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.
There are a number of reasons as to why this is a good move. Theater-level commands are traditionally advantageous from the perspective that they have specific assets assigned to them. This means that a command would be assigned medical, aviation, logistical, and service-support assets for its operations. That means that commanders and US Military Planners attempting to plan for stability operations in the area don't have to worry about having to get the troops and supplies they need from other commands.
Currently, Africa covered is covered by three US commands: the Horn of Africa which is covered by US Central Command (CENTCOM) and Madagascar, covered by US Pacific Command (PACCOM), and with the rest of the continent US Europe Command (EURCOM). This would allow the United States to more efficiently conduct operations into other trouble areas in Africa.
Hopefully, with a command ready to move into these areas, it would allow Washington to plan for operations more readily, perhaps even intervening in cases of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the area. Which makes sense, considering much of these are funded by western commercial interests. Not to mention that China has been quietly and steadily sinking money into the region also.