Transcript:
The Inside Story: Farewell 2022
Episode 70 – December 15, 2022
Show Open:
Unidentified Narrator:
Farewell 2022.
Let's take one last look at the stories that shaped this year:
War in Ukraine.
Business in Africa.
The enduring and evolving COVID pandemic.
A look back at the year that was, and what's coming in 2023 on the inside story: Farewell 2022.
The Inside Story:
CARLA BABB, VOA Pentagon Correspondent:
Hi. I’m Carla Babb, reporting from the Pentagon, where we’ve been following one of the year’s most important stories --- Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The United States has so far committed more than $19 billion dollars in military aid since February 24. That’s on average about $2 billion per month for weapons, ammunition, training and other Ukrainian defense needs.
Let’s take a look at what weapons have been most effective on the battlefield, what additional weapons experts say are still needed, and what’s yet to come.
The battle for Ukraine is now a lethal artillery duel, with both sides burning through tens of thousands of rounds each week.
Samuel Bendett, Center for a New American Security:
It’s been the artillery systems that have really won the day on many occasions for the Ukrainian defenders.
CARLA BABB:
Analysts and former officials say the most effective systems the U.S. has provided to Ukraine are the U.K.-built M777 howitzers and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, more commonly known as HIMARS.
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ben Hodges, Former Commander of U.S. Army Europe:
There are hundreds of Ukrainian baby boys that are named Himars now because it’s had such an impact there. And it is that long-range precision that is making such a difference.
CARLA BABB:
Defense officials tell VOA the U.S. has delivered 20 HIMARS to date. The U.S. has provided GMLRS ((pronounced GIMLERS)) rockets for these HIMARS systems, which have a range of about 90 kilometers.
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ben Hodges, Former Commander of U.S. Army Europe:
That’s good, but that’s not enough. The ATACMS rocket also fired by HIMARS would give a range of 300 kilometers. If the Ukrainians had that now, they could already be hitting Sevastopol and other critical sites inside Crimea.
CARLA BABB:
As Russia improved its counter-drone capabilities on the battlefield,
Ukraine used American-made Switchblade drones, Phoenix Ghost drones and Turkish-made Bayraktar ((Bear-ak-tar)) drones, or UAVs, for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Samuel Bendett, Center for a New American Security:
Ukrainians have basically taken their UAV-to-ground force pairing to an art form. They are a lot more flexible. A lot of their units actually feature tactical and long-range UAVs for artillery strikes, for providing situational awareness to the Ukrainian forces. And in many cases, they are simply better aware of where Russians are and can react much faster.
CARLA BABB:
But Russia has an influx of drones, as well, from its ally, Iran. According to the Pentagon, Russia has deployed hundreds of Iranian-made attack drones to target critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
To knock them out of the sky, Ukrainian forces use air defense systems like American-made Stingers — heat-seeking missiles with a range of about five kilometers, small enough to carry on foot. Analysts say Ukrainian forces have managed to shoot down between 60 to 85% of Russia’s Iranian-made drones.
Last month, the Pentagon delivered two NASAMS to Ukraine — National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems — which can target drones, aircraft and cruise missiles.
Rear Adm. (Ret.) Mark Montgomery:
From what I hear it's in the 30s for 30; kind of 35 attempted intercepts, 35 intercepts. It's doing very well. It’s defending major cities.
CARLA BABB:
But Ukraine still struggles to defend itself from Russia’s Iskander ballistic missile striking deep inside Ukrainian territory.
The Pentagon’s solution, officials tell VOA, will be to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine to counter these weapons. But retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery warns the U.S. would likely need at least six months to a year to train Ukrainians to use the complex and costly system.
Rear Adm. (Ret.) Mark Montgomery:
Each round of Patriot is between $3 and $4 million apiece. That is a very expensive system. It would use up a lot of the money being set aside for them.
