Randy Credico Interviews Riva Levinson (01/24/2017)

Supplemental document for: "Theory that Roger Stone's go-between for Wikileaks was Randy Credico", link: https://wakelet.com/wake/2d352ae9-febe-44a1-a7bb-51674a2e4bf5

Randy Credico interview K. Riva Levinson, broadcast date: January 24, 2017.

File link:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/502j395tjexc9u9/wbai_170124_170002randyCrelof+-+Levinson.mp3

Interview segment runs from 33:10 to 47:26.

RANDY CREDICO
Now, there was an election in Gambia, Gambia's got such a, it's such a sad history, millions of Gambians - they weren't called Gambia back then - were part of the slave- three million were sent in the 19th century, across the Atlantic Ocean, into slavery, you have- slavery didn't end till 1906, you had nearly a century of British and then French rule, and then they finally got their independence in 1964, and it goes on and on, they didn't have much of an economy, ground nuts was their big export, and then you have- Well, let me just talk to our next guest. You had a president that was there for twenty three years, then you had another president that was after a coup for twenty three years, and now you have, finally, that guy left. By the name of, I'm not sure I got it right, Yahya Jammeh. I think. But we'll ask Riva Levinson, who is the president and CEO of KRL International, it's a Washington communications and government relationship firm, relations firm, that focuses on the world's emerging markets, she's got a book out, on the Libyan...not the Libyan, Liberian president. _Choosing The Hero: My Improbable Journey And The Rise of Africa's First Woman President_. Well, it's nice to have you on the show, Riva Levinson, out of the deep state of...where are you? In that area.

RIVA LEVINSON
Hey, I'm in...Washington, D.C., I think you know the place.

CREDICO
I know I do. It's a 703- I've had a lot of 703 [area code for D.C.] guests the last couple of weeks. Ex-CIA-

LEVINSON
Yeah, this is a Virginia cellphone, but I'm based in Washington, D.C., it's a pleasure to be on this evening.

CREDICO
Well, it's great to have you on. I called you a little bit early here, because I had to shift a few things around, I got a guy who's going to be on RT [Russia Today], that had to switch the time, so, uh, Gambia. I know that you are...very well versed on Liberia, you wrote about the president of Liberia, but that's very close. Liberia's very close, to Gambia, and the president that just left, I think I got it right, Yahya Jammeh, is that how you say it?

LEVINSON
Yahya Jammeh, and you did get it right, and I think it may be one of the most significant events, that's happened in Africa, in the past decade, because Jammeh was in power for twenty three years-

CREDICO
Yeah, came in on a coup in...'94...

LEVINSON
You know, I don't know all of the past history, but I believe that that's right, he was in power for twenty three years, he was part of a group of African leaders that thought that they could tinker with the elections, and the constitution, and then they remained in power for perpetuity. And there's still a handful of leaders like that, but what happened, is that Jammeh lost the election, and then he immediately conceded, but then he reconsidered, and decided that he didn't lose. And the election was not free and fair, and what happened, which was a historical triumph for the sub-region, was that the ECOWAS, which is the Economic Community Of West African States, led by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who, as you mentioned, is the president of Liberia, and the first woman ever elected head of state on the African continent, led a mission that essentially forced Jammeh to relinquish power, and to leave the country, and to turn it over to the duely elected president, Adama Barrow.

CREDICO
Adama Barrow. Right. Now, he was part of a coalition, of parties that got together, because, because Jammeh had won, in five previous elections, in each time by these ridiculous margins, seventy five to twenty five, and it was difficult...he did not want to leave, though, he did not want to leave. And so you had this coalition of countries that...met with him?

LEVINSON
Yes...the coalition, Gambia is part of the ECOWAS nations, it's a sub-region of West Africa, it's a regional leadership group, led by president Ellen Johnson Surleaf, [ECOWAS] did a number of missions back and forth, to pressure him to go, and he had no intention of going, and it got to the point that they massed ECOWAS troops on Gambia's border, and then Jammeh eventually agreed to go, and he took some of his, his riches with him, but I think that's a small price to pay given that there was no violence, and now Gambia for the first time in a generation, is going to have a democratically elected leader, and the other thing that I think is remarkable, if you look at Liberia, which led this effort in Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in less than a decade ago, Liberia was a failed state, the U.S. embassy in Monrovia was the most evacuated post in the world. It was the country that spawned the vernacular of child soldiers and blood diamonds, and now Liberia comes, a decade later, and is leading the effort to bring peace and democracy to Gambia, so it's a-

CREDICO
Would that have happened under Charles Taylor, do you think? Prior president [of Liberia]?

LEVINSON
No, do you know, it's the tide of history. It's the tide of history...West Africa is almost entirely with democratically elected leaders, and now there are leaders who don't, you know, who don't compromise on these principles, you know, you have situations, where, there is a crisis, and the regional leadership comes in, and the head of state says, "Oh, I need to be there for stability," or "I have good relations, etc." and then he creates tension and there's a compromise, and the guy doesn't leave, but there is no compromise. This is a new generation of leaders, and this is not a group of leaders that was taking instruction from Washington, D.C., or Europe, or anywhere el	se, and I think we're in the midst of a transition in Washington. Donald Trump has not even uttered the word "Africa"-

CREDICO
Not at all. Wait a minute. Even though we have an ever expanding presence in Africa, in fact, I don't know how these two leaders...the new leader, what's his name, uh, Adama...

