AFRICOM Prepares for more Conflicts in Mali, Nigeria and Somalia
By <
http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/timothy-alexander-guzman> Timothy
Alexander Guzman
Global Research, March 18, 2013
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Northern Mali is a direct threat
to US national security interests according to Major General Carter F. Ham
during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on March 15th, 2013. Ham
said that although there have been progress in AFRICOM’s mission; new
threats have emerged this year that is a strategic importance to the United
States and its allies. According to American Forces Press Service of the
U.S. Department of Defense:
“The general said three violent extremist organizations are of particular
concern in Africa: al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, active in
northern and western Africa; Boko Haram in Nigeria; and al-Shabaab in
Somalia.”
Ham’s main concern however was in Northern Mali because it threatens U.S.
national security interests directly. With France’s invasion back in
January 2013 to stop al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has not been a
military success obviously since AFRICOM’s leadership is concerned. AQIM is
tied to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) the same group France
intervened with in Libya during NATO’s invasion of Libya that provided
weapons, aircraft and Special Forces to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi’s
government. Now AFRICOM who supported NATO’s intervention in Libya is now
fighting AQIM in Mali. A convenient excuse for AFRICOM to expand its
military operations in Africa to fight terrorists:
“The growing collaboration of these organizations heightens the danger they
collectively represent,” he said. “Of the three organizations, AQIM, which
exploited the instability that followed the coup d’état in Mali and seeks to
establish an Islamic state in northern Mali, is currently the most likely to
directly threaten U.S. national security interests in the near- term.”
Ham admitted that AFRICOM is aiding the French and African military against
AQIM and other affiliated terrorist organizations in northern Mali with
drone operations operating in Niger.
“We are supporting French efforts with information, airlift, and refueling,
and are working with the Department of State to support the deployment of
West African forces to the African-led International Support Mission to
Mali,” he said. “Recently, we began unarmed, remotely piloted aircraft
operations from Niger in support of intelligence gathering efforts in the
region.”
Ham said that AQIM is spread across the Sahel region of north-central Africa
south of the Sahara Desert and that it requires a regional effort to
challenge the threat with AFRICOM, the State Department and USAID under the
Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Partnership. Ham said that “The partnership
involves 10 northern and western African nations and the United States, he
said, and aims to develop partner militaries’ counter-terrorism capabilities
and build regional cooperation against AQIM and related extremist groups.”
Expect AFRICOM to expand its footprint throughout Africa since terrorist
groups are still considered a formidable threat.
However, the real threat to “US national security interests” in Africa is
not AQIM, Boko Haram or al-Shabaab, it is China’s demand for natural
resources for their growing economy. The US and France plan to counter the
threat along with Africa’s puppet government’s that will pose a challenge to
China’s economic and diplomatic influence in the region. The new Chinese
Prime Minister Li Keqiang will have to confront this reality in the near
future.
The US and French governments want to assure themselves that the new Chinese
leadership will not continue its beneficial relationships with resource-rich
African nations that have been a success in the past. Therefore, the ‘War
on Terror’ will create instability and will disrupt China’s economic growth.
AFRICOM mission is to create war in the name of fighting terrorism and that
is what “US national security interests” in Africa is really about.
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Received on Tue Mar 19 2013 - 21:07:26 EDT
