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The Pentagon’s new Africa command raises suspicions about U.S. motives
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Shashank Bengali
McClatchy Newspapers
September 30, 2008
NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.S. Africa Command, the Pentagon’s first effort to unite its counterterrorism, training and humanitarian operations on the continent, launches Wednesday amid questions at home about its mission and deep suspicions in Africa about its intentions. U.S. officials have billed the new command, known as Africom, as a sign of Africa’s strategic importance, but many in Africa see it as an unwelcome expansion of the U.S.-led war on terrorism and a bid to secure greater access to the continent’s vast oil resources. Several countries have refused to host the command, and officials say Africom will be based in Stuttgart, Germany, for the foreseeable future.
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U.S.-based aid groups and some in Congress have expressed worries that Africom will tilt U.S policy in Africa away from democracy-building and economic development and toward security objectives such as stemming the growth of militant Islamist groups in Somalia and North Africa, some of which have ties to al Qaida.
U.S. covert operations in Somalia and elsewhere have fueled the controversy. In late 2006, the U.S. military provided intelligence to help Ethiopia topple a fundamentalist Islamic regime in Somalia, an invasion that’s fueled a violent Islamist insurgency.
U.S. forces have since launched several strikes on suspected terrorist targets in Somalia. While one of the strikes killed a top militant commander, Aden Hashi Ayro, in May, Somalis say the attacks also killed and badly wounded civilians.
Underlining the skepticism in Washington, the House of Representatives voted last week to provide $266 million to fund Africom’s first year of operations — $123 million less than President Bush had requested. The House Appropriations Committee said the reduction was due partly to “the failure to establish an Africom presence on the continent.”
The fledgling command’s image problem, at home and abroad, is cause for concern because of Africa’s growing importance to the United States.
The Department of Energy says that 17 percent of U.S. crude oil imports now come from Africa, more than the U.S. gets from Persian Gulf countries. But rising powers such as China have strengthened their ties with Africa and become a powerful counterweight to American influence.
Pentagon officials reject claims that Africom is about oil or China, but those perceptions remain strong in Africa.
“Obviously the U.S. is concerned about China’s influence, security, oil, counterterrorism, hunting down al Qaida suspects,” said Erin Weir of Refugees International, a Washington-based advocacy group that’s opposed Africom. “Africans read the newspaper just the same as we do, and they know what drives U.S. interests now.”
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September 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Bring it on!
This Recon will do what it takes!!
September 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
WOW! U.S. citizens are loosing their homes, their jobs, and their families, not to mention any security they once had: The financial market is collapsing and will continue to do so bailout or no bailout, yet $266Mil is being spent to fund Africom’s first year of operations, and billions are being spend on weapons systems, and going after the “evil muslims” (whom, I might add, are just human beings like the rest of us).
But everything is just peachy.
Don’t forget Yanks, that your national debt is in the TRILLIONS of dollars, and every day, it goes up by about $2 billion.
It might be about time, don’t you think, for you average citizens to get off your sofas, turn off your T.V.s and get out to protest your government. Impeach the criminal, homicidal bastards running your country, and instill a new government willing to work in the best interest of you, the people.
Not to mention saving millions (perhaps even billions) of lives around the world from collapses and civil unrest.
September 30th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Grambo prime is ready for assignment. Southeast TX militia. Anyone know who to contact for orders from HQ? email me @ witness4life@yahoo.com
September 30th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
what this is all about is america doing the work for the vatican.
everything is being set-up to enforce the mark of the beast.
in the bible the vatican is the first beast
USA is the second beast. America will help the vatican have control over everyone as prophecied in the bible.
would you like to study up on this?
http://www.remnantofgod.org/quikfacts.htm
September 30th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
MELINDA AND BILL GATES FOUNDATION HAS DONE WONDERS FOR THE AFRICANS AND OTHER THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES. VACCINATIONS FOR ALL. TEST SUBJECTS LIKE US BUT ON A LARGER SCALE. I WONDER IF OPRAH KNOWS OR DOES SHE CARE BEING SHE LAUNCHED OBAMAS CAMPAIGN AND HAS HER OWN FOUNDATION I’M SURE. BUSH’ NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND IS TURNING INTO ALL CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND.
September 30th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
When black o’bastard becomes pres., you’ll see billions(dollars) go to africa. Its a good thing I added the ( ).LOL
September 30th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
This is the African Crusade against the spread of Islam. . .
