are starting to boil
over.
Everyone, apologies for the both on-topic and digressions as I try to put together a coherent view of where we are as a world. Colonialism, exploitation, still rampant as climate change tears at humanity is a lot to absorb.
I think China’s reactions to what Russia is doing in Ukraine are completely colored by what China wants to do with Taiwan. They are carefully watching, learning, and seeing how the West reacts as they assess their own risks for their own misadventure. In my own very humble opinion, we (the West, not just the US) should be arming and training Ukraine with everything they need to win this war as quickly as possible, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also to send a strong message to China.
This has been weighing on me. For certain we have the means to get this war done and over, so why aren't we? What benefit is there for the US to donate "only almost enough"?
Not that I'm an expert by any means, but each NATO nation needs to tread carefully so it does not appear it's at war and risk being attacked. They have to be careful not to entice a nuclear response, too. The appearance must be "a little help from friends" rather than a no-holds- barred proxy war. Sometimes I think Putin is goading Western nations, particularly the US, by his war crimes just so we bite the bullet so to speak, and he can retaliate full on. He already is forming alliances with nuclear capable nations---and no doubt speeding Iran's nuke capacity to completion.
Nancy, this is just in, from Diane Francis' column. It may offer good news for us both:
"As Ukraine prepares its counter-offensive... on April 21, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group met in Germany and revealed that 230 tanks and 1,500 armored vehicles were headed to Ukraine and that many had been already delivered. The scale of this armored deployment shocked Wagner Group head Evgeny Prigozhin who posted on Telegram that an armed force that size, with 100,000 Ukrainian troops and air defense systems, was bad news for Russia and a “concern” because it indicated “serious opposition”. He and others have criticized Russia’s military as well as Putin’s “maximalist” goals, and an uncharacteristic public dispute has broken out within Russia’s elite..."
Thank you, Hope! This is excellent news. ❤️
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-23-2023/comment/15175428
Yes, whenever I see "Wagner Group" I get chills. Then I think, "Enbridge Group"? "ExxonMobil Group"? "Fox Group?" Are they "corporationizing" and evolving into their own private armies. Lucky for them they only have to pay senators and congresspeople and the NRA to legitimize and recruit civilian soldiers for insurgents and armies.
They've had some shadowy success by advocating individuals' self-arming for purposes of mayhem and undermining civilization, haven't they! Killing school children, minorities and women are just unfortunate incidents of warfare. The theme of arming for a revolution is very popular with the disaffected right wing whackos. I get chills, too.
Are you worried about overpopulation in the US? IF so, I can suggest some activism on that.
Bryan The Wagner group has been a ‘cheap’ Russian asset in at least 8 SubSaharan African countries. On occasion they provide an authoritarian leader a. Praetorian Guard to do his killing. Roger Cohen had an excellent article in the NYT on Central African Republic in which the Wagner group figures.
This is a ‘cut rate’ way for the Russians to intrude in Africa. It was the first use of the Wagner group. Often they are paid locally as mercenaries and also carry off loot. The Chinese intrude with major infrastructure investments (and Chinese work crews) with pawn shop conditions. America has had Africa on the back burner for generations—since I served there for 6 years at the time of massive independents.
Got it: "Putin Wants Fealty & He's found It in Africa", Roger Cohen at NYT on 12/24/22 --updated 12/27 with photo by Mauricio Lima.
Bryan I had admired Roger Cohen for years. He wrote a fascinating autobiography. I met him when he spoke to Eisenhower Fellows.
Thank you for this very informative summary, Keith. I share your anguish and view that neither Sudan or S. Sudan will have peace and viability for a long time to come; if ever.
I have mentored some former S. Sudanese refugees ("The Lost Boys of Sudan") for 20 years and we have shared many tears and pain regarding their homeland. Some have been able to get back to see family (one who returned several times to rescue kidnapped nieces-that's a whole other story!) Since they were attacked by those in the northern regions, Khartoum has never been a destination - Nairobi and Kampala (they don't remember the days of Idi Amin) are considered safe locations. However, getting family members there is a logistical nightmare. The father from one family is currently in Nairobi and another of my families is going to Kampala this summer-hoping family can get there from Juba. One of several reasons I'm forever sleepless!!
