Sunday, December 23, 2007
Odili.net
AFRICAN countries may no longer enjoy military support from the United States (U.S.) unless they endorse America's defence project for the continent.
Tagged "Military Command for Africa (AFRICOM)", the US said that it does not involve the stationing of permanent troops in the region.
The Guardian learnt that Washington is insisting that Nigeria and other African nations would only receive its assistance for their military in terms of capacity building if they backed the proposed command.
Official American sources point to past military assistance, which may be jeopardised if the countries refuse to support AFRICOM.
During his visit to the White House last week, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua was allegedly briefed by top US officials, including the Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, and the Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, on how AFRICOM would operate. He was reportedly told that the command was a continuation of what the US had been doing to help African militaries but under a new management structure.
Yar'Adua was allegedly told that AFRICOM is an internal reorganisation of the US government, which has already been decided upon by President George W. Bush. But the implication is that any African country that does not support risks losing previous military technical assistance that they have been enjoying from Washington.
A senior White House official said that under a capacity building concept, the US had been training African troops, a number said to be over 25,000 as peacekeepers.
Equally important, according to the White House official, is the construction of military camps for Nigerian soldiers in Darfur, Sudan, by the US government. The Americans built the camps and have maintained them since the troops arrived in Darfur.
Under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, some US military officers were known to have engaged the Nigerian Armed Forces in different aspects of technical assistance. Some senior Nigerian military officers including the country's former Chief of Army Staff General Martin Agwai, even attended the War College in the US.
Most African countries have continued to require such defence assistance and support from developed militaries, especially in area of logistics, which is where many of their armies are still lagging.
For instance, the reason that the African Union (AU) force in Darfur has been unable to restore peace to the area is attributed to logistics problem.
Yar'Adua and other African leaders, according to sources, are not sure they can call off such military assistance. A United Nations (UN) source said more of such logistics support was needed for African troops to maintain peacekeeping role within and outside the continent.
This explanation is believed to have informed Yar'Adua's pledge to partner with AFRICOM, without meaning complete support.
A Presidency source explained that at the meeting of European and black leaders recently in Portugal, Yar'Adua and other African leaders discussed the issue.
According to the source, it was the view of the African leaders on the issue of AFRICOM that Yar'Adua restated at the White House closed- door meeting before the press conference.
In Lisbon, Portugal, the source said the President discussed the issue of AFRICOM with Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and John Kuffor of Ghana. Kuffor is the current AU chairman.
What Yar'Adua told the top US government officials at the White House, according to the Presidency official, was that "if American interest in Africa is peace and security, what Africa needs is partnership in terms of logistics, funding and training, with AFRICOM for the AU Standby Force and not American soldiers on African soil."
This is in line with existing practice whereby US military officers are deployed to train African troops.
American sources added that the US government officials explained to Yar'Adua that there was no plan to base the American troops on African soil and that the forces would be permanently stationed in Germany.
The European Command of the US Military is based in Germany from where African defence technical assistance has been organised before now.
With the proposed African command, the US needs place not to base its troops but to locate the AFRICOM officers who would be offering capacity building and technical assistance to their African counterparts.
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