Growing United States Security Presence in Africa
Over the past few weeks, several U.S. military spokespeople have acknowledged the growing U.S. military presence in Africa. Below is an overview of these policy statements, which give some insight to U.S. priorities in Africa.
Counterterrorism
Counterterrorism remains a U.S. priority:
- On the highest levels, President Barrack Obama, together with French President Francois Hollande, in a co-authored opinion piece, praised the joint counterterrorism efforts between the U.S. and France in the Sahel, as well as the cooperation between the two countries in working to expand the capacity of local forces to deal with security issues:
Perhaps nowhere is our new partnership on more vivid display than in Africa. In Mali, French and African Union forces — with U.S. logistical and information support — have pushed back al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, allowing the people of Mali to pursue a democratic future. Across the Sahel, we are partnering with countries to prevent al-Qaeda from gaining new footholds. In the Central African Republic, French and African Union soldiers — backed by American airlift and support — are working to stem violence and create space for dialogue, reconciliation and swift progress to transitional elections.
- In an interview with the Marine Corps Times, Marine Lt. Gen. Steven Hummer (deputy to the commander of military operations at U.S. Africa Command) discussed transnational threats and counterterrorism as a driving force for the partnership between the Marine Corps and African militaries.
We keep an eye on transnational threats — we’re certainly focused on the violent extremist organizations on the continent. We look for instability or indications of instability and try to shore them up. That’s what we’re looking to do in all of our efforts, because issues like violent extremist organizations and piracy or the insecurity of certain maritime areas all influence and degrade security
Crisis response driving troop increase?
- Marine Lt. Gen. Steven Hummer further discussed how a U.S. desire for increased crisis response capacity may lead to Marines stationed across Africa:
There’s quite a reach from Morón to get to [certain African countries], depending on the operational aircraft.
…
A crisis response force … could be their primary mission. But they could also be doing theater security cooperation training with militaries on the continent. They could participate in exercises, all the while — as we craft these — continuing to develop their skills and readiness toward crisis response.
- In a separate statement, Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, deputy commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, said that Special Operations on the continent are growing in order to increase U.S. crisis response. The goal, he says, is to build local “capabilities to deal with threats,” while emphasizing the challenges that accompany working on the African continent. (video)
The reason for increased crisis response capacity, Lt. Gen. Mulholland explains, is “the new normal.” Responding before any major crises and preserving the state of “not being in any major wars,” are the top priorities in volatile areas and situations. Below is a quote from the video:
At the same time [there are] a lot of potential crises, rapidly moving crises can occur for all kinds of different reasons, whether they be religion, whether they be politics, social issues, demographics. . . .
The State Department has made a pledge to look early to see where we can get DOD support if it was necessary, to provide security early in the process rather than later, and DOD agreed as well that it would pay more attention earlier and plan.
Lt. Gen. Mulholland references the evacuation of Americans from the embassy in Juba in early January as an example of a “new normal” mission.
Djibouti as a strategic base beyond Africa
- Marine Lt. Gen. Steven Hummer discussed the U.S. military strategy in Africa and referred to Djibouti as a unique strategic base, which services the U.S. military beyond AFRICOM:
Djibouti is a strategic location. It kind of crosses combatant commands, so CENTCOM is supported by Djibouti as are U.S. Europe, Africa, Southern and Transportation commands.
This post was written by Center for International Policy's Transperancy and Accountability intern Angelica-Ruth Wekwete.