Africa and AFRICOM
By Douglas Farah
NOTE: The trial of former Liberian Charles Taylor resumed today in the Hague. It is an important test of the ability to hold dictators accountable for their actions.
It is also an important part of the struggle against the ability of radical Islamist groups and transnational criminal organizations to fund themselves through failed and failing states. I will try to keep abreast of the most significant developments.
Now:
David Ignatius in the Washington Post raised the fundamental question that needs to be addressed about the U.S. military's role in Africa and the role of the new unified command for the continent, AFRICOM.
I have supported AFRICOM and still do. Having the continent divided among three separate commands, with no overlapping abilities to look at regions rather than specific countries, was a prescription for disaster.
The growing terrorist networks, the demonstrated ability of al Qaeda to operate in East and West Africa, and the continued weakening of key states (Kenya being the most recent) demonstrate to me the need for a military command that focuses exclusively on the continent.
But the danger, as Ignatius and others point out, (including the CRS report from May 16, 2007) is that the military is being asked to do what others should be doing, both in terms of overall mission and in terms of combatting radical Islamist terrorism there.
With the cut back in most aid programs, the hardening of embassies and the reduction in personnel there to carry out traditional diplomatic and intelligence gathering and carry out the public diplomacy so desperately needed, the military is left in an untenable quandry. My full blog is here.
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