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TechnoratiThe New Military Frontier: Africa
A U.S. Army captain in Africa waxes philosophical. It's like the old saying, he opines; "give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll eat forever."
Is he talking about skills-building, or community empowerment? No: Captain Joseph Cruz goes from channeling the musician Speech from the American hip-hop group Arrested Development back to his military-approved talking points: "the same can be said about military to military training and that's why we do it."
The Delta company soldier is one of 1,800 based in Djibouti at an old French Foreign Legion base, and he is comparing lessons in small naval patrol boat tactics, approaches to counter terrorism operations, and how to use an M-16 rifle, to teaching a man to fish.
It is not just the Djiboutians who are receiving these lessons -- members of the Ethiopian, Ugandan and Kenyan armed forces have also been on "fishing trips" with the U.S. military.
Most Americans have never heard of Djibouti, and fewer can pronounce it correctly, but here -- far from the bombed bridges of Baghdad and the flourishing poppy fields of Afghanistan -- is the third front of the war on terrorism. As Rear Admiral Richard Hunt, the Commander of Combined Joint Taskforce-Horn of Africa (or CJT-HOA, in inimitable military style), explains: "Africa is the new frontier that we need to engage now, or we are going to end up doing it later in a very negative way."
As part of the CJT-HOA these soldiers are also building schools, digging wells and sanitizing slaughterhouses. Their work is delineated by the four Ps and the three Ds: Prevent conflict, promote regional stability, protect coalition interests and prevail against extremism in East Africa and Yemen through diplomacy, development and defense.
Amid the commemorations, tributes, and critiques that cluster around the September 11 anniversary, we should not lose sight of how the war on terrorism is militarizing Africa. With under-tapped oil reserves, vast stretches of ungoverned space, impoverished populations and pandemics of AIDS/HIV and other diseases, Africa is now on Washington's radar screen. The National Security Strategy for the United States, 2006 says: "Africa holds growing geo-strategic importance and is a high priority of this administration." But the most significant way that high priority status is being expressed is through commitments of military aid, training, troops and equipment.
The U.S. base in Djibouti is just one plank in a new platform of military engagement in Africa. There is also the Trans Sahara Counter Terrorism Initiative (TSCTI), which Congress funded at $500 million over six years in 2005. There are also increased naval maneuvers in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea, and establishment of a P3 Orion aerial surveillance station in Algeria.
And now, as though the Pentagon does not have enough on its plate, President George W. Bush has established United States African Command (AFRICOM) as the newest U.S. military sphere of influence. The command brings together most of the continent (Egypt will remain under CENTCOM) for the first time, and according to President Bush it "will enhance our efforts to bring peace and security to the people of Africa and promote our common goals of development, health, education, democracy, and economic growth in Africa."
But the administration is mostly trying to define AFRICOM by what it is not:
Theresa Whelan, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs, says: "Africa Command is not going to reflect a U.S. intent to engage kinetically in Africa. This is about prevention. This is not about fighting wars." At another point, Whelan also said "This is not about a scramble for the continent."
"We are not at war in Africa. Nor do we expect to be at war in Africa. Our embassies and AFRICOM will work in concert to keep it that way," notes Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa.
Despite these reassurances, many African nations view this move with a healthy dose of skepticism. They are expressing this view by shutting their doors. AFRICOM is temporarily based in Germany, but commanders hope to make the move to the region by fall 2008. The military seems to be favoring a "lily pad" approach of small bases across West Africa and the Horn region so as to not commit significant troops or lend credence to African concerns of a U.S. occupation. But where are these lily pads going to go?
Zambia has said no. In early September, President Levy Mwanawasa said that within the Southern African Development Community (a network of fourteen nations) "none of us is interested" in hosting the command. The South Africa Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota has refused to meet with U.S. General William "Kip" Ward, who will command AFRICOM. Lekota said recently, "Africa has to avoid the presence of foreign forces on her soil."
But, some countries are viewing AFRICOM as an opportunity. The United States has already secured access agreements with Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Gabon and Namibia. And the United States' close ally Liberia has aggressively promoted of the Command. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf penned a widely cited and circulated op-ed for AllAfrica.Com that hyped the Command as an opportunity for African nations. She has lobbied hard for AFRICOM to come to Liberia. The United States is also looking at Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Djibouti, and Ethiopia as possible locations.
In case none of these options work out, the Navy has a novel (and very expensive) idea to forgo land completely and house AFRICOM on a high-tech joint command and control ship that would circumnavigate the region.
Even as these discussions continue, some African nations are receiving significant increases in military aid and weapons sales; most of these increases have gone to oil-rich nations and compliant states where the U.S. military seeks a strategic toehold. The Center for Defense Information recently completed "U.S. Arms Exports and Military Assistance in the "Global War on Terror;" an analysis of increases in military aid since September 11, 2001. The report compares the military aid and weapons sales in the five-year leading up to 2001 and the five years since.
