Africom Stands Up 2006-2017

[SWJED]

No Extra Troops to be Based in Africa, says Pentagon - Reuters.

No extra U.S. combat troops will be stationed in Africa as a result of plans to create a U.S. military command for the continent, U.S. defense officials said on Wednesday.

The new headquarters will have a strong focus on helping African nations train their security forces and will include more U.S. government civilians than other regional command centers, the officials told reporters at the Pentagon.

President George W. Bush announced on Tuesday he had given approval for the new command, AFRICOM, which will be based initially in Stuttgart, Germany, but later move to an African location yet to be determined.

The creation of the new headquarters reflects increasing U.S. strategic interest in Africa. Washington is concerned that African nations with weak governments offer a haven for Islamist militants and is attracted by the continent's natural resources...

[Mark O'Neill]

No Extra Troops to be Based in Africa, says Pentagon - Reuters.

Ok, based on that, delete my last regarding CONUS, my money is now on Addis.

[120mm]

Hmmm... do you suppose they'd be interested in an IMA Transporation O-5 Reservist????

[hendrikwitbooi]

. . . my money is now on Addis.

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.

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?

[davidbfpo]

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

[wm]

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?

[hendrikwitbooi]

Or we could rent even more of Ascension Island to you!

Do you have any oil there, David?

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?

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)

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?