CARLA BABB:
Overall, analysts agree that U.S. and NATO weapons provided to Kyiv have critically helped Ukraine defend its homeland, with the former commander of U.S. Army Europe making this bold prediction:
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ben Hodges, Former Commander of U.S. Army Europe:
If we keep doing what we’re doing right now, then I think Ukraine is on track to liberate Crimea by the end of August.
CARLA BABB:
The Crimean Peninsula — illegally annexed by Russian since 2014 — serves as a hub for Russian fighters in Ukraine. Freeing it would be a huge blow to Moscow.
Sweden and Finland saw Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as unacceptable, and formally asked to join NATO for collective protection.
Our Senior Diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine brings us up to date on where their NATO membership stands.
CINDY SAINE, VOA Senior Diplomatic correspondent:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has welcomed his Swedish and Finnish counterparts to the State Department, where the top issue was both countries’ applications to join NATO. The two countries have a long history of military nonalignment, but that changed after Russia invaded Ukraine last February.
Blinken said Sweden and Finland share NATO’s values and are already integrating into the alliance while they are waiting on approval from all 30 NATO countries.
The holdup on their accession has been Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who accuses Sweden of being a haven for terrorists. Blinken said efforts to resolve the stumbling block are ongoing.
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State:
What both countries have done in engaging with Turkey, and with NATO itself, has been to address those concerns in tangible ways.
CINDY SAINE
Blinken said he is confident that NATO will soon be able to welcome Finland and Sweden as members. But Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto expressed concern that Turkey has yet to set a date for their parliament to ratify the accession.
Pekka Haavisto, Finnish Foreign Minister:
Of course, what we are still missing is a clear date and a clear plan of the Turkish parliament to deal with this issue. And we know that Turkey is going to the elections. Of course, our hope is that this should come from Turkey rather sooner than later.
CINDY SAINE
Turkey is expected to hold elections next May or June.
Last month, Sweden's parliament passed a constitutional amendment that will make it possible to pass tougher anti-terror laws, a key demand from Turkey to approve Stockholm's NATO membership bid. Experts say the new legislation will make it easier to prosecute members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, blacklisted by Ankara and most of its Western allies.
High-level diplomacy is ongoing, as both Finland and Sweden have warned that time is of the essence because Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression is unpredictable. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has warned that it would view Finland or Sweden joining NATO as a threat to its security and would respond.
Cindy Saine, VOA News.
While Sweden and Finland will extend NATO’s border with Russia to the Arctic ---
There’s no place more critical to aiding Ukraine than Poland.
It’s the pass-through for those billions of dollars of military weapons that we discussed earlier, along with humanitarian supplies.
And it’s been the destination for millions of Ukrainians fleeing the fighting.
From Warsaw, VOA Eastern European Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze explains Poland’s vital role.
MYROSLAVA GONGADZE, VOA Eastern European Bureau Chief:
One day before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Polish President Andrzej Duda visited Kyiv and promised that “Poland would never leave Ukraine alone.”
After the war began, Poland welcomed Ukrainians fleeing the war and treated them as guests.
Lukasz Adamski, deputy director of the Mieroszewski Center in Warsaw, pointed out that Poland became a home for millions of Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainian citizens have extended rights in Poland and vice versa.
Poland also has played a crucial role in facilitating the delivery of Western weapons systems and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine.
Adamski said that the Russian threat changed the not always smooth relationship between Ukraine and Poland.
Lukasz Adamski, Mieroszewski Center:
War contributed significantly to the intensification of bilateral contact, enormous improvement of trust and liking each other. It also revealed that both states have a common interest, a common vision of the future.
MYROSLAVA GONGADZE
In May, Polish President Duda spoke to the Ukrainian parliament in person, the first foreign leader to do so since the war began.
He stressed his support for Ukraine's request to join the European Union and criticized those in Europe who suggested that Ukraine accept some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands. In his view, any territorial concession to Russia would be a blow to the entire Western world.
Andrzej Duda, Polish President:
Only Ukraine has a right to decide its future. Only Ukraine has a right to decide for itself. The world must demand from Russia the total withdrawal from Ukraine's territory and stop breaking international law.