For example: since September 11, Kenya, which the State Department describes as a "frontline state" in the war on terrorism, has received eight times more military aid than in the preceding five years.
Djibouti, which has opened its territory to U.S. forces, received forty times more military aid, and an eightfold increase in the value of weapons transfers.
Oil-rich Algeria, where the surveillance equipment is based, has received ten times more aid and a warm embrace from Washington.
Nigeria, the fifth largest supplier of oil to the United States, is slated to receive $1.35 million in Foreign Military Financing for 2008 despite persistent human rights abuses.
Mali is described as an "active partner in the war against terrorism" by the State Department and is a good example of a little military aid going a long way. The desert nation is slated to receive just $250,000 in International Military Education and Training (IMET funding) and no Foreign Military Financing in 2008. But, Mali participates in both the Regional Defense Counter Terrorism Fellowship Program and the Anti-terrorism Assistance program, receiving additional funding through these programs. Aid comes in other forms too. Just this week, a U.S. C-130 military transport plane dropped food aid to Malian soldiers as they pursued armed members of the Tuareg ethnic group. This sort of assistance is not documented or quantified in any ledger or report but -- if repeated regularly -- could significantly increase the Malian military's capabilities.
U.S. arms sales to Ethiopia, which has one of Africa's largest armies, have roughly doubled and military aid has increased two and a half times. But the nation has not received military Humvees since 2002, when it used them against its own people. During protests following the May 2002 elections, the Ethiopian military fired on crowds from the Humvees, killing 85 people. The U.S. sold the Humvees to Ethiopia for counter-terrorism operations. Will the other military assistance Ethiopia receives be similarly abused?
It is always heartening (and non-threatening) to hear soldiers speaking of their mission in altruistic terms. "The hope is to prevent another Iraq or Afghanistan by giving back," says John Harris, commander Command Senior Enlisted Leader of CJT-HOA. But, the soldiers are not there to make friends. The base had been used twice to launch incursions into Somalia (without the permission or even knowledge of the Djiboutian government).
Richard Lugar (R-IN), one of the wise men in the Senate, commented during an AFRICOM hearing that the Pentagon enjoys far greater resources than the State Department. He observed, "This imbalance within our own structure will be reflected in AFRICOM initially -- hopefully not perpetually." There is no indication that humanitarian investments will outpace military contributions any time soon -- especially when the justification for aid remains the war on terrorism.
The Congressional Research Service's latest accounting of the Global War on Terrorism, of which AFRICOM would be a part, puts the cost at $611 billion since 2001, not including additional recent requests of $147 billion and another $50 billion.
For less than that $808 billion spent in the last six years, we could provide universal primary education, reduce infant mortality by two thirds and provide universal access to potable water and not just for the United States, but also for the world. These Millennium Development Goals have languished with sporadic investment and big promises, while military solutions to problems are funded robustly.
Reexamining this imbalance seems like a crucial first step. And the battle for African hearts and minds will not be won if it's clear that it is being waged more for the sake of U.S. strategic interests than African needs.
FPIF columnist Frida Berrigan is a senior program associate at the Arms and Security Project of the New America Foundation.
© 2007 Foreign Policy In Focus
14 Comments so far
Show AllIt isn't only the Viet Nam debacle that the Bushies haven't learned from. Central America and Cuba before them were in a bloody upheaval because the powers that be, with the support of the US, oppressed the general public. Life for the average person was unbearable. Now once again the Pentagon is going for a military solution to what is an economic, social problem and once again, it isn't going to work. Why do these people never learn! There is an expression in Mexico, "No aprende, ni a palos," that means that someone is so stupid that they don't learn even after being beaten with a stick. It is applicable to the whole neocon cabal.
Another point is why on earth do people think that imposing military control will bring peace? Haven't they seen the common bumper sticker, Screwing For Chastity? Would any normal person accept domination by some foreign military? What do they think that people are like?
what a great idea!
let's infect the african continent with the amercian sickness - the war on terrorism is that important.
true the war is a fight against shadows, but they have shadows in africa don't they?
i see the logic.
here we have a continent of nations who have a long and savage history of slaughter - second not even to the republic's, so i think it is a great idea to arm them to the teeth, especially in the absence of any societal controls or ethics that have in any way provide some kind of limit to the body count.
i mean, sure they hacked a million to death in rwanda but that was with homemade machetes. now that uncle sam is going to throw in some proper weaponry i'm sure they'll do better than that the next, easily.
god bless the us.
i just feel sorry for them all, the silly naive bastards. if they knew anything about the americans at all they would slam the door.
as we see, though, when some do refuse you go and buy a few of the more morally challenged. once the toe is in the door, its a done deal.
the us will protecting (and murdering) these poor black boys for along time to come, and that is good right.
i mean, that is the american way!
