October has seen significant escalation in two of the Africa’s most stubborn conflicts. A large-scale invasion of Somalia by Kenya and further escalation by U.S. imperialism in Uganda are poised to increase the level of violence and devastation in both countries. Both instances are clear examples of how cooperation between client regimes and Western imperialism are fueling militarism and war across the African continent.
In mid-October several thousand Kenyan troops poured across that nation’s border with Somalia in an attempt to dislodge the Al-Shabab movement, which controls large swaths of Somalia. The Kenyan government by its own admission planned the operation months in advance, training and arming clan militias inside of Somalia to assist their invasion forces.
Kenyan intervention is rooted in the needs of Kenyan elites to secure profit. Al-Shabab’s menacing of Kenyan tourist areas is a significant blow to one of the nations largest, and growing, economic sectors. More importantly, Kenya’s growing role as the central hub of regional trade is threatened by Al-Shabab’s ability to attack ports and menace shipping lanes.
Just 60 miles from the Somali border, for example, Kenya has a major new port project planned. Kenya hopes to create a buffer zone in southern Somalia where Al-Shabab can not threaten its ability to capture the greatest share of the growing regional trade volume, as well as export its own goods.
While there was undoubtedly some low-level coordination with both the United States and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Kenyan operation seems to initially have been a one-nation mission, drawing condemnation from Somalia’s so-called “president.” On Oct. 31, however, Kenya and Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government issued a joint appeal for international aid. While their official demands are for a bolstering of AMISOM forces, TFG officials also say they want help from NATO.
AMISOM, almost a totally East African affair, is set to see small increases in support from other East African nations, although it is unclear if Kenya’s intervention will spur major new contributions of troops from any African nation. The TFG controls the capital and a small amount of other territory only with the help of AMISOM, the United States, and the European Union. Kenya’s invasion and the support of Kenyan-backed clans give the TFG at least the illusion of controlling more territory.
With heavy rains soaking the terrain, it is not clear whether Kenya will be able to achieve its objectives. Al-Shabab and other resistance forces in Somalia have driven out both U.S. and Ethiopian forces in the past two decades, making Kenyan success seem far-fetched. Massive famine taking place in Somalia is poised to get much worse as military operations disrupt relief efforts—making the humanitarian toll of the war that much worse and driving Somalia ever deeper into the abyss of violence and poverty.
*From Kismayo to Kampala*
Also in October, the U.S. government announced it was sending 100 military advisors to Uganda to assist troops from several central African nations in their fight against the Lord’s Resistance Army. The LRA, led by Joseph Kony, is a several-hundred-strong militia, made up mostly of children, that has been on a two-decade-long rampage in northern Uganda and across the region. Terrorizing any area they visit, the LRA rapes, kills and steals with impunity. The LRA conflict has become a serious issue for Uganda's’s territorial integrity.
This is the latest in a long-string of U.S. attempts to help African governments vanquish the LRA under a humanitarian smokescreen. While the deadly ruthlessness of the LRA is not in question, the strictly humanitarian motives for this latest U.S. initiative are suspect, to say the least.
For example, while the LRA is heavily targeted, equally brutal militias in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with ties to U.S. ally Rwanda are left untouched. Additionally, these coordinated military strategies have proved only a failure in the past. These large-scale operations are akin to stirring a hornet’s nest. While some LRA fighters are killed, small groups escape into the dense jungle and go on killing sprees in retaliation. The most recent large operation in 2008 ended with 1,000 people killed and 20,000 displaced.
The continued attempts to totally clear out the LRA are connected to the Ugandan elite's need to secure the northern area of their country where large oil finds have been made. U.S. officials claim that the U.S. troops will not see fighting but simply improve intelligence gathering and coordination between the countries involved. Whether fighting or not, the roles of these troops will be critical. Still, it seems unlikely the result will be any different from past U.S-assisted operations, sinking the war-torn region further into despair.
*Role of imperialism*
These recent conflicts give insight into U.S. imperialist strategy in Africa. As Africa’s client states attempt to grow, they face significant challenges from Islamic and other militants who threaten their control over trade routes and resources. The U.S government, primarily through AFRICOM, offers significant amounts of military aid and training to assist these nations, and so far are up and running in 53 African nations.
As new resource finds fuel increased capitalist growth, African elites are becoming increasingly dependent on the United States, France and other European countries in securing those resources. This increases the leverage of the U.S. government with African governments and also leads to increased militarization and war. This makes it imperative that progressive and revolutionary people in the United States oppose imperialist assistance to African comprador elites that is fueling bloody conflicts and violating the right of self-determination.
----[Mailing List for Eritrea Related News ]---- Received on Thu Nov 03 2011 - 08:14:44 EDT
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