The US military presence in Africa: Many questions, no answers!
In a recent press article published in The Los Angeles Time, an American analyst, Andrew J. Bacevich, raised questions about the US military presence in Africa. According to Washington authoritiesm America’s premier Army team in Africa is « dedicated to positive change ». Indeed, not only will USARAF « strengthens the land force capabilities of African states and regional organizations », it will also « conducts decisive action in order to establish a secure environment and protect the national security interests of the United States. »
This state sounds good. Obviously, U.S. troops will train and equip African counterparts. However, such an initiative will pave the way for « decisive action ». As any reasonable person could easily imagine, « decisive action » is the other appelation of « war ».
Furthermore, US military presence is Africa with training programs devoted to African counterparts open a big market for military products « made in the USA ». Anyway, Andrew J. Bacevich puts it so clearly:
«Africa has many needs. Whether it needs the United States bringing to bear a million American soldiers is doubtful. If Washington wants to encourage « positive change » in Africa, training a million African schoolteachers or a million doctors might be more useful».
The Author:
Andrew J. Bacevich is a professor of history and international relations at Boston University. His new book is « Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country. »
The full article is available at the following link:
By Andrew J. Bacevich, November 10, 2013
Thanks to the Los Angeles Times for publishing such analysis. This is a great contribution to consolidation of a peaceful Africa. We need science, not war.
Test de Culture Générale à l’Université de Harvard : les Étudiants d’Afrique feraient largement mieux ! Call for papers: The annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (Canada, 2014)
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