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TechnoratiWill the next war for oil be in Africa?
The number of Americans who believe that the war in Iraq was a mistake has surpassed the number who felt the same way about Vietnam during that war. At the same time, a much quieter U.S. military build-up is underway on another continent. The ultimate objective of the two efforts is the same: securing Big Oil's access to the regions' oil. The impact in Africa will likely be the same as in Iraq: perpetual occupation, instability, and growing anti-Americanism.
In recognition of "the emerging strategic importance of Africa," in February 2007 President Bush ordered the creation of AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command. AFRICOM, like CENTCOM (Central Command) and EUCOM (European Command), centralizes all authority for the U.S. military operating in the African region under one command structure. AFRICOM also transfers many duties that previously belonged to nonmilitary US agencies -- such as building schools and digging wells -- to the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. While fighting terrorism in Africa is the primary reason given for the establishment of AFRICOM, oil appears to be the more pressing motivator. "A key mission for U.S. forces [in Africa] would be to insure that Nigeria's oilfields, which in the future could account for as much as 25 percent of all U.S. oil imports, are secure," explains General Charles Wald, deputy commander of U.S. forces in Europe in an interview with Wall Street Journal writer Greg Jaffe.
To secure and maintain access to oil -- if not for the nation, then most certainly for our oil companies -- the Bush administration has increasingly turned toward the U.S. military. Author Kevin Phillips coined the term "petrol-imperialism" to describe the Bush administration's policies in this regard, "the key aspect of which is the U.S. military's transformation into a global oil protection force." Under the rubric of the Global War on Terror, the Bush administration has implemented the greatest realignment of U.S. forces since the end of the Cold War. With a map of Big Oil's overseas operations, the world's remaining oil reserves, and oil transport routes, one can now track the realignment and predict future deployments of the U.S. military.
Africa, with almost 10% of the world's remaining oil, is an area of increasing activity for both Big Oil and the U.S. military. Between 2000 and 2007, U.S. imports of oil from Africa increased by 65 percent, from 1.6 to 2.7 million barrels a day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. These imports, in turn, accounted for a growing percentage of all U.S. oil imports: increasing from 14.5% in 2000 to 20% in 2007. Both trends are expected to accelerate in the future.
Not only is the United States importing more African oil, but U.S. oil companies are also increasing their African reserves and their presence on the continent. According to SEC tax filings, in 2000, ExxonMobil operated in just three African nations -- Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria -- and its production there was negligible relative to the rest of the world. Today, ExxonMobil operates in Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria, and is set to begin work in Libya. Its African holdings account for nearly 17% of the company's global oil reserves.
According to 2008 SEC Tax Filings, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Marathon, among other U.S. oil companies, are also increasing their presence, with each operating in three or more of the following countries: Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria. According to U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, U.S. companies hope to expand their operations further, with Madagascar, Benin, Sao Tome and Principe, and Guinea-Bissau among potential future targets.
Shell and BP, both with large U.S. affiliates that are active in both U.S. political campaigns and domestic lobbying efforts, are also expanding their already sizeable African operations.
The Bush administration has increasingly turned to the Department of Defense to ensure more stable governments in Africa that are supportive of both the U.S. government and U.S. (and U.S.-affiliated) oil corporations and to guarantee an amenable (some would argue, subdued) populace,. The Administration has increased the provision of both arms and direct military services and training to Africa, such that today Angola, Algeria, Botswana, Chad, Cote d'Iviore, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda are all direct recipients of such assistance. General James Jones, EUCOM Commander, announced that U.S. Navy carrier battle groups would shorten future visits to the Mediterranean and "spend half the time going down the west coast to Africa." The former French Foreign Legion base, Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, became home to the U.S. military's Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa in 2003.
AFRICOM is currently headquartered in Germany, but intends to "establish a presence" on the African continent this year. There are several options for new U.S. military bases, including a naval base and deepwater port on the tiny island of Sao Tome off the coast of Gabon, located in West Africa. The Pentagon is also considering new bases in Senegal, Ghana, and Mali.
U.S. oil companies have long used African military and security forces to protect their oil interests. Perhaps it is more honest for the U.S. military to take more direct oversight over these operations. But the risks far outweigh any potential benefit. The United States is already engaged in one war for oil in Iraq and the U.S. military knows this. General John Abizaid, retired head of U.S. Central Command and military operations in Iraq, said of the war, "Of course it's about oil, we can't really deny that." The concern is that, as it has in Iraq, a larger U.S. military presence in Africa will strain an already overburdened military while increasing internal hostilities, regional instability, and anger at the United States.
The answer to our nation's oil addiction is not to secure new and diverse suppliers. We need to kick the habit and just say no, beginning with AFRICOM.
Antonia Juhasz is a Foreign Policy In Focus Policy Analyst. She is an Associate Fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies and a Fellow with Oil Change International. Her new book, The Tyranny of Oil: the World's Most Powerful Industry, and What We Must Do To Stop It, will be released in October by HarperCollins Publishers.
