Recently, various analysts and American policy makers have established Africa’s growing strategic significance to the United States’ interests. Among other benefits, there are the Africa’s natural resources. Notably, to access such, the country has to cultivate cooperation with African nations and deter various security issues in the continent. For instance, there are alarming concerns over violent extremist activities among other threats perpetrated by maritime piracy, under-governed spaces, and illegal trafficking of weapons and drugs. Additionally, there are mounting concerns about the ongoing humanitarian crisis, civil wars, armed conflicts as well as general challenges such as HIV/AIDs and occasional outbreaks of diseases such as Ebola.
AFRICOM was officially launched on 1st October 2007 under EUCOM but became an independent command on October 1st, 2008. The U.S. Department of Defense established AFRICOM with an ultimate vision that aims to promote strategic objectives, which would protect the interests of America in Africa. Primarily, the United States aims at developing solid relationships with African organizations as well as various states and regions so as to strengthen their defense and efficiently contribute to stability and security (Ploch, 2010). If the African command succeeds in deterring all kinds of negative activities in African countries within the next 3-5 years, there will be high economic growth (Brown, 2013). The U.S. should, therefore, support the AFRICOM command, by all means possible, because African economic growth will lead to more economic interactions with American investors since Africa is a resource-full continent.
In March 2011, for instance, AFRICOM was mandated with commencing the Operation Odyssey Dawn so as to deter civil wars and protect civilians in Libya as authorized by the U.N. Security Council. It is in the interests of the U.S. to prevent terrorist attacks both in African countries and at home. The 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies, the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings among others have made America more dedicated in the fight against terrorism. In this note, military assaults and civil wars in African countries have left vast under-governed spaces, which according to AFRICOM, can be training and operation grounds for terrorist. The U.S. Navy, therefore, has established small cooperative security sites where they can help Africa become a secure continent (Brown, 2013). According to a report given by the AFRICOM spokesman Colonel Cheadle, the U.S. forces are in Sudan and Somalia fighting against al-Shabaab. Furthermore, others are in Nigeria trying to deter the activities of Boko Haram.
Although the African Command has shown considerable efforts in liberating African countries from the pangs of civil wars, extremists, disease outbreaks, and terrorism, the U.S. military has not yet earned trust among many civil society groups and media. Professor Gerrie Swart from the University of South Africa, for instance, expressed his concerns saying there is so much suspicion, mistrust, and confusion as to why the U.S. is so much interested in Africa. Swart argues that AFRICOM is currently presenting the humanitarian side of the United States, but in truth, it is a precursor of more troops that will eventually interfere with African domestic and foreign policy. Additionally, the former head of Liberia’s Center for Democratic Empowerment, Ezekiel Pajibo, is convinced that AFRICOM is only interested in Africa’s oil (Ploch, 2010). Primarily, these are just concerns and may be baseless because facts show that AFRICOM is doing an incredible job in African countries through deterrence of terrorism and supporting governments so as to fight against underdevelopment.
References
Brown, D. E. (2013). AFRICOM at 5 years: The maturation of a new US combatant command. Army War College Carlisle Barracks Pa Strategic Studies Institute.
Ploch, L. (2010). Africa Command: US strategic interests and the role of the US military in Africa. DIANE Publishing.
