U.S. Penetrates African Nations in the Name of Anti-terrorism

A nightclub in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi suffered a grenade attack that injured 14 people. The Somali Islamic Youth Party subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last week, Kenyan troops entered Somalia to suppress the Islamic Youth Party. African media on Oct. 23 released news that the U.S. and French armies were also involved in the military operation. The attacked nightclub was a place that Westerners frequently visit in Kenya.

According to a Kenyan news report on Oct 23, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Scott Gration, had announced on the same day that the U.S. had provided technical support to the military operation in Somalia. Gration said that the U.S. did not send troops to the war in Somalia, but would try its best to assist Kenya’s armed forces to accomplish its goals. In addition, the U.S. is considering providing long-term support to Kenya. Another newspaper in Africa reported that the U.S. had deployed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to bomb the Islamic Youth Party’s armed base.

A few days ago, the Somali Islamic Youth Party’s leader, Ahmad Bodigedan, warned that the organization was well prepared for a war against invaders.

Hence, the U.S. Embassy in Kenya issued an emergency warning on Oct. 22 cautioning foreigners in Kenya that they might be attacked at locations including main buildings in Kenya and places normally frequented by foreigners such as shopping malls, bars and clubs. A day after the warning, the grenade attack happened at the nightclub.

U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a letter to Congress on Oct. 14 announcing the dispatch of 100 Special Operations troops to the central African region to assist the Ugandan government against the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The first batch of American military arrived in Uganda on Oct. 12. According to an African news report on Oct. 21, this was the largest U.S. military deployment operation in the region in recent years.

Obama said that even though the U.S. military was armed with all combat equipments, they would only provide information, support, ongoing security and training, and would not fight the Lord's Resistance Army except in necessary self-defense. He said that the Ugandan operation was to promote the interests of U.S. national security and foreign policy.

The public was of the opinion that the U.S. had goals other than anti-terrorism, including seeking a foothold in Africa with the ultimate motive of access to African resources, such as oil. Obama did not mention the details or the duration of American military deployment to Central Africa. According to the U.S. military, they would stay in central Africa for as long as necessary for the government there to independently ensure security.

The U.S lists the Lord’s Resistance Army as a terrorist organization. The organization is mainly active along the border of South Sudan, in central Africa and in the Congo. The International Criminal Court had issued a warrant to arrest the organization’s leader, Joseph Kony. The U.S. believes that the organization will collapse with Kony’s seizure or death.

The American military will have to use high-tech equipment during the Ugandan Operation to quickly uncover Kony’s whereabouts. In addition to the first batch of soldiers in Uganda, it has been learned that American Special Forces will be deployed to the abovementioned three countries’ capitals next month.

The U.S. government is sending troops to Africa at a crucial time, when Americans are weary of war and eager to get rid of the two battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many people are puzzled by Obama's move. The White House decision was not discussed in Congress and some members, including John McCain, were concerned that the U.S. military action might not be easy.

The African media has reported that the U.S. is hurriedly coordinating with Ethiopia to set up a new UAV base and that its UAV base in the Seychelles is constantly involved in secret military missions. In general, the public polls in Africa express concerns regarding active U.S. military activities in the African continent. Most African countries are resisting external military intervention in their internal affairs. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni made it clear that Uganda objects to the U.S. attacking the Lord’s Resistance Army directly.

In recent years, Africa's position in U.S. global strategy has again increased. On the one hand, U.S. anti-terrorism movements have driven part of the groups towards much weaker African countries, and the U.S. is worried that such terrorists groups could work together with local rebellions forces to form some kind of base that would threaten stability in Africa and exacerbate the U.S. anti-terrorism effort. On the other hand, the Lord’s Resistance Army and Islamic Youth Party pose serious threats to South Sudan, Angola, Somalia and other countries. The U.S., therefore, is using the excuse of maintaining security and peace to penetrate the region in order to strengthen their influence for their own interests.

Analysts believe that the reason Obama sent a letter to Congress discretely to announce the plans to send troops was due to his fear of uncertainty and also to imply to the American public that he had no intention of getting the American army directly involved in another conflict. The U.S. Brookings Institute’s defense analyst, Michael E. O’Hanlon, believes that such small-scale deployment of American troops to help Uganda to fight the Lord's Resistance Army is only a small investment that could bring huge returns.

Chinese International Relations researcher, Li Wei, thinks that the U.S. military intervention in Somalia and Kenya against the Islamic Youth Party is merely using the name of anti-terrorism to interfere in African countries’ internal affairs. The ultimate motive is to safeguard U.S. interests and implement American values.

The 9/11 incident had a huge impact on U.S. national security. During Bush’s administration, the U.S. launched anti-terrorism campaigns throughout the world and used such excuses to support pro-American and pro-Western regimes in order to influence other countries.

Compared to Bush’s administration, Obama’s anti-terrorism policy has not changed fundamentally. Although the U.S. has gradually withdrawn troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, they are deploying Special Forces instead of armed forces, which is only an adjustment on paper. In fact, the U.S. continues to expand into the Middle East and Africa and keep a secret military base in order to promote America’s so-called democracy in a much wider region.