LEVINSON
Adama Barrow.

CREDICO
...and Ms. Johnson, if they are resisting the U.S. expansion into Africa. Africa looks to be the new theater of the war machine...how are they responding to that?

LEVINSON
You know, I don't know if they see it that way...I think the way, I mean, I know the way Ellen Johnson Sirleaf sees it, and I don't know about Adama Barrow, but I think what these leaders have called for, is a tide of private sector and foreign direct investment, and they think that the best way their countries are going to grow, is to have economic development...I mean, American businesses are still the preference, in-

CREDICO
Well, but what about, what about the, uh, what kind of trade do they get out of that? What do they get for American businesses going to Africa, going to...I mean, do they have to cut on social services, as a result, of their trade pacts with the U.S.?

LEVINSON
Well, currently there's the "Africa Growth and Opportunity Act", which allows certain duty free goods from Africa into the U.S., but usually now the F.O.'s [Foreign Offices] of American business, when they come in, they provide for social investment, and other types of investment, in health care, in women empowerment, and entrepreneurship...so, what I've seen on the continent, I've been working in Africa for thirty years, the book, we refer to, _Choosing the Hero_, three decades of journey across the continent, and the intersection of my life, with the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who would go on to be the president of the Republic of Liberia, what I've seen is the power of the private sector in partnering in Africa, and I think that's the wave-

CREDICO
Right.

LEVINSON
-of the future.

CREDICO
How do they think [sic] of the pan-African movement, of Muammar Gaddafi, who had a lot of support in Africa? Before he was assassinated.

LEVINSON
He did have a lot of support in Africa, but you know, I think the tide of history has passed...and what's real interesting, too, is that one of the greatest assets to understand Africa is the polling that's out there, there's an organization called "Afro-Barometer", and I'd love to give them a shout-out, because they're always looking for funding, but they've just come out with some remarkable polling, talking about what Africans as community wants...they use the pervasive nature of the cell phone to communicate to millions across the continent, and it's remarkable, the commitment that this next generation has for democracy, for entrepreneurship, for taking their destiny into their own hands, it's really encouraging, and I'm hoping that Africa becomes a bright spot in an unsettled world right now, because it does feel unsettled, doesn't it?

CREDICO
Well, it does, and I really hope that the, all of the countries are in solidarity against Western expansion, they may want to pick up some of their democratic electoral mechanisms, but certainly they don't want to have the CIA spying on them, they don't want to be used for black sites, for torture, they don't want to be the next theater of an expanding deep state war machine...that seems to be drifting from Central Asia and the Mid East [sic], to Africa, and there are a lot of people concerned- We're going to have a lot of different voices on this, and I'm very happy that you were here to lend your voice, and your perspective, and we'll have you back on.

LEVINSON
It's my pleasure, and what I would say, just about this point, it's a really good point, is that, is what's so unique about this intervention in Gambia, is that these were African forces, mobilized under African leadership-

CREDICO
I know. Yes.

LEVINSON
-their neighborhood.

CREDICO
We have a guest on the show, he's tweeted out, Craig Murray, was an ambassador to Uzbekistan, and he's spent a lot of time down in Africa, and he said some of the worst things were going down there to broker deals, is what was left after they brought the peace, but he did say this was a great thing that happened in Gambia, it's called The Gambia, or Gambia, he said, this was a great thing, and too bad the guy didn't want- He left with millions of dollars, this former president, just like Charles Taylor left with money- A lot of these dictators, dictators- They're presidents in name only, but they're really de facto dictators, because he had the support of the army, but they sent him off at the tarmac, they were playing songs for him, national songs for him, written for [LEVINSON laughs] for the president, just unbelievable, but I'm glad that he's gone, and I'm hoping that they have a lot of peace and prosperity, and it kindof develops, and they don't get sucked into too much of Western intervention in that region.

LEVINSON
You know, I think it is a great thing, and whether he took a couple of cars with him, or whatever, you know, the price of maintaining the peaceful exit, the coffers were not empty when they left, the banks still had the currency, I think that country is off to a good start, and I would say, I travel to the continent all the time, I'm actually just back, I was three weeks in west Africa, where I got this head cold, actually, and, any time you want to take a trip-

CREDICO
Okay, I'd love to. [inaudible cross talk] I definitely will, I definitely want to go there. I want to go there, I want to go to, all the way to Ethiopia, because I'm a coffee freak, and I want to go to a lot of different parts of Africa, you know, but I certainly don't want to run into any CIA agents, or any private military contractors from Blackwater- Alright, listen, I've gotta go here, but the name of the book is, on president Johnson, _Choosing The Hero: My Improbable Journey and the Rise of Africa's First Woman President_, by Riva, not Rica, Levinson-

LEVINSON
I will say, that it is expected to be made into a film to-

CREDICO
WOW.

LEVINSON
-purchased the rights-

CREDICO
Congratulations.

LEVINSON
-grateful for this opportunity, and have a great-

CREDICO
Okay, give us some of the residuals, we'll have you back on soon. Alright? Thank you very much. That was...Riva Levinson. I'm not...quite sure where she is, where her politics are, I'll be honest with you, but...she's an interesting individual, and that's one perspective.