“It will not be long before [the US’s newest geographic combatant command]
AFRICOM has some sort of Bagram Air Base location in the Nile Basin region.
Such a US military base will house USSOCOM-SOCAFRICA and CENTCOM units
(Egypt remains in CENTCOM’s AOR),” Stanton warns.
“The Nile Basin provides the perfect operational environment for the US Navy Brown Water Riverine Forces and USSOCOM Special Boat Teams. American special operators and CIA paramilitary forces will roam up and down portions of the Nile River and its Basin (and already are). Defence and non-defence contractors stand to make a fortune as the USA makes its economic and military move into the Nile Basin region which has become a focused concern of US national security. “… the USA is staking a claim, drawing a line. US national security interests exist within the Nile River Basin and the Nile River. The move has begun in earnest.” The US’s involvement in the overthrow of Egypt’s president and installation of a military dictatorship is just one example"
http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2011/1527/07-battle-for-africa.html
Issue #1527 ** 16 November 2011
Battle for Africa
Anna Pha
During the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth foreign minister Kevin Rudd presented the Africa Foreign Ministers’ Mining Breakfast (27/10/2011) with the example of Australia’s development as a model for them to follow: “the Australian economic development story is very much a story of the Australian mining industry.” (Guardian 02-11-2011) “And the secret to this country’s economic success in large part has been we have maintained an open investment environment in the mining industry, and broadly across the economy ... .” There were 20 African nations present at CHOGM.
Rudd paternalistically lectured the African ministers on how Africa could also develop like Australia, on the back of foreign investment in the mining sector and an open investment environment. He announced increases in overseas development aid to Africa (mostly assisting the mining sector) and then answered his own question as to why the government is offering this aid to Africa: “We in this country have a deep affection for the continent of Africa. ... Because it will help lift your continent from poverty ...”! He made no mention of the massive corporate profits that BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals, etc, who were there alongside him at CHOGM, stand to make. Nor did he mention the question of competition with China which is foremost in his mind.
Rudd’s key target is the People’s Republic of China. It is central to his commitment to the US-Australia military and political alliance and the government’s involvement in the US’s dirty war in Afghanistan. It is the main reason why US facilities in Darwin are being upgraded to such a high level. (See *Guardian* article this issue – Obama visit spells DANGER!<http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2011/1527/01-obama-visit.html> )
The West is waging an all out war with China for markets and investment opportunities in Africa. For decades following decolonisation of the African continent, European powers held on to their influence through some of the worst dictatorships imaginable. In recent decades their power has been diminished, new governments have attempted to assert their influence. US writer on national security matters, John Stanton, points out that the military strategies of such big powers as the US, France, Britain and Belgium require a naval presence in African waters as well as troop stationing on African ground. (Pravda.ru <http://english.pravda.ru/>, 10/11/2011).
Take for example the Nile River Basin where there is growing US, European and Israeli involvement. The Nile Basin involves 11 countries: Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and portions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Eritrea. Its population was 372 million in 2005 and is expected to increase to 654 million in 2030.
“The competition [in the Nile Basin] between France and the US in the fields of trade, investments, culture, education, and arms sales has sharpened to a razor’s edge,” Stanton notes.
US ambitions
The US aims to increase its exploitation and extraction of the continent’s rich resources; to curb China’s activities there; and to develop a strong military presence.
“It will not be long before [the US’s newest geographic combatant command]
AFRICOM has some sort of Bagram Air Base location in the Nile Basin region.
Such a US military base will house USSOCOM-SOCAFRICA and CENTCOM units
(Egypt remains in CENTCOM’s AOR),” Stanton warns.
“The Nile Basin provides the perfect operational environment for the US Navy Brown Water Riverine Forces and USSOCOM Special Boat Teams. American special operators and CIA paramilitary forces will roam up and down portions of the Nile River and its Basin (and already are). Defence and non-defence contractors stand to make a fortune as the USA makes its economic and military move into the Nile Basin region which has become a focused concern of US national security.
“… the USA is staking a claim, drawing a line. US national security interests exist within the Nile River Basin and the Nile River. The move has begun in earnest.” The US’s involvement in the overthrow of Egypt’s president and installation of a military dictatorship is just one example.
The economic side of the equation is control over fertile soils with a regular rainfall, oil, gold and other mineral deposits.
Chinese model
Chinese banks during 2009 and 2010 lent more than the World Bank to emerging economies. This alone is a threat to US imperialism and of concern to Rudd, but of even more concern are the conditions under which these loans and other assistance are provided.
For centuries, prior to the successful post-World War national liberation struggles, the African continent had been carved up by European colonisers, its people brutally exploited and its resources plundered. The US has largely overlooked Africa as a “cot case”, focusing its imperial ambitions more on Asia. But now, as Stanton points out, “The move has begun in earnest.” It is faced not just with competition from Europe but a far more worrying “competitor” on the block: China.
There is no shortage of attacks in the Western media on China’s foreign investment practices. There are accusations that it brings no benefit to the country where investments are taking place, does not contribute to economic development. That the Chinese corporations import their own cheap labour and technology, that they contribute nothing to job creation, skill development or technology transfer. China is also accused of exploiting Africa’s resources. This is a very distorted representation of what is taking place.
China’s recent record in Africa includes the creation of 350,000 jobs, the
training of 350,000 technical staff, 30,000 scholarships, 100 clean energy
projects, development of tourism and assistance with the building of
schools and hospitals. China does mine and export resources but the forces
that attack it for that do not criticise Western mining corporations for
their investments there (see
editorial<http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2011/1527/02-edit.html>).
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