Dr. Westen K. Shilaho, investigator of global relations at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
However, US military presence in Africa is due to national safety objectives and geopolitical interests.Africa's safety is part of the wider safety problems of the United States worldwide.The improvement in Russia's safety matrix in Africa, peculiarly in the subregion of West Africa, the Central African Republic, Libya and the Sahel region, put the United States in a hard situation.Moreover, China's track evidence in Africa, primarily in infrastructure and safety development, besides drew Washington's attention and increased the importance of military partnerships between Africa and the US.In his evidence to the legislature Armed Forces Commission on 7 March 2024, U.S. Head of USFRICOM General Michael Langley expressed concern over the increase in influence of Russia and China in Africa."The latest communicative shows that Moscow and Beijing immediately fill the void erstwhile American engagement weakens or disappears, and we cannot afford it in West Africa," he said.Therefore, seemingly part of the AFRICOM mission is to halt Russian and Chinese interference in Africa.
Since the end of the bipolar world, the United States has almost irrefutable ideological dominance in Africa and a disproportionate function in Africa's security.However, in the same period China became popular as a powerful global actor.Russia has besides increased its interest in Africa's security.To deal with this, the United States has tried to redefine their relations with Africa from paternalism to partnership and invariably inform Africa of Russia and China.The US claims that unlike China and Russia, they are guided by the good of Africa by investing in civilian and defence institutions.Ironically, the United States besides claims to keep Africa's sovereignty, unlike China, which lend predatory loans to impoverished African countries and in return exploit their natural resources.The U.S., besides accusing Russia of trading African natural resources under the appearance of security, does not mention that Africa's relations with the US and the West are at all problematic.The fight for Africa's natural resources and the resulting deprivation of its sovereignty is simply a western task formalised at the Berlin conference.General Langley in his presentation to the legislature Armed Forces Commission presented a dichotomy between the United States and their rivals."Chinese and Russian companies usage predatory tactics to implicate African states in debt and mining contracts that leave the local population to its fate.America offers an alternative.American diplomatic, improvement and defence support does not hold its citizens and natural resources hostage, so we do not impose a moral balance on our partners.Instead of demanding financial and political concessions, we request work on fundamental issues: respect for human rights and the regulation of law," he said.This dichotomy is false.The United States is deliberately referring to the regulation of law.For example, since the Cold War, Washington has maintained relations with autocrats in Africa and has supported the overthrow of leaders opposing its policies.The United States and their western allies are complicit in atrocities in Gaza, making their arrogant function as guardians of global law and standards empty.The joint military exercises of Africa and the United States in East Africa consist of 2 stages.The first is the “Responsible Agreement” on medical, communication or logistics training.Secondly, the Cutlass Express exercises aim to enforce maritime safety and advance national and regional safety in East Africa.The host of the first phase is Kenya's defence Forces and usually takes place at a British military base in Nanyuki, Kenya.It should be remembered that British soldiers from this base for years have been active in specified atrocities as murders in surrounding communities.
