AFRICOM Confronts Stability Changes

AFRICOM Confronts Stability Changes
Air Force Print News | November 16, 2007

WASHINGTON-- The U.S. military's unified command responsible for operations across Africa will help nations there confront poverty, disease, terrorism and other challenges that affect regional security and stability, U.S. officials said here Nov. 14.

However, U.S. Africa Command-sponsored initiatives will "support, not supplant, African leadership," Christopher R. Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told U.S. House Armed Services Committee members at a Capitol Hill hearing.

"The Department of Defense recognizes and applauds the leadership role that Africans, both on a regional and individual basis, and also the African Union, are taking to promote security and stability," Mr. Henry said. "We seek to complement these efforts in a supporting role, not to compete with them in a leadership role."

AFRICOM marked the startup of its initial operations Oct. 1. For now, the command is collocated with U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. Plans are for AFRICOM to be fully established as a separate unified command by Sept. 30. Plans are to eventually base the command's headquarters somewhere in Africa.

The new command was created "to consolidate and focus the work of the Department of Defense and to enable us to better support United States policy in Africa," said Army Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward, AFRICOM's commander.

AFRICOM "will add value to America's security cooperation projects and the delivery of American security assistance programs in Africa, thus making them more efficient as (well as) responsive," General Ward said.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,156397,00.html



uhc comment: It's about the O-I-L, stupid. It's ours. All of it. And we're gonna make sure we get it.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071117/OPINION/711170354/-1/OPINION02

peace