Highlights
– AFRICOM headquarters will remain in Stuttgart in the mid-term
– AFRICOM will train indigenous security forces to allow for increased security of oil industry and increased counterterrorism capabilities
– AFRICOM will increase effectiveness of aid, relief, and diplomatic efforts by the US
The United States announced on February 18, 2008 that the headquarters for the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), the United States’ regional military command for Africa, would remain in Stuttgart, Germany. The decision follows months of searching for a country to host AFRICOM with no success. By keeping the headquarters in Stuttgart, the US hopes to avoid the focus on the location of the headquarters, which has caused considerable controversy, so that it can proceed with the command’s objectives.
Origins of AFRICOM
The creation of AFRICOM reflects the increasing global importance of the continent. The most important development is the booming oil industry in countries such as Nigeria, Sudan, and Angola. Currently, 24 percent of US oil imports come from Africa, a higher percentage than oil derived from the Persian Gulf. The threat of terrorism, primarily in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, is also a primary reason for the creation of AFRICOM. Finally, AFRICOM is a response to the growing interest in Africa by China and India.
Previously, the African continent fell under the guise of the European Command (EUCOM), Central Command (CENTCOM), and Pacific Command (PACOM). AFRICOM will serve to unite these regional commands into a unified command that will cover all 53 African countries, with the exclusion of Egypt, which will remain in CENTCOM.
Goals of AFRICOM
Since the announcement of its establishment by US President George W. Bush in February 2007, the development of AFRICOM has aimed to play a more comprehensive role on the continent. To achieve its strategic goal of ensuring regional security throughout Africa, AFRICOM will focus on developing and maintaining interagency cooperation. The primary agencies in addition to the Department of Defense will be the US Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). To ensure AFRICOM achieves its stated goal, the US military’s secondary role will focus on development assistance, to include reconstruction efforts.
AFRICOM’s focus on development and aid issues is part of an intensive effort to prevent the spread of extremist ideologies, specifically those that fuel terrorism, from affecting the continent. Additionally, by using AFRICOM to boost local economies the US hopes to improve its image throughout the continent.
AFRICOM’s Military Aspect
AFRICOM represents an increasing US focus on Africa and is the latest in a series of efforts to increase US military presence in the continent. Prior to the establishment of AFRICOM, the strongest military presence on the continent was the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), based in Djibouti. The CJTF-HOA, which now falls under AFRICOM, was created in October 2002 under “Operation Enduring Freedom-Horn of Africa.” Further, the CJTF-HOA was a response to the growing threat of Islamic extremism in the Horn of Africa, most notably in Somalia.
The military model for AFRICOM will be both the CJTF-HOA and the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Program (TSCTP) – a program that focuses on countries bordering the Saharan desert. Both CJTF-HOA and TSCTP employ the assistance of the US military to train indigenous forces to ensure their own internal security.
Future Outlook
While AFRICOM is scheduled to remain in Stuttgart, the US military has not ruled out the possibility of establishing command centers on the African continent. Most likely AFRICOM will move to create five regional command centers rather than one large command structure. A diversified structure would then allow AFRICOM to better respond to the vast regional challenges Africa presents. However, this command structure may be a long way off, as Liberia remains the sole country that has publicly offered to host an AFRICOM command center.
The success of AFRICOM will largely be based on the United States’ ability to convince African countries that AFRICOM’s creation is not an effort to militarize the continent; rather it is an effort to assist the continent with a variety of regional challenges. However, incidents such as numerous attacks in Somalia against suspected al-Qaeda members in 2007 by CJTF-HOA forces serve to heighten existing suspicions of the intentions of the US.
Finally, the focus on securing oil exports and preventing terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AOIM), will remain AFRICOM’s primary focus. However, the ability of AFRICOM’s interagency cooperation to improve living conditions across the African continent presents the US with an important opportunity to win the hearts and minds of Africans.
