Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

Gayle Smith

Gayle Smith is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and formerly Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council under the Obama administration.

George Bush in Khartoum

Khartoum. The hand-painted sign on Nile Avenue here best captured the attitude of urban Sudanese toward the visit of Vice President George Bush to their country in early March, just four weeks before the popular overthrow of President Ja‘far Numairi. “Vice-President and Mrs. Bush,” read the sign, “a

Gayle Smith • 7 min read

MER Article

The Famine This Time

Gayle Smith coordinates the Africa program at the Washington-based Development Group for Alternative Policies. In the past ten years she has worked extensively in the Horn of Africa on relief and development issues. Her most recent trip to Ethiopia and Sudan was in June 1990. She spoke with Joe Stor

Gayle Smith • 7 min read

MER Article

Ethiopia and the Politics of Famine Relief

Famine takes root when farmers lose their means of production. In Africa, drought and war have forced huge numbers of peasants to sell off their animals and tools and abandon the land on which they depend, thus bringing local economies to a standstill. Grain yields in Africa declined by one-third pe

Gayle Smith • 17 min read

MER Article

Dispatches: The War in Eritrea

February 27, 1982 On February 16 the Ethiopian armed forces launched Operation Red Star, a military offensive aimed at isolating the Eritrean opposition and rebuilding the war-torn territory. Ethiopian troops in Eritrea number 120,000, and they are backed by MiG 23 jet fighters, MI-24 helicopter gu

Gayle Smith • 4 min read