What Role Is/Should US Play in Africa?

Now that AFRICOM is out there, US missions on the continent are coming under heavier scrutiny. Or maybe gonzo journalists are just bored of Iraq and Afghanistan and want to travel somewhere new...

U.S.-led training of forces across Africa such as here in post-conflict Liberia is drawing new scrutiny (file photo)

Concerns over the extent of U.S. military aid in war-torn Somalia as well as challenges for the U.S. military command structure in Africa are leading American experts to scrutinize the U.S. security role on the continent.

At a briefing last week, Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson denied recent media reports that the United States is leading military efforts to help Somalia's government, known as the transitional federal government, or TFG, defeat insurgents.

"[The] United States does not plan, does not direct, and does not coordinate the military operations of the TFG," said Johnnie Carson. "And we have not and will not be providing direct support for any potential military offensives. Further, we are not providing or paying for military advisors for the TFG. There is no desire to Americanize the conflict in Somalia."

But important military ties exist. Last year, a State Department official said the U.S. government had provided Somalia's transitional government with millions of dollars to buy weapons and ammunition. U.S. contractors have also been involved in training Somalia's security forces.

Eighteen American soldiers died in Somalia in 1993 in the last major ground operation involving U.S. troops in Africa. But important covert operations in conflict situations reportedly have continued, including in Somalia.

In terms of U.S. security involvement for the continent, the United States established the U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, in 2007. Its commander, Army General William Ward, recently testified on Capitol Hill that the command is still based in Germany because, he said, public opinion in Africa makes it counter-productive to base its command there.

Daniel Volman, director of the U.S.-based Africa Security Research Project, says this does not mean that AFRICOM is inactive.

"Even though, they are based in Stuttgart, General Ward and his people spend about half of their time on the African continent," said Daniel Volman. "They have also begun building up the level of U.S. military personnel at all the U.S. embassies, so they can have mini AFRICOM headquarters in every single country."

Volman says a growing U.S. need for natural resources is one of the main reasons the Defense Department developed AFRICOM, in light of instability in places such as oil-rich Nigeria.

"For the Pentagon, the nightmare scenario is that Nigeria will descend into chaos," he said. "Infighting in Nigeria will reach a point where oil production will actually be directly threatened, and then what do you do? Do you send American troops into Nigeria? And the people at the Pentagon are already doing war-gaming and contingency planning for that - not because they particularly want to do that, but because they recognize how important Nigeria is to the United States."

By: Brant