General

Hillary Clinton opens her seven-nation African tour

Calls for Accountability in Kenya

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton opened her seven-nation African tour in Kenya with an address to a United States-African trade conference. The address touched on the broader themes of Mrs. Clinton’s visit—good government, trade, food security and women’s rights. The new American policy for Africa would be trade, not aid, she said, stating, “We want to be your partner, not your patron.” At some point, Clinton also took a lighter tone, speaking about alternative energy, and even her own life as a public figure. “This morning I had the chance to meet two women in Nairobi, to get my hair done,” she said. “My hairdos are the subject of Ph.D. theses. I’ll let everyone know I got a good one in Nairobi.” Wednesday’s events were, however, overshadowed by the troubling subject of Kenya’s unstable political situation. Clinton was greeted on her first morning in Kenya by headlines focused on American pressure to set up a tribunal that will try the lead players in election-driven violence early last year.

The New York Times

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