The size of an embassy (building and personnel) usually
reflects the nature of interest the sending country has in the host country.
For instance, the US Embassy in Baghdad was announced to employ 3000 Americans
(apart from Iraqis auxiliaries), reflecting the nature of US interests in the
country. On the African continent, the US holds large embassies in countries
like South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. Upon examination, it could be
interpreted that since these countries are sub-regional giants and US allies,
the making of Cameroon into an ally required that the US builds an embassy that
reflects the needs and interests, the representation and image the US has of
Cameroon.
In the words of Secretary Rice, transformational diplomacy is
«To work with our many partners around the world to build and sustain
democratic, well-governed states...»235(*) This work with partners requires re-deployment of US
diplomatic personnel and the building of new structures around the world to
reflect the new face of US policies. Until the building of the new structure,
the US Embassy in Yaoundé still reflected the `vestiges of the Cold War
posture' (as in other parts of the world such as Germany, India and DR Congo).
According to the State Department,
To meet current diplomatic challenges, the Secretary will
begin a major repositioning of U.S. diplomatic personnel across the world. In a
multiyear process, hundreds of positions will be moved to critical emerging
areas in Africa, South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere.
Many of today's challenges are not limited by country boundaries, but
are transnational and regional in nature, and require new thinking and more
targeted responses.236(*)
This `major repositioning' across the world, especially in
`critical emerging areas' where challenges are transnational and regional,
requires more targeted thinking in the State Department. It is in this
framework that the new embassy in Yaoundé should be understood. As
Jendayi E. Frazer, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs remarked at the
inauguration of the New Embassy compound in Yaoundé on February 16,
2006,
This embassy is a concrete demonstration of the United States'
commitment to Africa and Cameroon. As many have noted, an embassy like this one
in Yaoundé shows that we are indeed here to stay. In addition to our
visible commitment to having a presence in Africa, we are evaluating how and
where we deploy U.S. diplomats: Cameroon is a central destination! Our goal is
to recalibrate where our professional talent works, taking into account today's
global realities and focusing on regions where engagement is needed most. In
the coming years, hundreds of diplomatic positions will be shifted to important
emerging areas, such as Africa.
In terms of size and security measures, the embassy is
reputed to be second only to the one in Egypt. The US will likely build other
such embassies in other African states, keeping in mind the security
imperatives imposed by 9/11, but the edifice in Yaoundé should be
interpreted as a mark of the role it is going to play in the sub-region. This
new edifice reinforces the role the embassy had already been playing as a
center for Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Such a building therefore reflects
US interests in the two countries, as well as in other countries likely to be
serviced from Yaoundé as evident in the Open-Skies Aviation Agreement
described above. The thought of an embassy as a concrete demonstration of the
US commitment to Africa and Cameroon is reinforced by the personalities present
at the inauguration.
Present at the inauguration ceremony was President Biya and
the entire government of Cameroon (Ministers, Parliament executives, judicial
authorities and private actors). Speaking during the ceremony, President Biya
declared that «It [the Embassy building] will be a symbol of sustainable
friendship and cooperation with mutually profitable effects». Knowing the
President's charged agenda and his habit of avoiding appearances on such
occasions, this presence and the lauding of the edifice as a symbol of the
`American Dream' and future cooperation between the US and Cameroon offers
researchers the meaning of the edifice.
Apart from the embassy in Yaoundé as mentioned above, the
US runs a branch office in Douala. The role of this branch reflects the
geopolitical role Cameroon plays in the sub-region. Describing the functions of
this branch office, the State Department's website puts it thus: «The
primary function of the Embassy Branch Office is to serve as customs
facilitator for incoming shipments for the Embassy as well as U.S. Embassies in
nearby countries.» These nearby countries should involve Chad, CAR, the
two Congos (especially in times of conflict) and possibly Niger or even Darfur.
This Embassy Branch Office, it should be noted had already played a strategic
role during the Nigerian civil war, when the only access to refugees and
displaced persons was the Douala sea port. Not only that, the branch has the
task of meeting US visitors at the largest airport in the region - Douala
international airport, performing consular duties, while conducting political
and economic duties as required by the embassy in Yaoundé.
