Define The New US Mission In Africa

Define What The New US Mission In Africa Is All About

By David Ignatius

Daily Star Staff

Saturday, January 05, 2008

DailyStar

Last week's tribal violence in Kenya reminds us of the severe social and political problems facing Africa. But is greater involvement by the US military the answer to these African challenges?

The growing US military role in Africa isn't a hypothetical issue. In one of the sleeper events of 2007, the Pentagon established a new command for the continent, known as AFRICOM. The organization has a commander, General William "Kip" Ward, but it doesn't yet have a plan for where it will be based, or even a clear statement of its role. Right now, it's a headquarters in search of a mission.

Pentagon officials have offered idealistic but vague explanations of what the new command is supposed to do. "We want to prevent problems from becoming crises, and crises from becoming catastrophes," said Theresa Whelan, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs.

Ward said in an interview two months ago with Charlie Rose of PBS, "We have in our national interest that Africa is a stable continent. That's what's in it for us."

Nobody would argue the need for assisting Africa, especially after the gruesome ethnic killings that left more than 300 Kenyans dead. But how should that assistance be provided? Is the US military the right instrument for the nation-building effort that AFRICOM apparently envisions? Should American soldiers coordinate the digging of wells, the vaccination of animals and other development projects that will come under AFRICOM's umbrella? Will a larger US military presence check terrorism and instability on the continent, or will it instead become a new magnet for anti-Americanism?

The chaos in Kenya should prompt a serious discussion, better late than never, of these issues. AFRICOM's mission isn't well understood, either in America or Africa. Indeed, two of the leading African nations - Nigeria and South Africa - have expressed strong reservations about the greater US military role on the continent. And surely, the American experience in Iraq should prompt closer scrutiny of military projects with bold ideals but fuzzy details.

The African command began as a project of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who believed the military wasn't well prepared for the kind of stabilization operations it would face in the post-September 11 world. The command was formally established last October 1, with a temporary headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany - and the goal of establishing a forward base in Africa by October 1, 2008.

But problems surfaced immediately. The first was the $5 billion cost of setting up the forward headquarters, a steep price for a military strapped by Iraq and Afghanistan. A second problem was where to put the headquarters. Liberia was eager to play host, but Pentagon officials believed its location in West Africa would be too far from the continent's big security challenges.

For now, the Pentagon will probably finesse the headquarters issue by starting with several smaller regional centers - perhaps in Botswana, Liberia and Rwanda - that combine military and civilian operations.

The new command has had bipartisan political backing - who could question the idea of taking Africa more seriously? But behind the scenes, some senior Pentagon officials have been skeptical. "The depth of support is pretty shallow, frankly, and that's a real hazard. There's a danger that everything will be done on the cheap," says Stephen Morrison, the director of Africa studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The real puzzle with AFRICOM is understanding its purpose. Some advocates propose pragmatic strategic goals, from containing China's influence in Africa to countering terrorism to protecting African oil supplies. But the official rationale is much less specific - in Ward's formulation, "bringing stability to the continent." Some Africans worry that these generalities mask a deeper goal of establishing what amounts to American neocolonialism.

What would AFRICOM be doing now in Kenya, say, if it were up and running? Would it intervene to halt the violence between Kikuyus and Luos that exploded last week? Would it work with NGOs and relief organizations? Would it operate jointly with the Kenyan military to restore order? Ward says he doesn't "envision kinetic operations for United States forces," but what happens if Kenya spirals toward another Rwanda genocide?

The US military is so powerful - so blessed with money and logistical skill and leadership - that it's easy to make it the default answer to problems that are otherwise in the "too hard" category. That's my worry about AFRICOM. Its nation-building goal sounds noble, but so did European imperialism of 150 years ago to its proponents. Before America sends its soldiers marching off to save Africa, we need more discussion about what this mission is all about.

Syndicated columnist David Ignatius is published regularly by THE DAILY STAR.