Vol. 71/No. 8      February 26, 2007

The creation of the United States Africa Command, which has been under discussion for years, is the Pentagon’s latest step in restructuring the U.S. military around the globe.

The announcement came soon after the U.S.-orchestrated invasion of Somalia by Ethiopian troops and U.S. Special Forces routed the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) from Mogadishu and most of the rest of the country in December. In the lead-up to making public the new command, the U.S. government had also increased its military presence in the Horn of Africa as part of its “war on terror.” These efforts are aimed at expanding Washington’s dominance in Africa and edging out its competitors, especially in oil-rich West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.

Prior to the creation of the Africa Command, oversight of U.S. military operations in Africa was divided between three different structures—the Europe, Central, and Pacific commands. Testifying before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on February 6, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the creation of the command would eliminate an “outdated arrangement left over from the cold war.”

“The view was that the time has come, in fact, with the increasing importance of the continent to the U.S., that we could better meet our requirements by standing up one unified command to consolidate all of (Defense Department) activities,” said Navy Rear Adm. Robert Moeller, who is in charge of implementing its establishment. The new command is expected to be in place by September 2008.

In November 2002 the Pentagon had set up the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa for the purpose of ending “terrorist” traffic between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. Shortly after its creation, the task force was expanded, setting up base at Camp Lemonier, in Djibouti, with 1,600 troops. This task force was the real predecessor of the Africa Command.

U.S. forces have taken part in training border troops in Djibouti and Ethiopia, as well as maritime forces in Kenya, according to the October 21 issue of USA Today.

In January, U.S. helicopter gunships operated by Special Operations units carried out bombing attacks in southern Somalia, to defeat the retreating forces of the SICC. Washington has also stepped up its military presence in other parts of Africa. In 2005, it deployed some 1,000 soldiers to seven African countries for joint exercises with local troops. Joint maneuvers are scheduled to take place this year with troops from Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia, reported the July 24 Army Times.
 
 
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