MYROSLAVA GONGADZE:
In 2022, Poland became one of Ukraine's main military supporters and, along with fellow Baltic states, a lobbyist for Kyiv's integration into the EU and NATO. Warsaw’s strong support for Ukraine contributed to an improvement in what had been a period of fairly bumpy relations with Washington.
U.S. President Joe Biden visited Poland in March, meeting Ukrainian refugees and American troops on the ground. During his trip, he asserted the United States' strategic goal of supporting Ukraine's fight for democracy and self-determination and identified Poland as an important battlefield in the struggle for freedom and security in Europe.
In a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, he emphasized the historical importance of Poland’s capital city in the fight against oppression. The nation had played a key role in the events that led to the breakup of the Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War.
The United States and Poland have both contributed financially to Ukraine.
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, between January 24 and October 3, the U.S. pledged nearly $55 billion dollars in military, humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine, while Poland pledged nearly $3 billion dollars
With Polish territory being a base for Ukrainian support, Poland has become an indispensable U.S. ally for European security.
Myroslava Gongadze, VOA News, Warsaw, Poland
CARLA BABB:
Pivoting now to the US-Africa summit in Washington.
Leaders from nearly 50 African nations were invited here by President Biden to boost cooperation and blunt the growing influence of China and Russia.
Accompanying the summit --- a commitment of 55-billion-dollars by the U.S., investing in Africa’s economy, security and health.
VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell takes us inside the summit.
ANITA POWELL, VOA White House Correspondent:
President Joe Biden says he’s serious about Africa’s success — and has a serious plan to get the continent on better footing.
President Joe Biden:
The United States is committed to supporting every aspect — every aspect of Africa’s inclusive growth and creating the best possible environment for sustained commercial engagement between Africa companies and American companies. The United States is all in on Africa’s future.
U.S. officials announced they would give African nations $55 billion over the next three years — much of it directed toward health and climate projects.
On Tuesday, Biden also announced an agreement between the U.S. and the new African Continental Free Trade Area and a range of other bilateral agreements that he said would “unlock economic growth” in the world’s fastest-growing continent.
And, he said, the U.S. is taking this relationship online, by working with Congress to invest about $350 million in what he called the “Digital Transformation with Africa.”
President Joe Biden:
And this will include partnerships between African and American companies to provide cybersecurity services to make sure Africa’s digital environment is reliable and secure.
ANITA POWELL:
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told VOA that U.S. assistance won't be affected by African nations’ reluctance to condemn Russia and cut ties over its invasion of Ukraine.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN:
We're not paying countries to vote for condemning Russia, and we're not threatening countries who decide not to vote. But we are appealing to them. We're appealing to their values. We're appealing to right versus wrong.
ANITA POWELL:
And the new prime minister of Lesotho — also the richest man in the tiny southern African nation — told VOA’s Peter Clottey that African leaders also want to see a 10-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which confers duty-free status on some African exports.
Sam Matekane, Lesotho Prime Minister:
We have just negotiated, this morning, with the senators that we need to extend AGOA by 10 years because it's coming to an end in 2025. So we have already started negotiations in that path. AGOA is very, very, very important to us as a country.
ANITA POWELL:
The last summit that brought dozens of African leaders to Washington was eight years ago. But, administration officials say, their commitment to the mother continent is as strong today as it ever was.
Anita Powell, VOA News, Washington.
CARLA BABB:
Africa’s Sahel region has been a battleground for influence for more than a decade.
2022 saw a 50-percent increase in the number of deaths as terrorism and political instability sowed fear in three countries while displacing millions of people.
From Niger’s capital of Niamey, our Henry Wilkins sorts out the fighting factions in the Sahel.
HENRY WILKINS, Reporting for VOA:
As the western Sahel conflict entered its 11th year in 2022, violence grew worse. Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project shows around 9,000 fatalities due to conflict in 2022, up from about 6,000 the year before.
Analysts say many in Sahel countries are exhausted by the worsening conflict, which this video on social media purports to show. And they are looking to new international partners for solutions.