In East Africa, USAFRICOM prides itself on "deep commitment to peacekeeping, crisis consequence and support for permanent partnerships with the armed forces in the region".In joint training exercises that prepare them for missions commissioned by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), about 1,000 workers from over 20 east African countries participate.Usually between 2000 and 2,500 short-term rotational American soldiers and civilian personnel form the Combined Horn of Africa Task Force (CJTF-HOA), which includes a vast region covering land and airspace in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Seychelles, Somalia and Sudan, as well as coastal waters of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.After minimising the challenges, this partnership is portrayed in a stunning way: "With joint training and joint experience, the exercises reenforce a strong professional ethos and partner armed forces, expanding their ability to respond effectively to crises and contribute to lasting peace in East Africa".In the interests of their national security, the United States monitors "uncontrolled spaces" in Africa, which are open to global crime specified as terrorism, as well as drug trafficking and human trafficking.The feats of the American Army and its interest in Africa's safety service only purpose.Unstable Africa would be a paradise for transnational crimes that could easy scope the U.S. coast.Therefore, the United States considers the vast but unmanaged waters of the Gulf of Guinea, the Gulf of Aden and the Western Indian Ocean to be susceptible to illegal fishing, illegal trafficking and piracy, forcing their interest in maritime security.Moreover, the US military trains African safety forces to combat terrorism and another areas of military professionalism, advises on peacekeeping operations and oversees humanitarian aid efforts.The US Army has collaborated with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on medical supplies in Mogadishu and humanitarian aid to Ethiopia and northern Kenya.USAFRICOM besides collaborates with AMISOM's successor, African Union Interim Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).However, anti-terrorism or "war on terrorism" discourse usually overlooks issues related to Manifest Destiny's ideology, poverty, inequality and injustice exacerbated by profoundly flawed institutions of global governance, institutionalized global predatoryness and interference in the sovereignty of states inAfrica.Instead, it is dominated by a highly reducing and misconception that terrorism is simply a manifestation of the collision of civilization and can be resolved militarily.African countries are institutionally weak, burdened with corruption and mismanagement, lacking command and control, which exposes them to drug, human and arms smuggling, and the retention of hazardous waste.This should be confirmed that these challenges have a historical and global dimension.The persistence of neocolonial patterns in a profoundly unequal global order has greatly contributed to Africa's inability to establish its position.The West was heartlessly dumping dangerous waste into Africa, for example, in Kenya, which was linked to the increase in cancer.Military contacts between Africa and the United States are not altruistic.Their task involves abroad policy and strategical interests of America.As a result, there was a sharp reaction to the presence of American troops in Africa.For example, in Niger, military authorities broke the multi-year military partnership with the US and ordered them to close 2 military bases in Niamey.The American Air Base in Agadez, Niger is 1 of the largest drone bases in Africa for intelligence, reflection and exploratory purposes.From this base, the United States is conducting drone attacks worldwide.The West fears that the collapse of US-Niger military cooperation will witness the revival of terrorist activities in the Sahel as Niger is simply a bastion against violent extremism in the region.However, the United States has stated that talks are underway with Niger on the position of its military bases.
The West fears that the Russian African Corps, formerly Wagner, will increasingly become a major safety player in the Sahel, although this is not about who is able to strengthen national efforts to combat terrorism in the Sahel.It's an ideological war.It's besides about sovereignty.Following military coups in Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and Mali, the assertive authorities closed down French bases.They became impatient due to decades of economic, political, cultural and military oppression under the exploitive orbit of Francophony.They consciously want to end paternalist and neocolonial relations with France, its erstwhile colonizer and another Western powers.However, they should not be left exposed, they analyse alternate economic, political and military relations with Russia, China, Iran and another emerging powers and have indeed established them.W Niger's decision to break military relations with the US supported trade unions.The conclusion is that Nigerian civilian society agrees with the military establishment as to the request to free Niger from patronising and exploitative partnerships.Massive support for military acquisitions in the Sahel region and West Africa was evidence of a strong consequence to puppet governments without contact with citizens.Overturned regimes have been seen as bending backwards to adapt to abroad policy, which is beneficial for abroad entities, especially France, but is detrimental to the well-being of citizens.Due to hostility towards USFRICOM's western military bases, it is hard to establish its office in Africa and African countries are reluctant to take their office so that they are not seen as United States butlers.The exception is countries specified as Djibouti, which houses respective abroad military bases of major global entities, and Kenya, which houses British and American forces.USAFRICOM is based in Stuttgart, Germany and is improbable to decision to Africa soon.The reason for the presence of US troops in Africa is that the African armed forces are as weak as the state in Africa.Therefore, they deficiency command and control capability, training, equipment and logistics to confirm their sovereignty.Moreover, they are constantly showing small or no ability to guarantee the safety of their people and are effectively active in peacekeeping operations in the troubled places of Africa without external assistance.However, in the face of an increasingly multipolar planet that provides Africa with alternate strategical partners, the impact of military pacts between Africa and the United States is likely to weaken as China, Russia and another emerging powers strengthen.The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are simply statements by the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of RT.
Translated by Google Translator
source:https://www.rt.com/africa/596240-us-joint-military-exercise-africa/
