Exploring The U S Africa Command And A New Strategic Relationship With Africa

This book discusses the systematic expansion of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) across the continent of Africa. This book posits that AFRICOM expansion in Africa is part of a broader system of accumulation based on a government-business-media (GBM) complex. Applying the concept at both structural and descriptive levels, the GBM complex is a function of the synergy between the state’s quest for power, businesses’ need for expansion, and the informational and hegemonic functions of media actors. The United States’ GBM complex in Africa is supported—and in some locations spearheaded—by its military, with dispossessing effects on local actors. Drawing from African case studies, analytical accounts and empirical case studies, this book explores AFRICOM’s role within this broader strategy. The volume maps both the methods and the scope of this expansion, as well as local resistance to this process, and comprises perspectives from the five regions of Africa, key sub-regional organizations and voices from Africa’s regional hegemons. This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, strategic studies, African politics and International Relations.

On Feb. 6, 2007, the Bush Admin. announced the creation of a new unified combatant command, U.S. Africa Command or AFRICOM, to promote U.S. national security objectives in Africa and its surrounding waters. Prior to AFRICOM¿s establishment, U.S. military involvement on the continent was divided among 3 commands: European Command, Central Command, and Pacific Command. The new command¿s area of responsibility includes all African countries except Egypt. Contents of this report: (1) Issues for Congress; (2) The DoD Proposal for a New Africa Command; (3) U.S. Strategic Interests in Africa; (4) U.S. Mil. Assistance and Security Cooperation in Africa: An Expanding Role; (5) Regional Perspectives; (6) Congressional Interest and Oversight Issues.

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), newest of the six U.S. Department of Defense geographic combatant commands (CCMDs), was created in 2007 amid great controversy in both Africa and the United States over its location and mission. Over the last 5 years, AFRICOM has matured greatly, overcoming much of the initial resistance from African stakeholders through careful public messaging, and by addressing most of the U.S. interagency concerns about the Command's size and proper role within the U.S. national security/foreign policy community. This Letort Paper describes the geostrategic, operational, and intellectual changes that explain why AFRICOM was created, and debunks three myths about AFRICOM: that it was created to "exploit" Africa's oil and gas riches, "blocks" China's rise in Africa, and that France "opposes" AFRICOM. The author concludes by raising five issues that are important to AFRICOM's future: 1) allocated forces to carry out short-term training engagements in Africa; 2) preference to emerging democracies in the selection of the Command's partner-nations; 3) the desirability of regional approaches in Africa, including helping the African Union and its Regional Economic Communities to establish standby brigades; 4) the location of the Command's headquarters, which should remain in Stuttgart, Germany, for operational efficiency; and, 5) the need to carry out a top-down "right-sizing" exercise at AFRICOM during a time of severe budget constraints and a real risk for the United States of "strategic insolvency."

On February 6, 2007, the Bush Administration announced its intention to create a new unified combatant command, U.S. Africa Command or AFRICOM, to promote U.S. national security objectives in Africa and its surrounding waters. U.S. military involvement on the continent is currently divided among three commands: U.S. European Command (EUCOM), U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), and U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM). As envisioned by the Administration, the new command's area of responsibility (AOR) would include all African countries except Egypt. In recent years, analysts and U.S. policymakers have noted Africa's growing strategic importance to U.S. interests. Among those interests are Africa's role in the Global War on Terror and the potential threats posed by uncontrolled spaces; the growing importance of Africa's energy resources; and ongoing concern for Africa's many humanitarian crises, armed conflicts, and challenges such as the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS. As defined by the Department of Defense (DoD), AFRICOM's mission will be to promote U.S. strategic objectives by working with African states and regional organizations to help strengthen stability and security in the region through improved security capability, military professionalization, and accountable governance. A transition team has begun establishment of the new command, which is expected to begin as a subunified command under EUCOM by October 2007 and achieve full capability as a stand-alone command by October 2008. This report provides a broad overview of U.S. strategic interests in Africa and the role of U.S. military efforts there as they pertain to the creation of AFRICOM. Although the command is still being planned, a discussion of AFRICOM's mission, its coordination with other government agencies, and its basing and manpower requirements is included. Appendixes provide a history of U.S. military involvement in Africa and a chronology of the use of U.S. Armed Forces in Africa from 1950-2006.

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