How they see us: Does the U.S. help Africa for oil
Africans warmly welcomed President Bush during his recent visit to their continent. But if they
Africans warmly welcomed President Bush during his recent visit to their continent. But if they’d known his true goal, said Elem Eyrice and Caglar Dolek in Turkey’s Journal of Turkish Weekly, they wouldn’t have cheered quite so enthusiastically. Bush stressed U.S. support of efforts to fight AIDS and other humanitarian campaigns, but that was just a cover for the real U.S. aim: “to establish permanent military bases in sub-Saharan Africa.” The U.S. already has strategic command centers for other parts of the world—CENTCOM for the Middle East, PACOM for the Pacific Ocean area—and now it wants AFRICOM for Africa. Why now? Because Africa is one of the last relatively untapped sources of oil, and the U.S. is afraid that China will get to it first. “Africa has been increasingly becoming a new battlefield for the two hegemonic powers.” Construction of a new U.S. base with a central command would put America ahead in that battle.
Tanzania wisely refused to host such a base, said Tanzania’s African in an editorial. “We believe that AFRICOM is nothing short of a sovereignty and resource grab,” a continuation of the same policy “that has brought destruction and terror” to the Middle East and Afghanistan. Boosting the U.S. military presence here would “be extremely damaging to Africa’s own security.”
Bush now seems to realize that it’s not going to happen, said George Kyei Frimpong in the Ghanaian Chronicle. By the time he got to Ghana during his multi-nation tour, it seemed that his main purpose was to “dispel wild speculations” that the U.S. planned to build a military base here. On the contrary, Bush insisted, the AFRICOM project was simply a way for the U.S. to provide military assistance to African countries and glean intelligence from those countries. “The purpose of this is not to add military bases,” Bush said. That rumor was “baloney—or, as we say in Texas, that’s bull.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In fact, the site of the new command won’t even be in Africa, said Kunle Somorin in Nigeria’s Leadership. And that’s a shame. Africans reacted so negatively to the plan—there was particularly “scathing criticism” from Nigeria—that the U.S. “dropped the idea” of putting any new military structures on the continent. Instead, AFRICOM will be based in Stuttgart, Germany. So long to the jobs and to the foreign currency that a new U.S. base would have brought to Africa.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What does 'Quiet on the Set' mean for the future of kids' TV?
In the Spotlight A new documentary exposes the 'dark underbelly' of Nickelodeon productions
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published