The region that eventually became the independent country of South Sudan in 2011 suffered decades of civil war (and the terror continues) from 1983 that torched the landscape, killed at least 2 million, and displaced 4 million effectively ending South Sudan's ability for "independence" and self reliance. China & Saudi Arabia are the current players in both countries due to large oil & gold reserves. As has been the operandi modus for centuries, wealthier countries exploit native people and land for power, natural resources, and money.
The misery never ceases, and it will never end as long as weapons are what the male of the human species chooses to use against one another. The U.S. is the largest exporter of weapons in the world so we always have a role although not every conflict is our fault nor can we resolve all (or even some!) Heck, we can't even stop the massacre of our own citizens these days.
NRA group
Janet, I am in profound awe at your standing in the breech to lend a helping hand to our fellow earthlings in need, particularly of those youths who have been co-opted to fight. It’s like two sides of a coin…one causing battle and misery and the other trying to ameliorate it….what a weird species we are!
Sudan could become, together with Libya, Syria and Ukraine, another battlefield in the evolving proxy war between Russia and the United States. See
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/20/africa/wagner-sudan-russia-libya-intl/index.html
Russia has also been involved in a proxy war with France in western Africa, with impoverished Chad (neighbor of Sudan) formerly France's local source of militarized thug control. Sudan also neighbors the Central African Republic, which has long been friendly toward Russia.
John Russian (American) involvement in Africa was heavy in 1970s. Angola (Cubans), Ethiopia (Somalia) and elsewhere. Russia is simply tweaking in Africa, esp with Wagner Group. China more deeply involved with infrastructure loans under pawn shop conditions.
Kieth, I think that, in limited particular cases, Russian involvement is heavier than you might realize. Mali comes to mind. And Russia was talking to Sudan about establishing a naval base like the one they have in Syria.
Regarding CNN's suppositions about Wagner Group involvement in the current mess, I suspect that Wagner helped to airlift fleeing paramilitary troops that Wagner had helped train. (And then, if Russian foreign policy is par for the course, these trained paramilitaries will be brought back to Sudan and perhaps integrated into the army.)
John I believe that China has already ‘cashed in’ on a naval base in theHorn of Africa. My sense is that China is more deeply involved, while Russia is dealing on the periphery esp with Wagner.
Perhaps, with Wagner, Russia is providing military support to anti-western African countries as part of an organized division of labor with China in a shared campaign against the long-standing western hegemony over that continent. (George Orwell actually touched on this in a prescient geopolitical commentary in "1984.")
'Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox News'
'The bombastic host received the largest audience on the conservative network'
'His last show was this past Friday, April 21. The network said that the 8 p.m. time slot, which Carlson has held since April 2017, will be filled on an interim basis by “rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named.” It will be called “Fox News Tonight.”
'The announcement came less than a week after Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which had sued the network for false claims about the 2020 election, for $787.5 million hours before opening arguments were to begin. Carlson was among several on-air personalities expected to testify.'
'Carlson did not immediately respond to a message asking for comment on his departure.' (WAPO) See gifted link below.
🐦 Happy as can be to deliver this one to you all! Like that headline!
https://wapo.st/41y59D5
Since I am always a little cynical, I bet it had more to do with his comment on hating Trump rather than exposing lies, if you know what I mean. Rupert has shown no evidence of being contrite so far. But hallelujah, they're starting to fall like flies! (Go E. Jean Carrol!)
thank you for info and insight
Keith, thank you for this long insightful post. Since Africa is full of minerals, oil, etc. I fear the tribal warfare will continue with the help of various outsider groups looking to control those resources. In Sierra Leone where I was for three and half years, it was diamonds and rutile. The people at the top were busy getting as rich as they could while the ordinary people lived subsistence lives. Our local ferry only had a gas motor when it was election time. The rest of the time, it was pulled by hand using wooden implements that fit around the cable. And for a bit of colonial history, the only roads paved upcountry were those where the Queen travelled when she visited. And did we celebrate the country's freedom at Fourth Bay College...nope, it was the anniversary of the Queen's visit. During our time there, there was a war between Benin and the rest of Nigeria, so there were traders selling Benin bronzes to finance the war. The railroad in Sierra Leone was narrow gauge, so trains could not go over a certain speed or they would fall off the tracks. Why narrow gauge...Guinea next door (formerly French) had regular gauge and the colonial powers didn't want to the two to fit together. Outsider contributions to these continuing problems has a long and terrible history and add to the tribal conflicts.