"Oil-rich Algeria, where the surveillance equipment is based, has received ten times more aid and a warm embrace from Washington."
Who ever said that our leaders in Washington weren't virtuous and loving? Are they not always eager to embrace resource-rich countries?
I'll be really honest with you. I'm reluctant to visit this site anymore. It's tough to read all of this. The hits just keep on coming with the Bush Administration let alone the military/industrial complex. It's getting hard for me to not be cynical.
"Geo-strategic importance" my left toe. It's about money, oil, imperialism.
Who do they think they're fooling here?
CAN WE ALL JUST STAY THE HELL OUT OF AFRICA?!?
My God.
It's reading these articles that truly makes me want to take certain people out. I'm getting to a point where I don't think voting is enough. These people in power need to be overthrown by the people. We need a coup. The elites are like a goddamn gang that are just doing whatever the hell they want while we hide in our homes, windows barred and doors bolted. We need to drag these people out of their ivory towers and make them pay the piper.
If anything, they're making everyone hate us. Is it any wonder that the U.S. is Babylon to many people in the world?
I'm not talking a civil war to so speak. I don't want to kill my fellow workers who sympathize with the neo-con agenda. I try to educate them too Lorax. It's the elites that I can't help but want to punish severely. It seems as if we need something drastic right now. I don't know if non-violent protest is enough right now, and that troubles me. I mean, it's getting dire. Can we afford to wait for the cavalry? The elites are breaking the entire world.
WE outnumber THEM. WE hold more lightning than THEY will ever know, than WE will ever know. WE could totally turn the tables on THEM.
All talk & bluster.
Another possibility:
In the meantime, planes being loaded with missiles and bombs, Target coordinates in the command systems are being verified, 'common folk' are wringing our hands.
If we do not stop this madness all the blood and terror unleashed will be on our individual heads.
We as citizens are dirctly culpable for turning a blind eye to the transgressions of this group of thieves/madmen/tyrants when there was still time to prevent their takeover of the power structures(including the Pentagon,Justice Dept, Homeland Security,etc.)
I feel stupid for making the following suggestion AGAIN, but I feel it is a possible tactic - but I could be wrong.
The average citizen is distracted from the consequences of our upcoming attacks using Darth Vader like tactics to initiate an Armageddon, the likes of which we may not survive. The very UnConstitutional acts carried out by our elected (and unelected) leaders of all persuasions is beyond any comprehension and morally dumbfounding.
Americans need to demonstrate their utter disgust with these policies of aggression and thirst for power and complete control of the world.
It has happened here - to paraphrase Sinclair Lewis.
Until the US populace gets the courage to take to the streets and follow the example of Gandhi's non-violent marches and demonstrations nothing will change. The people have got to WANT the Constitution restored enough to ACT accordingly. If there is no such desire, there will will be no more US Constitution (except in name only).
Things will change only when the populace is alienated and hopeless.
Then they may :
STAND UP - for what they beleive to be right.
SIT DOWN - in the nearest street to bring transportaion, retail, everything to a standstill.
FIGHT - I hope like Gandhi's Pathan friend Badshar Khan(Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan) (check him out)a Pashtun nonviolent Muslim
FIGHT - Even if it means sacrifice to themselves to totally repudiate the oligarchy
FIGHT - As if their lives depend on active resistance - which they do
When people realize that they cannot ignore the actions of the government and relaize they themselves are the governmet, only then is change possible.
What a shame to let cowardice bring down such a noble experiment of human governance!!
Here are some comments by a man who stood by Gandhi - Badshah Khan, who led a 100,000 person army of non-violent Pashtuns from the Khyber pass region. He was a Pashtun (Afghan) political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British Rule during the final years of the Empire on the Indian sub-continent. He was a lifelong pacifist and a devout Muslim. He was known as Badshah Khan (sometimes written as Bacha Khan), the `King of Chiefs', and `Frontier Gandhi'.
"To me nonviolence has come to represent a panacea for all the evils that surround my people. Therefore I am devoting all my energies toward the establishment of a society that would be based on its principles of truth and peace." –
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
"Today's world is traveling in some strange direction. You see that the world is going toward destruction and violence. And the specialty of violence is to create hatred among people and to create fear. I am a believer in nonviolence and I say that no peace or tranquility will descend upon the people of the world until nonviolence is practiced, because nonviolence is love and it stirs courage in people." – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan to an interviewer in 1985
His story is contained in 'Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, A Man To Match His Mountains', by Eknath Easwaran (Published by Nilgiri Press).
