US:There is concern in the US state department and in several African capitals about the militarising of US foreign policy in the African region, writes Walter Pincusin Washington
The creation of a US defence department Africa Command, with responsibility to promote security and government stability in the region, has heightened concerns among African countries and in the US government over the militarisation of US foreign policy, according to a newly released study by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The Africa Command (Africom) was announced in February by the Bush administration and is scheduled to begin operations in October with temporary headquarters in Stuttgart. Africom would have traditional responsibilities of a combat command "to facilitate or lead military operations" on the continent, but would include "a broader 'soft power' mandate aimed at pre-emptively reducing conflict and would incorporate a larger civilian component to address those challenges", according to the CRS study.
Africom raises oversight issues for congressional committees, according to the report. "How will the administration ensure that US military efforts in Africa do not overshadow or contradict US diplomatic and development objectives?" the report asks. Similar concerns are being raised between defence and state department officials over the Pentagon's plans to take economic assistance programmes begun in Iraq and Afghanistan and make them permanent and worldwide, with more than $1 billion allocated to them annually.
One unresolved issue is where to put Africom headquarters and its expected complement of 400 to 1,000 Americans. "Some initial reaction to locating the Africa Command on the continent has been negative," the CRS report said. Fear that it could represent a first step towards more US troops in Africa led Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defence for policy, on a recent trip to Africa to assure local leaders that the "principal mission will be in the area of security co-operation and building partnership capability. It will not be in war-fighting."
Africom has also raised concerns within the US government. Whereas the state department and US agency for international development officials recognise that the Pentagon can obtain congressional funding that they cannot, "there is also concern that the military may overestimate its capabilities as well as its diplomatic role in Africa, or pursue activities that are not a core part of its mandate," CRS notes.
To meet that concern, a state department civilian official is to be one of the two deputy commanders of Africom, though that official would not be in the chain of command on military operations, according to the CRS report. In addition, more than one-third of Africom headquarters personnel would be from outside the Pentagon.
Nicole Lee, the executive director of TransAfrica Forum, a think-tank focusing on US policy toward Africa, said a greater US military presence in Africa was "neither wise nor productive". Instead, the administration should focus on "development assistance and respect for sovereignty", she said in a statement released when the new command was announced.
Africom notwithstanding, the Pentagon already has military, economic, humanitarian, counter-terrorism and information programmes under way in dozens of African countries.
The Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, set up in October 2002, maintains a semi-permanent presence of 1,500 US military and civilian personnel at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, from which it carries out counter-terrorism and humanitarian operations. US military advisers from there currently aid the African Union mission in Sudan.
The Pentagon is carrying out information operations with military information support teams deployed to US embassies on the continent. One such operation includes a website (www.magharebia.com) that provides news and comment directed at North Africa in Arabic, French and English.
The defence department has also agreed on access to airbases and ports in Africa and "bare-bones" facilities maintained by local security forces in Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.
Under "Operation Enduring Freedom: Trans-Sahara/Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative", the Pentagon has provided $500 million (€372m) to increase border security and counter-terrorism to Mali, Chad, Niger and Mauritania. The Africa contingency operations training and assistance programme has provided small arms and training for peacekeeping operations to Benin, Botswana, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.