Some in the region, like Bachirou Ouedraogo in Niger, believe Russia will remedy Burkina Faso’s insecurity.
Bachirou Ouedraogo, Painter and Decorator:
We have been with France for years. If they really wanted to help us with terrorism, we think they would have done it long ago. If you partner with someone who doesn’t help you take care of business, you have to get rid of them and find someone who can. That’s why we think we have to pivot to Russia.
HENRY WILKINS:
2022 also saw France wrap up Operation Barkhane, its military intervention based in Mali, as it became increasingly unpopular and relations with Mali’s military junta began to deteriorate.
France is now moving much of its military operation in the Sahel to Niger.
In Mali, French troops have been replaced by mercenaries from a Russian paramilitary organization, the Wagner Group, which has been accused of human rights abuses and of fueling more violence than they prevent.
In Burkina Faso, pro-Russian and anti-French protests and attacks on French-owned institutions and businesses have become commonplace since a second military coup in a year took place in September.
Both the Malian and Burkinabe juntas cited the previous governments’ inability to solve the insecurity.
Asked how the Sahel’s conflict could develop in 2023, one analyst told VOA…
Michael Shurkin, 14 North Strategies:
What remains to be seen is what happens as the population of Mali figures out that things are getting worse despite everything. Burkina Faso, I worry a great deal about. I think given the scale of the problem in Burkina Faso I think they need a lot more international help. I’d like to see the U.S. government getting more involved to help the Burkinabe government.
HENRY WILKINS:
Analysts have also noted that an increasing number of terror attacks are taking place in the northern regions of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin along the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger.
Press freedom has dwindled, according to advocacy groups, with international broadcasters and journalists being banned from Burkina Faso and Mali.
Meanwhile, local rights groups and press freedom advocates say human rights continue to suffer too.
In Burkina Faso, the new junta says it is recruiting 30,000 extra civilian volunteers to fight terrorism. But rights groups say the volunteers are carrying out many rights abuses, playing into the hands of terrorist group recruiters.
In all, more than 2.5 million have been displaced by the Sahel conflict.
Henry Wilkins, for VOA News, Niamey, Niger.
CARLA BABB:
Everything that happened in 2022 --- as well as 2021 and 2020 --- happened in the shadow of the COVID pandemic.
More than 13-billion shots have been developed and delivered to combat COVID-19 …
But more than six and a half million people have died in the pandemic, and getting vaccines to poorer countries remains a priority.
VOA’s Steve Baragona takes us inside the challenges that lie ahead.
STEVE BARAGONA, VOA Correspondent:
February 24, 2021: a delivery of COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Ghana, striking a blow for vaccine equity.
Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF:
We’re really happy because they’re going to benefit a large number of beneficiaries in Ghana. Ghana is the first country to receive the COVAX vaccines.
STEVE BARAGONA:
The U.N.-backed COVAX program aimed to help low- and middle-income countries get access to COVID vaccines after rich countries had locked down most of the early supplies.
The program struggled to compete for the limited available doses. After nearly two billion shots delivered, COVAX is narrowing its scope to serve the poorest countries.
That is in part because, two years later, there are plenty of shots available.
Not everyone is getting them, however, says Duke University global health professor Krishna Ukayakumar:
Krishna Udayakumar, Duke Global Health Innovation Center:
The inequities really are stark and continued. In Africa, only twenty five percent of the population of the entire continent is fully vaccinated, compared with more than seventy five percent in places like South America.
STEVE BARAGONA:
Supply is not the biggest problem anymore. Demand is. People in lower-income countries are not lining up for COVID shots, says Center for Global Development health expert Janeen Madan Keller.
Janeen Madan Keller, Center for Global Development:
This lack of demand is really a concerning trend we're seeing. The reasons behind low demand, I'd say, are quite complex and multifaceted.
STEVE BARAGONA:
Misinformation about the vaccines is rampant. Trust in governments providing the shots is low. And many people in lower-income countries don't see COVID as much of a threat. Plus, the vaccines took too long to arrive, Udayakumar says.
