Security Assistance, Surrogate Armies, and the Pursuit of US Interests in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract
Creating the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) reflects a growing recognition of US strategic interests in Africa and of a need to influence more effectively the security environment to protect and promote these interests. AFRICOM also symbolizes, perhaps unintentionally, a new level of US commitment and identifies the United States as a significant stakeholder in Africa. Still, the United States has no desire for a more direct military role in the region. Contrary to the fears of many, the new command does not imply a militarization of US policy, nor does it represent an insidious step toward a buildup of US troops on African soil. Establishing an unofficial metric, a Department of Defense (DoD) official stated recently that the United States could consider AFRICOM a success if it "keeps American troops out of Africa for the next 50 years." For the United States, security assistance fills this gap between strategic commitment and aversion to military intervention. Accordingly, "a large part of AFRICOM's mandate will be to build the indigenous capacity of African defense forces," and the command will "concentrate much of its energies and resources on training and assistance to professionalize local militaries so that they can better ensure stability and security on the continent." In the words of a senior US military officer assigned to AFRICOM, the United States seeks to enhance regional military forces because, "We don't want to see our guys going in and getting whacked . . . We want Africans to go in." AFRICOM's focus on security assistance should lead one to consider whether such programs, as prescribed by current policy, are an effective hedge against more-direct US military involvement. Such a question is particularly relevant to the near future of US military strategy in Africa, given the US government's avowed support of the African Standby Force (ASF), which is expected to be operational by 2010.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA514872
Entities
People
- Shawn T. Cochran
Organizations
- Air University