The Washington Post ran an excerpt today from Beyond Humanitarianism: What We Need to Know About Africa and Why it Matters, a new book from the Council on Foreign Relations.

The piece makes the case for Africa’s strategic importance, beyond humanitarian disasters. Africa is a major oil producer, the continent along with India and Brazil has taken a principled stand against protectionist trade policies of developed nations in the Doha Round, the Al-Qaeda attacks in Kenya and Tanzania have brought Africa into the terrorist stage, and the continent is at the epicenter of the growing concern over global health.

An excerpt from the piece:

“The growing importance of Africa demands a much more focused, long-term, and carefully directed program of economic assistance and trade reform. The Bush administration has begun to move in that direction with the Millennium Challenge Account, and Congress has contributed with the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which opens the U.S. market to African exports. But much more needs to be done. Only when Africa is recognized for the growing importance it has for America will these shortcomings be overcome.”

You can read the full article here.