VZCZCXRO6618
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA
DE RUEHC #6633 2312353
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O 192335Z AUG 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL AFRICAN DIPLOMATIC POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS STATE 086633 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: XA
SUBJECT: MESSAGE FROM ASSISTANT SECRETARY JOHNNIE CARSON 
TO ALL AF 
 
 ¶1. Events in Africa have kept me on the move since I was 
sworn in as the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs on 
May 7.  Having just returned to Washington from traveling 
with Secretary Clinton, I wanted to take this opportunity to 
thank the Africa Bureau team for your work over the past few 
months, including supporting the Secretary's successful 
seven-nation trip to Africa, the President's trip to Ghana 
July 10-11, Deputy Secretary Jack Lew's trip to Tanzania and 
Ethiopia June 29-July 3, and the Bureau's transition to the 
new Administration.  As we move forward, I want to emphasize 
my commitment to working with you to build on our past 
successes and to meet the significant challenges that lie 
ahead of us. 
 
¶2. We are off to a good start.  The Secretary's trip to 
Africa was a complex and ambitious endeavor, with stops in 
Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde.  But it all went 
extremely well and I think we helped advance the 
Administration's foreign policy objectives.  Both the 
President and the Secretary are keenly interested in Africa 
and are committed to making it one of the focuses of their 
foreign policy.  The early trips to Africa by our senior 
leadership reflect this, as does their engagement with a 
variety of African leaders in Washington.  I look forward to 
working with all of you to advance the Administration's 
agenda in Africa.  We will face a number of challenges along 
the way, but I know that we are committed to improving and 
expanding our relations with Africa. 
 
¶3. The President's speech in Accra outlines clearly the 
Administration's commitment to Africa and the strategic 
direction of our policies.  We will continue to work with our 
partners in the region and the international community to 
strengthen and expand Africa's democratic institutions; to 
support political and economic development in Africa through 
various USG-funded programs; and to continue our efforts to 
prevent, mitigate, and end conflict on the continent.  We 
will also continue to focus on our HIV/AIDS prevention 
efforts and the implementation of Millennium Challenge 
Cooperation Compacts and African Growth and Opportunity Act 
programs, as well as the Obama Administration's new food 
security initiative. 
 
 
¶4. On a very personal note, I want to let all of you in the 
AF family at home and across the continent know how extremely 
honored I feel to have been selected to lead the Africa 
Bureau and how proud I am to return to the Bureau and region 
that I have called home for many years. 
 
¶5. You are the Bureau's most important asset-- the dedicated 
and talented Foreign Service officers, Civil Service 
employees, and Foreign Service nationals who make up our 
team.   We have a big agenda in front of us, but we are a 
strong and dedicated Bureau and I know we have the ability to 
accomplish our goals. 
 
¶6. The recent report of the Office of the Inspector General 
highlighted several serious challenges we face as a Bureau. 
While sobering, the report provides us with a useful tool for 
helping us to strengthen our operational effectiveness.  I am 
committed to renewing the Bureau's focus on leadership and 
management, and to improving our ability to recruit, retain, 
and advance the high-caliber personnel we need to 
successfully execute our mission. 
 
¶7. Securing the resources needed to conduct diplomacy is an 
integral part of my overall strategy for the Bureau.  Working 
with Secretary Clinton and many of our other colleagues, I 
will do my best to fight for the resources needed to achieve 
the President's foreign policy goals in Africa.  I look 
forward to working with all of you. 
 
 
Best regards, 
Johnnie Carson 
Assistant Secretary for African Affairs 
CLINTON