Copyright © 2008, Institute for Policy Studies
14 Comments so far
Show Allwonder what EUROCOM is up to right now....lol
reds under the bed or what...
quick some-one check the North Sea oil platforms..
"How the oil man Bush raised the oil price and now holds the country hostage to environmental pollution by drilling offshore"
http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/19621.asp
And so it goes...Neo-Vegans don't buy meat, milk or eggs...I'd like to fill my car but the price of gas is going up faster than my fuel budget.
As always, our tax $ and military are used to support the sinister alliance of multinational corporations and the authoritarian or dictatorial oligarchs in smaller countries. There is no concern for common citizens of those countries. The poor, in some cases starving, majority are labeled as terrorists when they organize in seeking democracy and economic justice.
Taking down the Iraqi dictator was an anomaly. As soon as he was deposed, Bush policy, while touted as building democracy, was really to thwart Iraqi democracy. As Naomi Klein has documented, local elections Iraqis had already held on their own, were overturned by Viceroy Bremer who then appointed councils.
Similarly, at this very moment, our tax $ is being spent to undermine democracies in Latin America, such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua which are not investment-friendly enough to suit multinational corporations.
This is the mission of Africom, the same as in the 19th and early 20th century, to exploit natural resources.
Maybe we should charge Big Oil for our military protection services. Just a thought. Better yet, maybe the military can just take over Big Oil and use the profits to subsidize their operations. They can also take over the drug trade in Afghanistan and earn another 600 billion per year. In the past, Imperialism was profitable, until the Empire collapsed. If we are going to be an Empire, lets do it right, and share the wealth.
like the playground bully going round stealing every-one lunch money..
they are going to be spread pretty thin...i'm not sure the UK would support with troops any deployment in Africa...if for no other reasons than we simply don't have that many troops! lol the French won't help i don't think.. neither the Germans..there is a buffer some-where here and sooner or later the USA is going to run into it...invade or negotiate...that's the real decision...this degree of militarism isn't respected anymore out in the "old world"
Africom...lol so they are suppling arms and training to Uganda eh?
In recent past years muted and wary discussions have been taking place amongst well-informed Africans both at home and throughout the diaspora about the perceived obscured intentions of US with regard to AFRICOM. Because of delicate and economically vulnerable nature of most African nations, some commentators see the possibility of re-emergence of post-colonial-era like wars as the powers that be attempt to apply divide and conquer tactics to appropriate the rich oil and mineral resources that are becoming scarce around the rest of the world but are still abundant in Africa. Time will tell.
homeward-angel June 18th, 2008 1:21 pm
"just another example of public funds being used for private profits. We need to end corporate welfare, and soon."
ABSOLUTELY!
Doom n Gloom June 18th, 2008 3:09 pm
If we are not The Great Satan, then who are we?
Still the best hope the world has at the moment. A country full of decent generous people being badly mislead at the moment.
Big oil can take their big record profits and buy their own protection. I bet Blackwater's available but they are quite pricey. US taxpayers should be financing alternatives and conservation not the rape and pillage of foreign lands. These oil companies may be based in America but they have no allegiance to this or any other country. I say we freeze their bank accounts (including Bush/Cheney et al.) until they pay the Iraqis and US taxpayers back for the Iraq war. If they won't give it up then we should use their former protection service-the US military-and take over their companies. Any of our current crop of candidates advocating the nationalization of the "American" oil companies? Ha ha ha ha
If we are not The Great Satan, then who are we?
We can look forward to more bon mots such as these (substituting US for France) from President Omar Bongo:
Africa without France is a car without a driver. France without Africa is a car without petrol.
A review of books on the 'resource curse' that has afflicted oil-rich African countries is here.
Minnesota just sent a unit of National Guardsman to Africa for apparently, this exact reason. No explanation, just that they were going there. OIL would be the only reason...there is no other reason.
No, we don't need the Guardsman here protecting our country and helping people with the flooding problems that are so reminiscent of Katrina and poor New Orleans. No, the OIL companies deserve way more protection than average Americans and they of course need them more.
Seems obvious - bases aren't built for nothing. Historically, whenever the US has picked up the pieces of the old European Great Powers, we've tended to end up in one of those foreign entanglements President Washington warned about. Vietnam, Philippines, much of the Middle East and Africa. It will continue as long as we need the oil and/or we can afford to entangle ourselves.
just another example of public funds being used for private profits. We need to end corporate welfare, and soon.
Yes, and of course the more US troops there are to protect the companies' oil wells in these countries, the more the poverty ridden local populations resent their exclusion from a share in the profits, while having to suffer the increased pollution and environmental damage. So the oil-fields and their US military guardians become the logical targets of the justified resentment giving a vicious circle that we mostly see in the continuous rise of oil prices. The big oil speculators will be cheering for AFRICOM.