The Pentagon's new Africa command raises suspicions about U.S. motives

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The Pentagon's new Africa command raises suspicions about U.S. motives

By Shashank Bengali, McClatchy NewspapersMon Sep 29, 1:53 PM ET

NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.S. Africa Command, the Pentagon's first effort

to unite its counterterrorism, training and humanitarian operations on

the continent, launches Wednesday amid questions at home about its

mission and deep suspicions in Africa about its intentions.

U.S. officials have billed the new command, known as Africom, as a

sign of Africa's strategic importance, but many in Africa see it as an

unwelcome expansion of the U.S.-led war on terrorism and a bid to

secure greater access to the continent's vast oil resources. Several

countries have refused to host the command, and officials say Africom

will be based in Stuttgart, Germany , for the foreseeable future.

U.S.-based aid groups and some in Congress have expressed worries that

Africom will tilt U.S policy in Africa away from democracy-building

and economic development and toward security objectives such as

stemming the growth of militant Islamist groups in Somalia and North

Africa , some of which have ties to al Qaida .

U.S. covert operations in Somalia and elsewhere have fueled the

controversy. In late 2006, the U.S. military provided intelligence to

help Ethiopia topple a fundamentalist Islamic regime in Somalia , an

invasion that's fueled a violent Islamist insurgency.

U.S. forces have since launched several strikes on suspected terrorist

targets in Somalia . While one of the strikes killed a top militant

commander, Aden Hashi Ayro , in May, Somalis say the attacks also

killed and badly wounded civilians.

Underlining the skepticism in Washington , the House of

Representatives voted last week to provide $266 million to fund

Africom's first year of operations — $123 million less than President

Bush had requested. The House Appropriations Committee said the

reduction was due partly to " the failure to establish an Africom

presence on the continent. "

The fledgling command's image problem, at home and abroad, is cause

for concern because of Africa's growing importance to the United States .

The Department of Energy says that 17 percent of U.S. crude oil

imports now come from Africa , more than the U.S. gets from Persian

Gulf countries. But rising powers such as China have strengthened

their ties with Africa and become a powerful counterweight to American

influence.

Pentagon officials reject claims that Africom is about oil or China ,

but those perceptions remain strong in Africa .

" Obviously the U.S. is concerned about China's influence, security,

oil, counterterrorism, hunting down al Qaida suspects, " said Weir

of Refugees International , a Washington -based advocacy group that's

opposed Africom. " Africans read the newspaper just the same as we do,

and they know what drives U.S. interests now. "

Witney Schneidman , who served as deputy assistant Secretary of State

for African Affairs in the Clinton administration, said: " In many

parts of Africa it is perceived as the U.S. bringing its war on terror

to Africa . That is not what Africom is about, but that is how it has

been seen. "

While the public face of the U.S. military in Africa has been that of

a benign partner, human rights activists say that the Bush

administration's focus on terrorism has fueled suspicion of Africom.

" Anything to do with the U.S. military evokes some level of anxiety, "

said Hassan , a member of the independent Kenya National

Commission on Human Rights . " There is a strong feeling that America

would overlook a crisis within a government or violations by certain

governments if only they could secure more cooperation on matters of

security. "

After Bush announced the creation of Africom in February 2007 , the

Pentagon began issuing mixed messages about its mission, with some

officials suggesting that the new command would help " coordinate " U.S.

policy in the region. Experts immediately questioned whether U.S.

troops would participate in humanitarian programs and other non-combat

operations that have long been run by the State Department and U.S.

embassies.

Pentagon officials have acknowledged mistakes in marketing Africom,

and they no longer list humanitarian projects as part of its mission.

Instead, they say that Africom will support other U.S. government

agencies and focus on helping bolster African militaries.

" Africom will support, not shape, U.S. foreign policy on the

continent, " Whelan , Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for

African Affairs, told a congressional hearing in July.

About 1,300 people, divided roughly evenly between civilian and

military positions, are expected to staff the Germany headquarters,

but no additional soldiers will be deployed in Africa yet. Instead,

Africom will take charge of small U.S. military teams that are already

on the continent training national militaries and maritime agencies,

providing immunizations, drilling wells, rebuilding schools and

conducting other projects.

Africom will assume control over the largest U.S. military base in the

region, the 1,500-strong Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa,

housed at a former French Foreign Legion facility in the tiny eastern

nation of Djibouti .

Despite the questions about its mission, experts say that Africom will

raise Africa's profile in the Pentagon . Currently, three separate

regional " combatant commands, " which manage overseas U.S. military

operations, share responsibility for Africa . The U.S. Central Command

oversees seven countries in East Africa , Pacific Command has three

Indian Ocean island nations and European Command handles 42 other

African countries from Morocco to South Africa .

Now all the countries — except Egypt , which will continue to be

grouped with Middle Eastern nations under the Central Command — will

fall under Africom's jurisdiction. As with the other regional

commands, Africom's commander, four-star Army Gen. E. " Kip "

Ward , reports to Secretary of Defense Gates .

" One of the basic problems of U.S. engagement with Africa historically

is there's been a lack of a long-term, sustained and steady

commitment, " said Abiodun , a Sierra Leonean who's vice

president of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention at the

United States Institute of Peace in Washington . " One of the positive

things about Africom is this might finally be changing. "

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