Wilson Johwa
5 June 2008
Johannesburg — STRIDENT hostility towards a US military command centre for Africa (Africom) has prompted the US defence establishment to lobby civil society and key stakeholders in Africa, in a bid to garner support for the centre's planned relocation on African soil.
Africom's establishment was announced early last year when US President George Bush argued the need for a unified military command for Africa, excluding Egypt. Previously, the US military divided its African responsibilities among four independent military headquarters, including the US Central Command responsible for its contingent in Djibouti.
Based in Stuttgart, Germany, Africom's intention was that within a year, in October, it would move to a location in Africa where military functions would run alongside development and relief work. Yet the prospect of a US base did not appeal to African states, including SA, which rejected the idea.
Last year, the newly appointed first commander of Africom, Gen William Ward, failed to meet Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota during his visit to drum up support for the planned command.
"SA wants absolutely nothing to do with it, not even talking to the Americans about it," Richard Cornwell of the Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS) says. Among other African countries, only Liberia has expressed a willingness to host the proposed centre, which the US said would focus on preventing war rather than on fighting.
However, it has emerged that the centre has been struggling to secure a home on the continent, partly because US-funded aid agencies are averse to working side by side with troops due to the increased risk to development workers and the military's lack of training in meaningful development.
As a result, the centre was forced to scale back its plans. Africom will now stay in Germany indefinitely while five smaller regional offices have been put on ice as the military searched for places to locate them.
Africom sees its mission as conducting noncombat evacuations, support for peacekeeping operations and training, waging the global war on terror, and humanitarian relief operations.
Resistance in Africa is forcing the US to look at different options. For instance, the office of the secretary for defence for policy aimed to support Africom by establishing a civil-military forum (CMF), managed by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS). Run by the defence department and based at the National Defence University in Washington, ACSS's objectives include building an understanding and support for the war on terror, establishing networks and maintaining relationships with African civilian and military professionals, together with conveying US policy perspectives to African leaders.
It was envisaged that the CMF would become "a place of mutual respect, facilitating dialogue and fostering relationships" between Africom and other members of the civil-military community, particularly international organisations focused on Africa .
Former US ambassador to Kenya Mark Bellamy was tasked with developing the CMF concept as well as providing overall management of the CMF effort at ACSS.
In another strategy aimed at preparing for Africom's presence in Africa, consultants were contracted to look at "potential fluctuations in the investment, business and political climates in Africa" due to a possible US military presence.
The focus of the exercise was to "identify key stakeholders that would benefit or suffer losses economically, financially, socially, politically or in terms of influence" from a decision to base the Africom headquarters or other US military presence in their region of influence in Africa.
Apparently, the "stakeholder survey" entails naming individuals and organisations in the five African regions that would support a US military facility or those that would be disadvantaged, potentially opening the possibility of influencing them directly.
But a spokesman for New York-based Ergo Advisors says its brief is merely to show the pros and cons of Africom's presence in whatever country is chosen as host.
The head of the ISS, Mike Hough, says the US's push to tap into Africa's oil resources, together with a desire to counter the growing Chinese influence, make it unlikely it will abandon its planned Africa command centre. When it eventually comes, Africom is less likely to be in southern Africa than in east or north Africa.
However, although unlikely, US priorities might change when Bush leaves office early next year.
"The one thing that one doesn't know is if the Democrats will take a different line," Hough says.
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In other words, the US is exploring ways through which it can buy, bully, intimidate and eventually force its way into Africa.
Geopolitically, this would be wise for the US. Nice positioning around the ME, secures a stronghold against Russia, close to Nigerian oil, and provides access to mineral and labor resources.
There are so many signs to be worried about in this piece, for example:
"It was envisaged that the CMF would become "a place of mutual respect, facilitating dialogue and fostering relationships" between Africom and other members of the civil-military community, particularly international organisations focused on Africa ."
"Particularly international organizations" ! Like "aid", and "investment" - a concern confirmed out by Ergo Advisors conducting the study of the ""potential fluctuations in the investment, business and political climates in Africa" due to a possible US military presence."
The US remains the bully of the world. That which it cannot intimidate it will "pre-emptively" attack. The US is a rogue state and all of this nonsense about Democrats is but a smoke-screen obscuring that GOP or Dems are 2 sides of the same imperialistic and capitalist expansionist coin. To consider otherwise is to ignore many generations of exploitation and suffering directly and by proxy at the hands of the US and its economic hitmen. Now the US are sizing up Africa for occupation ... and this is merely the reconnaissance stage of their strategy.
It must be nipped in the bud! Africa has been quiet about its own internal abuses of power from Idi Amin to Mugabe, and now if they remain quiet about Liberia's seeming interest and challenge that, Liberia will prove to be the thin end of the wedge to African colonization and US-led occupation. It is yet another form of slavery ... again!
AMEN! AMEN! Your statement could not have been conveyed any clearer! Thank you!
Mr Hough knows that policies in this country will not change after the election, no matter who wins. As witnessed this week, both Obama(Clinton too) and McCain spent an inordinate amount of time and energy sucking up to AIPAC(the real power behind the throne) Jews comprise 2% of US population. Do the math. We have lost control of our country to foreign interests, to put it mildly. And they aren't done yet. Next stop...Iran