The last post here was 2 weeks ago any news on the status?

Further a quick google of African sites popped up this article. It provides a different perspective.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200702140349.html

Here is a quote:

"The African Union and the Peace and Security Council were established to entrench democracy, create economic development and monitor and secure peace but have not been allowed to develop and mature enough to deal with the continent's problems. Africa does not need another US base aimed at "promoting" peace and development. Africom would destabilise an already fragile continent and region, which would be forced to engage with US interests on military terms."
Business Day (Johannesburg) OPINION, February 14, 2007, Posted to the web February 14, 2007, Michele Ruiters, Johannesburg SA.

The author's focus seems a bit off as he is more concerned about a physical base and the troops he believes would be stationed there. He is concerned about the cultural effects of a large footprint set up, not about a C2 organization that facilitates and coordinates effort. But it is an indication that prior to setting up USAFRICOM a lot of PR work needs to be done. That is unless I'm missing something, the intent of the new command seems very beneficial from my understanding:

The Boston Globe’s Bryan Bender reports:

" The Pentagon, which crafted the proposal with the aid of the State Department and other government agencies, envisions the new command to be unique among its global combat headquarters. Because African nations do not pose a direct military threat to the United States, Defense officials said, the AFRICOM operation would focus far less on preparing troops for major combat in the area. Instead, it would stress military training programs to help local governments secure their borders and take steps to guard against crises such as Darfur as well as contain outbreaks of deadly diseases such as AIDS and malaria . Unlike in other traditional command posts, the four-star general who would be in charge of AFRICOM would probably have a civilian counterpart from the State Department to coordinate nonmilitary functions of the US government. The expectation is that diplomacy and economic and political aid will often prove more critical to achieving US goals in Africa than relying on military solutions."