US Strategic Approach to Africa
This is a high level examination of US strategic interests in Africa. Most Americans never realized that the US has had a significant presence in Africa until the recent death that resulting in a stupid presidential tweet.
The recent tragic event in Niger has brought attention to the US presence in Africa (especially that of USSOF). This attention which highlights the “why we are in Africa now”, serves as a useful point that we are there because we have interests. The point that is not very well explained is the importance of Africa and why it matters and why we have diplomatic, military, and other government agencies supporting our African partners and other members of the international community. Given the lessons learned from 9-11 on preventing attacks on the homeland and US interests abroad, supporting our allies and protecting US personnel and facilities overseas should be enough to justify our presence in Africa; however, there are additional reasons why the United States should be involved in Africa and why Africa matters. Rather than politicize an event, we must understand why Africa matters and resource the effort appropriately.
Read the rest at the link.Africa matters because an unstable Africa is not in the world’s best interest. To keep Africa stable will require a long-term international effort and the United States has interests that require our involvement. Our African partners and the international community will look for our leadership and resources to support this effort.
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