United States Africa Command

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The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM) is a new Unified Combatant Command of the United States military, to have an area of responsibility covering Africa and to be fully operational by September 2008. AFRICOM is planned to be housed at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany temporarily until the permanent base is constructed.^[1]

[edit] Formation

In mid 2006, then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld formed a planning team to advise on requirements for establishing a new Unified Command for the African continent. In early December, he made a recommendation to President Bush, who authorized the new command on the same day Rumsfeld left office.^[2] The creation of USAFRICOM was reported in December 2006 by the Mideast edition of Stars and Stripes. According to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Mullen, President George W. Bush had made the decision on December 15, 2006 to establish the new command.^[3] Previous speculation on the new command included a Time magazine August 24, 2006 story claiming General William E. Ward might be appointed as its first commander. However, General Ward told Aviation Week reporters in early January 2007 final approval had not yet been given.^[4]

On February 6, 2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced to the Senate Armed Services Committee that President George W. Bush had given authority to create the new African Command.^[5] U. S. Navy Rear Admiral Robert Moeller was named as Executive Director, head of the transition team.^[6] He arrived at Kelley Barracks on February 26, 2007.^[1]

USAFRICOM is to be established by 30 September 2008. The command will work initially from facilities in Stuttgart, Germany, but eventually be headquartered on the African continent.

[edit] Proposed missions

The focus of USAFRICOM's missions will be diplomatic, economic and humanitarian aid, aimed at prevention of conflict, rather than at military intervention, according to Theresa Whelan, Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs.^[7] Steven Morrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies agrees that the new command holds potential well beyond military oversight. Rather, its mission could be defined by an interagency mix, focusing the efforts of intelligence, diplomatic, health and aid experts.^[2] The Pentagon has announced that AFRICOM’s deputy commander position is being set aside for a State Department official, rather than a military officer.

[edit] Proposed geographic scope

February 2007 Draft Map of the United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) showing its creation from parts of USEUCOM, USCENTCOM and USPACOM. (Click to see enlarged image)

The territory of the command would consist of all of the African continent except for Egypt, as well as islands related to the continent,^[8] including the Atlantic Ocean islands of Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe, islands belonging to Equatorial Guinea, and the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles.^[6] It would take over most of Africa, which was under European Command (USEUCOM), have East Africa transferred to it from US Central Command (USCENTCOM), and have the islands of Madagascar and Mauritius assigned to it from Pacific Command (USPACOM). Egypt would remain under the direct responsibility of USCENTCOM as it so closely relates to the Middle East.^[7]

[edit] Background

The Center for Contemporary Conflict of the United States Navy notes that U.S. policy towards Africa, at least in the medium-term, looks to be largely defined by international terrorism, the increasing importance of African oil to American energy needs, and the dramatic expansion and improvement of Sino-African relations since the turn of the century.^[9] Prior to the creation of AFRICOM, three Unified Commands have divided responsibility for U.S. military operations in Africa: USEUCOM, which oversaw most countries on the continent, except those in the Horn of Africa; USCENTCOM, which had responsibility for Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and the Seychelles; and USPACOM, which had responsibility for Madagascar and the Indian Ocean.

Discussion over the need for a new continental command has been ongoing since 2003–2004 with the rise of tensions in the oil rich Niger Delta region (see Nigerian Oil Crisis), which supplies a large amount of oil to the United States. Areas of increasing interest to the United States in Africa include the Sahara/Sahel region,^[10] over which Joint Task Force Aztec Silence is conducting anti-terrorist operations, the Horn of Africa, where Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa is located in Djibouti, and the Gulf of Guinea, whose oil resources are expected to gain in importance. U.S. oil industry officials emphasize that the U.S. intelligence community has estimated that the United States will buy 25 percent of its oil from Africa by 2015, and a January 2002 report from the African Oil Policy Initiative Group played a role in getting discussions about such a command started within the U.S. national security community, though their specific recommendation was to create a subcommand for the Gulf of Guinea.^[11]

The U.S. Congress has approved $500 million for the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative (TSCTI) over six years to support countries involved in counterterrorism against alleged threats of Al Qaeda operating in African countries, primarily Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Nigeria, and Morocco.^[12] This program builds upon the former Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI), which concluded in December 2004^[13] and focused on weapon and drug trafficking, as well as counterterrorism.^[14] Previous U.S. military activities in sub-Saharan Africa have included Special Forces associated Joint Combined Exchange Training.

As a result of the 2004 global posture review, the Pentagon began implementing a number of Cooperative Security Locations (CSLs) and Forward Operating Sites (FOSs) across the African continent, through USEUCOM. These locations, along with Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, would form the basis of Africa Command facilities on the continent.

[edit] See also

• Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa
• Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara
• Conflict in the Niger Delta
• Petroleum in Nigeria
• Nigerian Oil Crisis
• Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Joint Task Force Aztec Silence GlobalSecurity.org
• Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative (TSCTI) GlobalSecurity.org
• Africa’s Security Challenges and Rising Strategic Significance, Strategic Insights, January 2007
• AFRICOM public briefPDF (652 KiB), United States Department of Defense, 2 February 2007
• "Blood Oil" by Sebastian Junger in Vanity Fair, February 2007 (accessed 28/1/2007)
• "Africa Command: 'Follow the oil'" in World War 4 Report, February, 16 2007

Unified Combatant Commands of the United States armed forces
Regional responsibilities
Africa Command - Northern Command - Central Command - European Command - Pacific Command - Southern Command
Functional responsibilities
Special Operations Command - Joint Forces Command - Strategic Command - Transportation Command
Proposed new commands
Unified Medical Command