African Command Can't Find African Home
The US military's African command cannot find an African nation willing to host it, and will stay in Germany for the forseeable future. This story is flying under everyone's radar and yet I think it's one of the most clearcut examples yet of the damage the Bush presidency has done to America on the world stage.
A year after President George W. Bush approved its creation, the new U.S. military command for Africa is finding its feet but has quietly dropped talk of basing itself on the African continent.
Just a thought...
The Reuters news story says AFRICOM has toned down its talk of where AFRICOM will be headquartered. It does not say AFRICOM will miss its 30 Sep 08 deadline to set up in Africa.
There are 53 nations in Africa. Some do not want the AFRICOM headquarters. Others (like Ethiopia and Tanzania) compete for it. The problem is that whenever U.S. officials meet African officials, the latter ask where the headquarters will be. This creates annoying static. Last week the rock star Bono of U2 even visited Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask where the African headquarters will be.
The USS Fort McHenry (a Navy landing ship) has spent three months off the Gulf of Guinea to show African nations how AFRICOM will operate. The ship will be there for four more months, and is interacting with officials from Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe.
One logical choice for AFRICOM headquarters is Berbera in Somaliland, in the northern state of Somalia. It has a deepwater port, plus the longest runway in Africa. (The U.S. Space Shuttle uses it as an emergency landing strip). It’s strategically located in the Horn of Africa, and it’s close to the U.S. military base at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti. Also Somlaliland is friendly with Cheney, and wants to break away from Somalia. Unfortunately the war-for-oil in Somalia continues to drag on, and Eritrea (allied with the Islamic resistance in Somalia) is now agitating for war with Ethiopia (allied with Cheney).
If the headquarters isn’t in Berbera, it will probably have to be in west Africa (Gulf of Guinea).
So we’ll have to see.
AFRICOM will add 1,000 staff members by 30 Sept 08. They can’t all fit in the Kelley Barracks at Stuttgart.