Michelle Minerals have long been a major attraction of Africa. Uranium for the Manhattan Project came from Congo. The conflict between British and French colonies has been never ending. These days terrorists and other armed groups have rendered mineral hunting in Africa dangerous.
Indeed, everyone else seems to see (or has seen) Africa forever as a place to plunder in various ways including the slave trade. I did smile at your Nubian comment. When we were in Luxor on a tour of tombs with Mary Elizabeth (complete with boots and a pith helmet) and her mother, we were looking at wall paintings. There was the outsized pharaoh and underneath him, some very small figures who were black. Mary Elizabeth (from Texas on a grand tour financed by Daddy) proclaimed that things hadn't changed in 5000 years. Glad to know that Nubians did prevail for a while. Whenever I think of total chaos in the hunting of minerals, I always think of the Congo in particular. I find your sports comment interesting. We never watch professional sports. And the scene in college sports has become pretty chaotic also, so we are almost finished with that too.
Ken Wheelock please continue to inform us about this colonialism on steroids. There are probably few Americans with your experience left standing.
Are the Nubians (700-600 BCE) the subject of Verdi’s “Aida”?
Virginia The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1954 did not prepare me for the horrors of Congo (1960-1966) as a Foreign Service Officer. There I was deeply involved in the rescue of over 3,000 foreign hostages under death sentences by the Congolese rebels.
Countless millions of Africans have been killed—Biafra in Nigeria 1 million, perhaps 1 million in Mozambique, perhaps a million in Sudan—-and much more.
Yes, Nubians/Verdi. Otello was North African.
Busy with school, then marriage, job, and child, I only remember vaguely Africa in the early ‘50s (except for “The African Queen”), but the Congo was so brutal that it still resonates like the Holocaust.
Virginia Mumbo gumbo God of the Congo—Mister Kurtz, he dead. I remember the Casement Diaries, written by Roger Casement about the horror’s of King Leopoldo’s Congo—burning entire villages, amputations.
Casement, as Irishman, was involved in an espionage trip to Ireland in WW I. Originally there was great public concern for Casement. Then his personal diaries were circulated highlighting that he was gay. Zippo to public or government concern.
During my Congo time, Congolese were brutally executed in front of Lumumba monuments. Other killings were even more dreadful.
I loved The African Queen, although it was romantic about pre-WW I Congo.
Keith, your long lifetime of experience is very valuable. Based on the fact that you were making a documentary in Sudan in 1954/55, I can imagine that these days you need to be very choosy about where you bestow your energy. Have you considered using a speech-to-text application to record the experiences and insights that you may not have captured in your writings up to this point? This recent review in PC Magazine says that both Windows 10/11 and the Mac OS offer free voice-to-text apps that, per the reviewer, were shown in tests to be about as good as the speech-to-text software that have a price tag: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/best-speech-to-text-apps-and-tools
Elizabeth Thanks for your suggestions. I sprinkle some of my experiences on Heather and elsewhere. I wrote up my experiences in five, well-documented booklets. No one in my family has actually read them—one member read at least one booklet.
If you go on Amazon, my review of Congo Mercenary includes a fulsome commentary on some of my Congo experiences. As creator of international bond ratings, I had some ‘interesting’ experiences dealing with such sovereign credits as England, Iran, and Israel. This I have no published widely because of the sensitivity. I include this in my ‘booklet.’
I did a 15 minute ‘show and tell’ at my 60th high school reunion. If you’re interested, I could e-mail you a copy.
As the new young bride said on the first night of her honeymoon when she got out of bed to bake a cake, "I digress. . . ":
As a resident opera freak here, allow me to chime in: Verdi's Aïda isn't really that specific as to time period. Ghislanzoni, the librettist, set the story in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, roughly 2700-2200 BCE. The Khedive of Egypt originally had come up with the idea for a celebratory opera for the opera house in Cairo to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Verdi declined that offer. However, a bit later, Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, proposed to the Khedive a plot for an opera set in ancient Egypt. The Khedive referred Mariette to theatre manager Camille du Locle, who then sent Mariette's story idea to Verdi. Long story short, Verdi liked the story and he and his librettist honed the plot and Verdi composed the music. The opera premiered in Cairo in 1871.
