The solution to AFRICOM is "AU-US-AFRICOM"
By: Henrique Caine

The White House has announced that President George W. Bush is expected to visit Africa early this year on what is likely to be his last tour of the Continent before he leaves office. The issue around the establishment of a U.S. military command base in Africa (AFRICOM) has garnered a lot of controversy on the Continent and has left Liberia in the awkward position of being virtually the only Country fully supporting the measure. AFRICOM is sure to be a major issue for Bush's upcoming trip. The regional ECOWAS powerhouses-in particular Nigeria and Ghana have reportedly declined to play hosts. Other Countries are on record of declining AFRICOM as well. Some fear that a U.S. military command post on African soil could be used to remove African leaders that the U.S. finds unacceptable and that AFRICOM itself could attract terrorists and other anti American sentiments, thereby raising the threat levels in African countries.

Others have argue that the U.S. is only seeking to re-establish its economic might on the Continent through the presence of AFRICOM in order to counter the Chinese who are blasting ahead in forging economic ties with Africa, and apparently don't need a military installation to do so. The problem with the first argument is that history has shown that the U.S. really does not need an AFRICOM to aid in the removal of African leaders they don't like, period! As to the second argument, there is indeed some merit about the increase in potential threats aimed at U.S. targets given the U.S. war on terror. But if truth be told, the increases in threat levels in many of our African nations are often self inflicted and are the result of internal and domestic policies, AFRICOM or no AFRICOM. As to the economic argument that the Chinese are coming, oh well, they have arrived! The mere fact that the Chinese engage Africa without requiring "market and democratic reforms" ensures that they will continue to have a competitive advantage over their American counterparts, regardless of AFRICOM. They have a high demand for African raw materials and Africa is a willing supplier in need of investors-plain and simple economics.

Therefore, perhaps what Liberia should now begin to argue for is a full fledged joint military operation between the African Union (AU) and the United States to create "AU-US-AFRICOM." The goal here would be to establish a mutually beneficial military partnership between Africa and the United States, whereby the AU has a full partnership presence in the operation to help reduce some of the Continent's fears associated with AFRICOM. The recent summit of ECOWAS military brass hosted by Liberia is a clear example of how successful such a partnership could be if the operational intentions are viewed as mutually beneficial to all parties. Therefore, instead of the presence of only U.S. soldiers on the military base and the notion of a "foreign force" occupying space in an African country, AU-US-AFRICOM operation would include African troops and be viewed as a military partnership between Africa and the U.S. Through this approach, the capacity building of an AU peacekeeping force for Africa could be achieved and all of Africa will stand to benefit.

Given Liberia's recent history of war and strife, it is no surprise that the Liberian Government supports AFRICOM. However, the solution should not be to the detriment of Liberia's relationship with its regional neighbors and fellow Africans. Let's not forget that although Liberia was never colonized, other African countries that were are extremely sensitive to anything that remotely feels or appears like a form of foreign occupation on the Continent. So the solution to AFRICOM is to call for a full fledged partnership with the AU by the establishment of AU-US-AFRICOM, much like how NATO (The North American Treaty Organization) was created with the goals of "Solidarity, Freedom, Security, and Trans-Atlantic Links." As it stands right now, the AFRICOM command structure call for a U.S. Commander and a U.S. Deputy Commander. For AFRICOM to be accepted by Africans, it cannot be viewed as solely a U.S. military operation managed out of Washington, DC, but instead the operational command structure must include both African and U.S Military Generals at the table. Under this scenario, there should be ample support on the Continent for this non-threatening partnership approach and then yes, Liberia should be the host!