Quietly the US 'footprint' expands
SWJ Blog has had a couple of links to articles etc this month on the slow expansion of AFRICOM's on the ground commitments in Africa:
1) Starting with a training team in Tunisia:http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/...#axzz2vMIAB8IH
Within I noted the USMC ground & air mission to protect diplomats in South Sudan had a problem, which leads me to speculate whether a similar future mission would have CAS:
Quote:
..the operation also highlighted the risks the Pentagon faces when it seeks to intervene with light forces in remote places. Three Ospreys were hit by gunfire and had to abort their mission.
2) AFRICOM's commander giving a threat briefing:http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/afr...-across-africa
Open Democracy today has a long article by a new name to me, Nick Turse the managing editor of TomDispatch.com. It covers the French too and refers to the various other European commitments - to training. It is critical, asking whether the missions are desirable, I'll leave it at that.:D
Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/opensec...ionary-warfare
AFRICOM's intelligence base
Well it will not be in Africa, instead a quiet corner of an English county; RAF Croughton is the official name for a USAF support facility, in south-west Northamptonshire close to Oxfordshire:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Croughton
The Independent reports the DIA's hub for AFRICOM will be built there:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...n-9391406.html
Africa Military Moves by US Reflect Iraq, Afghan Wars
Africa Military Moves by US Reflect Iraq, Afghan Wars
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How will Christians in Africa see the US?
Totally unrelated to anything on this thread.
Christians in Africa generally view the US positively, but with America's seeming abandonment of Iraqi Christians, Christians in countries like Nigeria (where Muslim/Christian tensions are high) are beginning to have doubts about the utility or relevance of US/West to their situation.
Does this have any political implications now? Not sure, but it might have in future. Quite a few prominent Christian voices in Nigeria are saying (not openly yet), that US is more pro-Muslim than pro-Christian.
US-Nigeria relations falter
A diplomatic spat, which includes AFRICOM's efforts, as Nigeria disputes whether the USA is a helper in the struggle with Boko Haram:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/01/wo...s-falter.html?
How about such snippets as these; citing an anonymous AFRICOM official / officer:
Quote:
Ounce for ounce, Boko Haram is equal to if not better than the Nigerian military
Then a classic "get stuffed" ploy:
Quote:
When Maj. Gen. James B. Linder, the head of American Special Operations forces in Africa, visited Nigeria in late October, he was barred from visiting the base where American trainers were instructing the new Nigerian Army battalion created to help fight Boko Haram. General Linder was left waiting at the gate....