Hmmm... do you suppose they'd be interested in an IMA Transporation O-5 Reservist????
Hmmm... do you suppose they'd be interested in an IMA Transporation O-5 Reservist????
There certainly are advantages to being at the administrative heart of the African Union (AU). Of course, the US has been active in the Horn of Africa for decades, but I wonder if this doesn't hurt us in some ways. Black Hawk Down issues aside, the legacy of having supported one side then the other in the Ogaden conflict must surely be viewed with considerable cynicism in the area (then again, perhaps Somalian views no longer count). Also, might not the presence of AFRICOM in (nominally Christian) Ethiopia further the "us vs. them" sentiment on the Muslim street.. . . my money is now on Addis.
What about simply expanding our existing presence and accommodating AFRICOM in Djibouti? Recent US development aid has already gone a long way toward putting a benevolent face on the American presence there. It would be more politically neutral than locating in Ethiopia. And since we're already in Djibouti, it would be cheaper than creating a new command in landlocked Ethiopia. Thoughts?
How about the huge US-built and funded air base in Botswana? Built before South Africa's apartheid ended. Flew over on a Johannesburg to Windhoek flight - huge. Just why the USA built it was lost on the locals. Botswana is generally pro-western, is a democracy and has other facilities - plus South Africa is next door (not that SAfrica would relish a US base so close). Plus it is in the middle of nowhere. Biggest snag? Distance from the sea, requires overflying permission and hot (not that Djibouti is cool).
Or we could rent even more of Ascension Island to you!
Davidbfpo
In the thread on Ph.D. advisors in Iraq, I have advocated for a regional form of the old Country Team, one that includes a lot more than just DOS and DOD membership. Take a read of the following links for words similar to my proposal. However, consider the source—the DOD public web site. We can only hope . . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/News...e.aspx?id=2965
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/News...e.aspx?ID=2946
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/News...e.aspx?id=2940
http://www.defenselink.mil/home/pdf/...ef02022007.pdf
I worry that the transition team will locate itself in “EUCOM land” at Kelley Barracks. I would prefer to establish it on some neutral site away from EUCOM, CENTCOM, and PACOM direct influence.
Does anyone out there have insights about RADM Moeller, the exec director of the transition team?
Do you have any oil there, David?Or we could rent even more of Ascension Island to you!
Southern Africa (ZA, Namibia, Botswana) might be a good place for the new command, but, as someone already mentioned, it's some distance away from the action. I think the Americans are mostly worried about the Sahara and the Sahel, and want a dedicated training command on the continent to oversee programs such as the Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Initiative (TSCTI). I wonder how Gaddafi would feel about having AFRICOM in Libya?
Stuff like this just annoys the crap out of me, especially when you can google the correct information in five minutes. Whatever happened to attention to detail in the military?Africa, which represents 35 percent of the world’s land mass and 25 percent of the population, is growing in significance, and . . . (from one of the defenselink.mil links)
I actually thought that Benghazi would make an interesting and relevant site for the AFRICOM HQ--good port, sizable population--relatively close to the current trouble spots in the Horn and Sudan--not too far from what I beleive may well will be the next locus of African troubles in the Niger/Mali/Burkina Faso/South Algeria region. Down side is the distance from southern Africa--we might need a forward command post in Botswana too.
If Qaddafi is really interested in rejoining the "civilized" world, he might be more amenable than we think.
I've been reading this thread for a while and, although I don't believe that organizational change is really the answer to anything, it can facilitate the resolution of some problems. For this reason, if for no other, I welcome the creation of Africa Command. Among the things wit will accomplish are:
1. Put DoD and DoS on the same regional sheet of music. It aligns the regional unified commands with with State's regional bureaus - at long last (and with the partial exception of NORTHCOM/SOUTHCOM - WHA.
2. It will make it easier to coordinate among OSD, the Joint Staff, AFRICOM, Africa Bureau, AID. CIA, and others.
3. It will make life much, much easier for DoD's Africa Center for Security Studies and give it a single unified command master.
AFRICOM certainly provides a new opportunity to focus more and coordinate policy more effectively on an important region.
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