How many Americans know their military has opened up a dedicated command center to keep Africa under its thumb? Far too few. Moreover, none of us had a say in this aggressive and expensive expansion of capacity to project violence onto the world's poorest continent. Yet, from its provisional base in Stuttgart, Germany, "Africom" will cast an imperialistic shadow over 900 million people more in need of medicine and job-creating capital than jackboots. Is this really the face our nation wants to present to Africa's vast population?
The BBC reports that "the Pentagon has yet to find an African country willing to host the headquarters for Africom, despite a considerable amount of shopping around." The message is clear: Africans have rejected US military tutelage because they perceive a threat. Americans should listen, and shut down Africom. Humanity, diplomacy and the reality of scarce resources practically demand it.