September 30th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
And what about the Mid East Command? And the 700 U.S. military posts in offshore countries where they are installed to drain Americans out of U.S. tax dollars and jobs which are farmed out to subhumans who don’t have the means to progress themselves into modern viable economies? Is that reason then to waste $hundreds of billions more of our U.S. tax dollars as Foreign Aid on lesser hominids who just shit it out of their assholes and when it’s all gone ask for more, and a hundred years later they are still in their hovels?
And didn’t the Romans do the same? Put the brightest and most capable in their legions and kept them out of Rome and had them wasted at impoverished countries so that the Senators could rule over the decrepit who were then left at Rome, along with the women they took rights and choices from, and the citizens they taxed so heavily they were driven into poverty unable to pay the thieves any more as they had nothing left, so that by the time the nomads walked-in all they had to do was take over?
Isn’t that why the U.S. demented totally stupid congresspersons want to rid us of our most capable Americans sacrificed offshore while already planning to replace our U.S. Armed Forces with U.N. marauders and third country soldiers of fortunes, all on our U.S. tax dollar payrolls, still raising ‘illegal’ taxes on Americans until there is nothing more that we can do about it?- Al Koppel.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
nice how the u.s. military considers the entire world under it’s command
September 30th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Funny how the Middle East is CENTCOM instead of the U.S. Looks like the blueprint for the ten areas of control by the one-world government that The Anticrist is to control as per The Book of Revelation.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
What about AntarctoCommand?
Ha! I know where I’m headed! Always wanted to build an igloo.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:20 am
#13: No igloos ever existed there!!! Fuck It…It’s On!!!! “All HAIL Thermal Expansion!!!!!!!!!!
October 1st, 2008 at 4:24 am
Great website: http://www.WarIsARacket.com
October 1st, 2008 at 7:15 am
Yes, Germany is still occupied, despite the feeling the German people have about the U.S. troop- and CIA presence in the country.
Again, we’re in the middle of this mess, and we WILL draw heat from the Middle East and Russia due to the bootlicking politics and the support for the Rocketshield in Poland and the Radarshield in Czechia.
Thank you, Chancellor Merkel = Trator to the German people
Not only for this, but even more for forcing us into a EU tyranny.
The Lisbon Treaty (fixed Constitution) will force Europe to a military buildup,
makes death penalty possible under riots, unrests, war.
Not to mention that the way the European Parliament works has nothing at all to do with a democratic process.
Prof. Dr. Karl A. Schachtschneider is fighting against this constitution for years now, because of it’s
‘point of no return’ impact on the German people as well as any other nation under this enslavement bill.
True Freedom & Peace to the people of the so called ‘free world’ is needed !!!
October 1st, 2008 at 8:22 am
Endtimetruther, you’re right, a lot of people will call you a racist. However, all of it is true with the exception of one thing. I’ve also done extensive research on the world population and I’ll have to correct you on one issue. The white race makes up only 8% of the world population, not 18%. I don’t imagine that this correction is going to instill any happiness, but, it makes your point even stronger. People are SHOCKED when they hear this statistic. So, my message is the same as Endtimetruther, WAKE UP!!!!
October 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am
Does anyone remember when Alex Jones said “now is your time to help donate money so we can bring the infowar to a large audience?” Remember when he wanted tons of money to get on television? What happened to that? Is Alex Jones really what he claims to be?
October 1st, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I don’t recall Alex claiming to be anything.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:48 am
#19 your memory must be horrid because I clearly remember Alex asking to get some donations so he can hit bigger audiences. Yet nothing to show for it nor even a Article to show those who paid some bucks so he can get more people informed are in the loop to atleast say ” Hey we’ve built a new studio and hired some people but the broadcasts are comming” something as simple as that would be nice.
Only person thats doing what alex jones idea was is Jessie Ventura. Maybethats where the money went? Who knows.
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:20 am
endtimetruther> I hate to blow your cover bubba, but the world aint controlled by africans, I am an american by birth and black by color and I have no alliance with any africans. They don’t like us either because they think we are lazy, they get to come over here and get $ for schooling and loans to start businesses and look at us as why we dont’ get busy. Whites may be the minority on the earth but they are rich in the US $$$ and they control the US who controls the Military who happenes to be the most powerful in the world, I know I’m a vet! If the US wanted to we can take out all of the other countries on the planet, but then we’d take the risk of being destroyed ourselves by russia or china. Just because you have a lot of people, it doesn’t make you a powerful nation, were’ not back in mideval times. The US does have hidden agendas with the AFRICOM just as they did in the SOUTHCOM in panama. If you have a family wouldn’t you feel more comfortable if you knew that you were the one in charge of everybody and they did what you wanted them to do? W. Bush said that he wouldn’t mind being in a dictatorship country if he was the dicktator~!
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