Aïda is referred to as an "Ethiopian Princess", having been made a slave for the daughter (Amneris) of the Egyptian King (aka a "Pharaoh", take your pick). Aïda's father, Amonasro, is the King of the Ethiopians and has been taken prisoner by the Egyptians. Aïda's identity as a Princess isn't revealed until later in the opera at a key moment. Radames (sometimes spelled "Rhadames") is the commanding General of the Egyptian army, is secretly in love with Aïda, though he is betrothed to Amneris, Princess of Egypt. Mayhem ensues. . . it's opera.
My guess is the opera is set much earlier than 700-600 BCE. There has been some discussion recently in productions of Aïda as to whether the character should be depicted as dark-skinned. In the past, many sopranos in the role did use make-up to darken their skin. This has begun to be frowned upon, especially with the stigma around "black-face" make-up and its connotations. (There have been LOTS of kerfuffles in opera lately about depicting the ethnicities of characters in operas, and in stage works in general. That's another discussion. . . ) The great soprano Leontyne Price was the first African-American to perform the rôle at the Met, which was seen as returning the rôle to a character more closely resembling the character's actual race. Opera houses in the US have eschewed the use of darker make-up for Aïda, but it can still be found in Europe and abroad.
Bruce I defer to you on the historical antecedents of Verdi’s Aida. Though an opera house was constructed for its performance at the opening of the Suez Canal, Verdi did not appear. I saw Aida in this opera house in 1958. The bugs in the cushioned seats may have come from Verdi’s time.
This was just after US Marines went into Lebanon after the coup in Iraq. It was amusing to watch the American naval officer wave an American flag in The Mikado.
How I love Opera music. I must say, as a social worker, the stories and plots are more drama than common sense! A little couples counseling would have spared many tragedies (Just kidding.) Speaking of Black opera singers, would any of us have wanted to miss the splendid voices? I keep hearing the late Jesse Norman...extraordinary. There is also an irony in her singing Wagnerian operas. May Wagner turn over in his supremacist grave! LBNL, there is a new young Black contralto whose voice is sterling, but I cannot think of her name at the moment.
Hope You might enjoy Robert Greenberg of GREAT COURSES on opera. He is a magical musical maestro. His introduction to great music is a master’s course. His recent MUSIC AS A MIRROR ON HISTORY is absolutely brilliant.
I am a Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Mozart, and one or two others opera fan. I was just playing AIDA in my car. According to Greenberg opera began during the baroque period.
Many "hearts" to you, Keith. You are a very fine person. Yes to your choices, though I am a little weak on Rossini.
Hope Rossini is NOT in my first tier of Operas.
I always love reading your dives into things based on your experience and background schema.
Salud, Fab Keith!
🗽
Thank you, Keith for all of your input today. You are a remarkable man! Thank you for all you have done for our country and others. I too would like a copy of the scenes description of your documentary! My address: Sharon Stearley 3285 W State Road 340, Brazil, IN 47834-7351
Why are not the African nations that have succeeded in building viable economies operating in a more or less democratic environment, despite ethnic problems, stepping in to work for a solution in the Sudan? It is in their interest to do so, since the Sudan's problems can be contagious, particularly in view of Russian meddling.
Jack Tribalism, corruption, and a wide difference between the rich and poor have been hallmarks in Africa since independence. Ethiopia was the first African ‘country.’ The Sudan next in 1956.
Nigeria was the first independence hope. The Biafra revolution in 1970 cost about 1 million lives.
South Africa was expected to be a success story after Mandela. In recent decades a Black mafia has emerged through the ANC. It’s a shambles now. I have difficulty identifying any African country as a sustained success story. Rwanda was The Economist’s ‘country of the year’ about 4 years ago. It has slumped since then.
Minerals are still a major African attraction. Personally, I would only return to Africa in an urn.
'Nationhood' requires certain pre-requisites such as economic viability, ethnic balance, reasonable natural borders, and some degree of skill in governance. Absence of even one of these leads to the failures that you describe. But were these places better off in the past as colonies where outsiders plundered their resources and called the shots (figuratively and literally)?
Not at all, Jack. Indeed those parental governments caused the vacuum by not being inclusive and instructive, and keeping the spoils to themselves. Sort of like handing the keys to the car to an adolescent who's never had a driving lesson.
Thank you for your informative comment. The Museum of Fine Arts here in Boston had a wonderful exhibition on Ancient Nubia in 2020.
Potter Thanks! I relished The Museum of Fine Arts when I was a MIT Sloan Fellow eons ago.