Also see NPR highlights:
http://www.npr.org/programs/musings/2003/jan/khan.html?sc=emaf
Future.me:
This war IS BEING pushed on us, not the other way around.
There, fixed that for ya.
TheLorax,
I by no means wish people to think that I want to harm anyone.
I just know that "they" will eventually harm us.
When police and military force become common nature. The people will respond. Thus, civil war.
If this is avoidable, I will be amazed. The people's hand will only be forced by them. Not the other way around.
This war will be pushed on us, not the other way around.
~Future~
I don't agree that there needs to be a civil war here or any kind of bloodshed.
Those currently supporting the regime are simply uneducated. They've been hypnotized by all the lies and magic tricks. They believe that terrorists with box cutters took over airliners on 9/11, we're trying to free the Iraqi people, the election was fair and accurate, Iran is building a bomb, our Homeland Security and Patriot Act are necessary, etc.
I cannot agree that we should wage war on people that are simply ignorant. The citizens are not the problem. It's the misdirection, smoke, and deception from the government that is.
We have to unite. Educate your adversary don't kill him! If your cause is truly just then you should never have to draw blood for any reason but self-defense or the defense of others. Emotion is blurring the picture. Rely on the FACTS. Show them the FACTS. Only through the facts and real world evidence can you break this spell people are under. Americans aren't stupid. I think some of the neo-conservatives are very intelligent. They are simply deceived.
The time has come. You know it, I know, the world knows it. Civil war will happen here, The revolution will be in our lifetime. And who side will we choose?
These are the moments that our people will talk about in books after our bones have long been buried in the sands of time.
These will be the moments in which we set ourselves apart from the sheep, and we stand. We stand for what is rightfully ours.
The war has begun, the trumpets have been blown.
We are brothers and sisters!!
This is our fight. There is only, us and the enemey.
There is no black, white, red, or yellow.
There are only the freemen and freewomen.
And then there are the oppressors.
US and them. There lives and ours.
We are one unit, we are one people. Feed your brother and your brother will feed you.
Starve for your brother and he will do the same.
Give drink to your brother, and he will quench your thirst.
Fight not amongest ourselves, but let us unite in what will be the defining moments of our lives.
There is no rich or poor. Only us and them.
No strong men and weak men. Only us and them.
Turn the other cheek for your brother but not for the enemy.
Turn the other cheek for your sister but not for the enemy.
I ask you not, as a leader of men, but as a brother in arms, a brother in spirit, a brother in pain. A brother in sacrifice and a brother to those that wish to remain free.
I ask you in this time of our greatest need for cohesiveness and bonds built with one goal.
And that goal is maintaining freedom.
Providing Freedom for our brothers and sisters. Maintaining what was given to us by those that died.
And what is being taken away from us by those that kill.
We are blind, but only have to open our eyes to see what we have been missing.
We are deaf and mute, but only need to focus our minds to hear the call, and open our mouths to speak the words that will save us from our selves.
We are not going to take it any more.
Say it to yourself, when you lay your head on your pillow.
Say it to yourself when you wake.
Say it to those you love.
Say it to those you hate.
For it is only us and them.
Say that you will not let your brothers starve alone, say you will not let your brothers go with out drink alone.
We are one people, we are one movement.
We are the revolution.
~Future~
As if "aid" in the form of trafficking in armaments has any basis in making any society safer. Seems like a cynical means to effect population control. Just observing the tribal conflicts in Africa and the carnage makes any sane individual recognize how lethal it would be to add more sophisticated weaponry to that potential inferno. This not being specific in its application to Africa, but again, proof of this worship of the principle of force first, naked aggression, tributes to war god Mars by whatever name or policy directive it's touted.
This is now an old story-but it's nice to see Commondreams ocassionally post something relative to Africa.
Oh, great........another losing proposition at which moron U.S. Americans and their goofy gov't will waste billions.
As I keep saying (sorry) the Global War on Terror means that everyone's behavior is potentially dangerous because everyone is capable of behavior, and terror is just that, a behavior.
"the battle for African hearts and minds" - this is half-true. We don't really care for their hearts. We need to control their minds, in order to control their future behavior, so that they don't behave like terrorists.
Controlling their resources is an added bonus toward ensuring the National Security of the US.
When everyone's behavior is under control then the War on Terror will be won because nobody will be able to behave like a terrorist.
Or is everyone is killed. Then there's no threat of terrorism, either.
"And the battle for African hearts and minds will not be won if it's clear that it is being waged more for the sake of U.S. strategic interests than African needs."
Whoever said that "African needs" had anything to do with it? That's obviously not what colonialism/empire building is about. To state otherwise is not only naive, but dangerous to the people who are going to be subjected to this US military presence.