Obama unilaterally increases military invention and foreign aid, DC yawns

This week DC played host to the first “U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit,” a three-day gathering of “leaders from across the African continent.” Aside from tying up DC traffic, thus making it more difficult for federal bureaucrats, Congressional staffers, and lobbyists to get to “work,” the summit give Obama an opportunity to promise to spend more blood-and-treasure in Africa.

Since Obama’s announcement has not gotten much media attention, here is a summary of some of Obama’s proposals taken from the President’s press conference last night so you know some of the items you will soon be paying for:

“…we’re deepening our security cooperation to meet common threats, from terrorism to human trafficking.  We’re launching a new Security Governance Initiative to help our African countries continue to build strong, professional security forces to provide for their own security.  And we’re starting with Kenya, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Ghana and Tunisia.

During our discussions, our West African partners made it clear that they want to increase their capacity to respond to crises.  So the United States will launch a new effort to bolster the regions early warning and response network and increase their ability to share information about emerging crises.

We also agreed to make significant new investments in African peacekeeping.  The United States will provide additional equipment to African peacekeepers in Somalia and the Central African Republic.  We will support the African Union’s efforts to strengthen its peacekeeping institutions.  And most importantly, we’re launching a new African peacekeeping rapid response partnership with the goal of quickly deploying African peacekeepers in support of U.N. or AU missions.  And we’ll join with six countries that in recent years have demonstrated a track record as peacekeepers — Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda.  And we’re going to invite countries beyond Africa to join us in supporting this effort, because the entire world has a stake in the success of peacekeeping in Africa.

Questions that should have been asked but weren’t:

1. How will the American government need to borrow from China to pay for these new “investments” in overseas peacekeeping?

2. Where does the President get the Constitutional authority to unilaterally “deepen our security cooperation” with other countries?

3. Why isn’t anybody except me asking questions 1 and 2?