Military Review English Edition January-February 2014 | Page 57

AFRICOM

U.S. Army Maj. Thamus J. Morgan, a veterinarian from the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, greets children
from Kakute Primary School in Kakute, Uganda, 23 April 2013. (U.S. Navy, Petty Officer 1st Class Tom Ouellette)

intentions and view its presence as exploitative
and imperialistic. The African Crisis Response
Initiative was not universally popular in Africa.
The selection criteria for countries participating in
ACRI raised questions about U.S. interests on the
continent. Some African states and even France
suspected that ACRI’s design gave the United States
a military foothold in Africa reminiscent of the
colonial and Cold War eras. It was conceptualized
as U.S. expansionism and exploitation of Africa’s
newfound energy sources. Opposition politicians
in African states receiving training as well as the
states excluded from the program were critical of
Washington for using ACRI to gather military intelligence to advance other exclusive U.S. interests
in Africa.
No single issue or event in recent decades in
Africa has provoked so much controversy and
unified hostility and opposition as the AFRICOM.
The intensity and sheer scale of the unprecedented
unity of opposition to AFRICOM across Africa
surprised many experts. African nations have been
repeatedly opposed to the hosting of U.S. bases
MILITARY REVIEW

January-February 2014

on the African continent and the militarization
of their relations with the United States. Because
of this dissent, AFRICOM is located in Stuttgart,
Germany. Civil society leaders and journalists in
Africa have objected that AFRICOM will pursue
narrowly defined U.S. interests at the expense of
both the sovereignty and welfare of the African
nations.37 Regional organizations have been most
vocal in their critique of AFRICOM. The Southern
African Development Community, including U.S.
ally South Africa, stated that “it is better if the
United States were involved with Africa from a
distance rather than be present on the continent.”
The Southern African Development Community
defense and security ministers urged other states
not to host AFRICOM since it would have a negative effect.38 The economic community of West
African states (including Nigeria, a strong U.S.
ally), opposed AFRICOM.
African citizens and civil societies also objected
to AFRICOM. Ezekiel Pajino of the Center for
Empowerment in Liberia calls AFRICOM “a deadly
plan of U.S. military expansion on African soil.”
55