Krishna Udayakumar, Duke Global Health Innovation Center:
While there was demand, it was unmet. So, it's reasonable now that we're seeing more hesitancy because we missed the time when everybody was ready to accept and take vaccines.
STEVE BARAGONA:
Much of the delay was because vaccine manufacturing is concentrated in a few, mostly wealthier, nations. Poorer nations were left hoping for handouts, says Brown University Pandemic Center Director Jennifer Nuzzo.
Jennifer Nuzzo, Brown University Pandemic Center:
I think we have to figure out how to make these vaccines in a much more distributed way than we did before so we aren't just relying on donations. It's clear donations do not work because when faced with a crisis, countries will always choose to prioritize their own populations.
STEVE BARAGONA:
Efforts are underway to build more vaccine factories in Africa. But building them is just the start. How to keep them in business in the long term is another question, Keller says.
Janeen Madan Keller, Center for Global Development:
Who is going to buy these vaccines? Or, what vaccines make sense, both from an economic but also from a health perspective, for these manufacturers to produce? Where will the money to pay for them come from?
STEVE BARAGONA:
The African Union faces these questions as it aims to manufacture 60% of its routine vaccines on the continent by 2040. The challenge is to build a sustainable vaccine industry that can handle both regular vaccines and the inevitable next pandemic.
Steve Baragona, VOA News.
CARLA BABB:
Congress in 2022 passed new federal gun safety legislation for the first time in more than two decades.
The bipartisan measure came in the wake of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas and another at a supermarket in New York.
But mass shootings continue to plague the United States, with more than 600 such incidents recorded this year. That’s on average nearly two mass shootings a day.
VOA’s Chris Simkins has more.
CHRIS SIMKINS, VOA Correspondent:
Gun violence surged in many U.S. communities in 2022, including a near-record number of mass casualty shooting incidents. In May, an 18-year-old gunman wielding a semi-automatic rifle killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. It was the deadliest U.S. school shooting in nearly a decade. A week later, President Joe Biden addressed the nation.
President Joe Biden:
For God’s sake, how much more carnage are we willing to accept? How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we say enough is enough?
CHRIS SIMKINS
Days earlier, a 19-year-old opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people. The suspect said he was targeting Black people.
On July 4th in Highland Park, Illinois, a gunman fired 83 rounds in less than a minute from atop a building, killing seven people and wounding dozens of others who had gathered for an Independence Day parade.
In November, a shooter killed five people and wounded 17 others at a gay nightclub in Colorado. The 22-year-old suspect has been charged with murder, bias-motivated crimes and assault.
Criminology professor Jack McDevitt sees a troubling pattern.
Jack McDevitt, Northeastern University:
We are starting to see guns being used in hate crimes more. That wasn’t the case for a long time. We are starting to see more often that people use firearms to go after victims who they perceive to be different.
CHRIS SIMKINS:
Mass shootings are broadly defined as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter. They occurred in practically every U.S. state, totaling more than 600 nationwide in 2022. Some see a connection between a rise in hateful rhetoric and bias-driven violence.
While mass shootings grab national headlines, they account for a small percentage of the more than 40-thousand U.S. gun deaths recorded in 2022. Half were by suicide.
In June, Congress approved the first national gun legislation in decades. The law seeks to deny firearms to those deemed to be a threat to public safety and enhances background checks for gun purchases.
While gun control advocates want to go further and ban semi-automatic weapons, the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned a New York state law that restricted carrying concealed handguns in public. Gun rights defenders rejoiced.
Steven Lollo, Firearms Instructor:
What I have noticed is places that have simpler, legal gun laws are safer. The recent shootings that we had, I feel if a place is unprotected by firearms, it's a soft target.
CHRIS SIMKINS
Amid the debate, the United States remains plagued by the highest rate of gun deaths among advanced industrialized nations.
Chris Simkins, VOA News Washington.
CARLA BABB:
This wraps up our 2022 season of The Inside Story.
Stay up to date with all the news at VOANews.com.
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I’m Carla Babb.
See you next week for The Inside Story.
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