A San Diego military contractor will work with military personnel in Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria to build "an information-sharing system" of high-speed Internet connections for African countries, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The scheme is part of the US military pacification of Africa as it establishes the so-called Africa Command, called Africom, which the US State Department describes this way: "Instead of focusing on purely military tasks, the command will emphasize
humanitarian missions, civil affairs and helping nations improve
regional border and maritime security." Just another aid agency — with really big guns. (See the YouTube question that wasn’t asked of the US Presidential candidates about this plan. For a general consideration of YouTube and the debates, see Jewels in the Jungle’s post.)
Pambazuka News reported that Western and supposedly Africa-friendly media were flogging the initial idea that Africom would save Liberia, which prompted some sharp opposition.
In fact, The Guardian reported earlier in the summer that Africom had been scaled back to follow a "network" model because African governments were not greeting the idea with open arms. So, this information-sharing system is being set up for who, exactly?
The answer is in the headline of the original article:
Security brings technology to Africa
The U.S. will install new computer networks to help the underdeveloped continent fight terrorism, creating opportunities for U.S. firms.
By: caretaker on August 10, 2007
at 12:34 pm
Yes, it’ll allow US firms to dominate high speed internet as it becomes more widespread on the continent, ensuring a) that African firms will have to work at a severe and probably insurmountable disadvantage to compete; b) anyone who complains or challenges this setup can be accused of causing “security” problems.
And thanks for bringing up that curious headline: “Security brings” — There’s not a subject/agent! It implies the machinery itself is choosing Africa. Or maybe Mr. Security is another Bush appointee.
By: Melissa on August 10, 2007
at 2:42 pm
I have been following news reports and “think tank” analysis re: AFRICOM for some time now but have held back on writing about my thoughts on this Pentagon initiative at Jewels until I have a better understanding about how it will be rolled out and implemented over time.
I think that setting up this command on the African continent at this time in history is very important for both the United States of America and for select countries in Africa. Of course there are plenty of people who can see only gloom and doom and unfettered U.S. imperialism behind the AFRICOM initiative, but if you look carefully these are many of the same people preaching the same garbage about an evil America while not offering any suitable alternative solutions to the many security problems that Africa faces daily. Personally I’m tired of listening to that crap.
The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper, a bastion of anti-Washington and anti-American polemics for years, begins its article on AFRICOM so:
The Pentagon’s plans to create a new US military command based in Africa have hit a wall of hostility from governments in the region reluctant to associate themselves publicly with the US “global war on terror”.
End excerpt___
The so-called “hostility” that the Guardian refers to is a damn lie. Where the AFRICOM transition team met a lukewarm-to-cool reception was in the North African countries of Morocco, Algeria, and Libya. Those reactions were to be expected and can be described as a “no brainer” for any foreign policy professional. Where the AFRICOM team travelled in March/April 2007 was to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Senegal. None of those country’s government leaders showed any hostility to the idea of setting up a new U.S. military command on the continent. If someone has reliable objective or official information to the contrary, I’d like to see it.
The country of Liberia was not even included on that AFRICOM tour but shortly thereafter Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf offered (on her own) that Liberia serve as a West African base for AFRICOM. I think that President Johnson-Sirleaf’s offer was very admirable and certainly welcomed by U.S. political and military officials, but the feasibility of setting up a modern high-tech military command in a post-conflict country like Liberia or Sierra Leone would be extremely difficult due to an almost complete lack of infrastructure and other post-conflict problems. Nonetheless I want to see (and work for) massive U.S. engagement and investment in the country of Liberia over the next few years and decades as well as other select West African nations (emphasis on the word “select”).
The op-ed article at Pambazuka news authored by Elmira Woods is noteworthy but it decends into polemics without pointing out a number of very important facts and contrarian views. This is typical for Ms. Woods if you are familiar with her many expert opinions and analysis about U.S. foreign policy in Africa. I’m more apt to pay closer attention to what Dr. Susan Rice has to say (Brookings Institution) about AFRICOM than to Elmira Woods but hey.
If one is really interested in learning more about the background and history of AFRICOM and reading detailed objective analysis of the benefits and challenges that such a command will face in Africa and elsewhere then read the U.S. Army War College document that helped to bring the command into being, read the reports presented to the U.S. House and Senate on AFRICOM, have a look at what the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution and the Council for Global Development (CGD) have written, and don’t miss the special feature on AFRICOM written by (U.S. Army General-ret.) Tom Barrett for Esquire Magazine back in June 2007.
The Americans have Landed by Thomas P.M. Barrett
http://www.esquire.com/features/africacommand0707
South Africa’s ISS (Institute for Security Studies) has published to their blog excellent articles about AFRICOM and the institute’s Dr. Wafula Okumu has just given testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives on the subject from a South African point of view. See this URL for the full text of that testimony:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200708031070.html
The 1st AFRICOM commander-elect selected by the Bush administration is General William E. Ward, a four-star U.S. Army general who now serves as the deputy commander of the U.S. European Command, one of the most complex and challenging military missions in the world. What probably disturbs some Africans and African leaders the most about AFRICOM is that it will be headed by an African-American U.S. Army General. I am certain that General Bill Ward will enter his new job without some of the complexes and reservations that white U.S. military commanders may have faced on the African continent in the past. I wonder how General Bill Ward will play down in Peoria and Pretoria? We shall see.
U.S. Africa Command official website
http://www.eucom.mil/africom/index.asp
Ethan Z’s June 2007 post on AFRICOM (see comments)
http://ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=1522
By: BRE on August 13, 2007
at 4:48 am
Uh oh! I’ve just read two of the testimonies given on August 2nd before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations by leading staff members of South Africa’s ISS. AFRICOM is in trouble already and we haven’t even landed but there is a sliver of hope on the horizon if the State Department and the Pentagon listen up.
Here is a link to the official U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations testimonies and transcripts site with full texts and a 2 1/2 hour video file of the meeting:
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp?subnav=close
Here is a link to the committee hearing info page: “Africa Command: Opportunity for enhanced engagement or the militarization of US/Africa relations?”
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=882
How come everybody is so afraid of U.S.?
By: BRE on August 13, 2007
at 6:46 am
African Loft has been running a short series of posts on the debate over AFRICOM since November. It’s worth your time to follow-up on the hundreds of comments to those posts from both African and American readers. I plan to pick the subject up again in early 2008.
By: BRE on January 1, 2008
at 7:58 am