The United States Military is soon expected to announce the formation of Africa Command, otherwise known as AFRICOM, in order to prepare United States Defense for possible anti-terrorism and humanitarian operations in Africa. This can only be seen as a positive turn in American military policy.
To quote the International Herald Tribune:
The U.S. Africa Command, or Africom, would oversee strategic developments and military operations across the entire continent, where a combination of problems — natural disasters, civil wars, chronic disease and the growing presence of Islamic radicals — has destabilized some countries and created an increasing threat to global security, White House and Defense Department aides said.
The Pentagon proposal, which the White House is expected to approve in coming days, is overdue, say Africa specialists who cite two examples: the failed state of Somalia, which has become a haven for Islamic militants allied with Al Qaeda terrorists, and the crisis in Sudan, where the United Nations estimates that more than 400,000 people have died from ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region.
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