The Problem of Radical Islamic Terrorism in Africa

A Conversation with Dawit Giorgi, Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, and Cliff May

Tuesday, July 2, 2013
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Registration will begin at 12:45pm

How is President Obama’s trip to Africa addressing the problem of radical Islamic terrorism in the region? How serious of a problem is terrorism in Africa? What role, if any, should the United States be playing in the region at this time?

Please join FDD for a conversation with Dawit Giorgis, Ambassador Donald Y. Yamamoto, and Clifford D. May.

Dawit Giorgis is a visiting fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and a former senior official in the Government of Ethiopia. During the infamous famine, which began in 1983, Giorgis served as the Commissioner of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. Prior to that he was the Permanent Secretary (Deputy Minister) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, and later Governor of Eritrea — which had not yet won its independence. In 1985, Giorgis sought asylum from the Ethiopian communist regime in the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen. Since 1991, he has worked as a consultant for the United Nations and other international organizations in many African countries, including Ethiopia, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Madagascar, and Sudan. Read his full bio here.

Ambassador Donald Y. Yamamoto currently serves as the Acting Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the U.S. State Department. His prior assignments include serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs from August 2009 to March 2013.  He has also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from November 2006 to July 2009 and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs from 2003 to 2006, where he was responsible for coordinating U. S. policy toward over 20 countries in east and central Africa. He served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Djibouti from 2000 to 2003 and was the Deputy Director for East African Affairs from 1998 to 2000.

Clifford D. May is the President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Under his leadership, he has helped FDD to assemble a staff and advisory board of the most compelling scholars and experts whose ideas and research have helped shape important policies and legislation on terrorism, Islamism and democratization. He has had a long and distinguished career in international relations, journalism, communications and politics, including a decade he spent with The New York Times, where he opened their West Africa buraeu and worked as its chief. Read his full bio here.

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