America's African Army

The Turkish military comprises four main armies:

– An army controlled from Istanbul, more specifically, in Selimiye. It’s there to protect against dangers that might come from the West.

– An army with its central command in Malatya, meant to guard against threats from the Middle East, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

– An army formed to protect against threat that might have arisen in from the Caucasus region during the time of the U.S.S.R.

– An “Aegean Army” designed to thwart Greece. This is the only army of ours that is not sanctioned by NATO.

As a global power, the United States has organized its military in a much different fashion than Turkey. The United States considers the entire world a war zone and has arranged its military strength into six principal armies. Among these are: CENTCOM, which is responsible for the Middle Eastern region; EUCOM, which is responsible for Europe and Russia; NORTHCOM, North America; SOUTHCOM, responsible for South America; PACOM looks over the Pacific region, and AFRICOM is in charge of the entire African continent except Egypt.

Mission: Transform Africa

In recent years AFRICOM has ranked as among the most dynamic branches of America’s military. AFRICOM was founded in October 2008 in order to “be able to transform Africa.” Due to the fact that many African countries were suspicious of America’s intentions, the United States was unable to find a willing host for its base. America, therefore, has to operate from Stuttgart in the South of Germany. AFRICOM was given three main objectives:

– Ensure access to gas and petrol resources.

– Disable the activities of violent Islamic groups.

– Transform African countries.

With AFRICOM the U.S. opted for a different method from what we might call the “small army” model. Beyond military personnel, 25 percent of the recruited staff are historians, linguists and other experts. The most important duty of the commanders is to ensure relations with the militaries of other countries and their sustainability independent of U.S. assistance. In other words, the Americans didn’t want to buy the cow if they could get the milk for free. In order to get AFRICOM to accomplish its mission, America wanted to work in partnership with the militaries of African nations. Through this arrangement the United States is training quite a few armies on the continent. For example, 75 percent of the Senegalese Army has gone through U.S. training. Although the likelihood that developments in Libya will disrupt American internal affairs may make African nations nervous, U.S. training continues at a steady clip. This arrangement grants special attention to what might be called the continents two largest armies: those of Nigeria and South Africa.

AFRICOM educates not only soldiers but African elites, as well. According to the agreement, courses are given to the ruling class with titles such as “Rule of Law,” “Democracy,” etc. America realizes that the most important factor for its own security is to transform these nations into ones with free elections and friendly relations with the United States. In order to make this happen America wants to use little force — at least, as little American military power as possible. They call this “smart power” as exemplified by the changes arising in Tunisia and Egypt, which came about from internal, organic forces with special help from the military. In the same way change in Libya began with internal conflict, but as expected NATO has had to intervene as the efforts of the rebels stalled. But unlike the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the struggle is being waged with local resources more so than with American dollars or military strength.

AFRICOM is currently trying to establish a base. Liberia and Morocco have given the go-ahead; however, it has not yet been decided in which corner of the continent American weapons and troops will be housed. One thing is certain: After the Mideast, the U.S. will settle into yet another place that it will find difficult to leave.