- (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Sergeant Justin Park)
AFRICOM has officially assumed all the duties and responsibilities of a full-fledged geographic unified command by taking over from EUCOM and CENTCOM all DoD operations pertaining to 53 African nations except for Egypt which will remain a CENTCOM area of operation. Negotiations, which were kept secret to mitigate regional political sensitivities, namely of Algeria and Libya, between the Moroccan government and AFRICOM Commanding General, General William E. Ward, to secure a location in Cap Draa in the Tan Tan region have been ongoing. Cap Draa as a host to AFRICOM has finally been confirmed by reliable US sources. This confirmation was reported this week by a number of international and national media outlets. The base in Cap Draa will be operational in 2011. On 23 February 2008, I stated in one of my earliest articles on AFRICOM:
The project to establish AFRICOM headquarters in Morocco, namely in the outskirts of Tan Tan, was not cancelled; it became surreptitious. Morocco is still willing to host AFRICOM and the U.S. is serious in its consideration of Morocco, if not as a full-fledged home to the African command, as a regional command to a portion of the African area of operation (AO).
Seabees and Red Horse squadron personnel, highly mobile civil engineering response forces supporting, respectively, the US Navy and Marine Corps and the US Air Force contingency and special operations worldwide, have been deploying to the Tan Tan area to build the infrastructure for the base AFRICOM will be using.
I remain skeptical that AFRICOM will use the base as a headquarters. AFRICOM headquarters will remain in Stuttgart, Germany as I’ve stated in a previous article. Cap Draa will most likely house a minimally manned forward Command and Control (C2) element as well as a logistical base for the pre-positioning of War Reserve Materiel (WRM), i.e. bare base systems, medical, munitions, fuels mobility support equipment, vehicles, rations, aerospace ground equipment, air base operability equipment and associated spares and other consumables. The base will coordinate with and provide support to Marine Air/Ground Task Force (MAGTF) elements, US Navy combat ships, US Army Special Operations units, US Air Force Logistical fleet, and National Guard forces. Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU), US Air Force fighter jets, and Army Operational Detachment Alphas will, thus, be able to use the Moroccan Sahara as year-round training grounds. Their programs will include a training package for the Moroccan military, one of which is the African Lion reiteration.
Morocco’s strategic decision to sponsor a US base in Tan Tan will move any future talks on the disputed Sahara into a more intensive and substantive phase. Algeria and its proxy army, polisario, have clearly lost the initiative. Morocco stands to benefit from the US presence on its territory in a number of other ways. In the article I mentioned earlier, I stated the following:
The benefits to be accrued by the Moroccan government outweigh the risks. Militarily, Morocco will have added access to U.S. military provision programs allowing it to upgrade its military hardware. Under the auspices of the Foreign Military Training Programs, its military personnel will benefit from the advanced training courses U.S. military schools and academies offer; the U.S. DoD will also provide funding to refurbish Moroccan military bases, ports, and airfields. The Moroccan coast guard will gain the assistance of the U.S. navy in its interdiction operations in the Strait of Gibraltar and along its Atlantic shores. The government’s offensive against Islamic extremist cells will also stand to benefit from U.S. intelligence capabilities and U.S. funds set specifically for anti-terrorism operations in Africa. Other agencies, such as U.S.AID, governed by the U.S. Department of State will be involved, providing a much needed boost to social and economic reforms. Overall, the establishment of AFRICOM in Morocco will stabilize the region and foster an environment friendly to foreign investment and conducive to economic growth.
Other US bases are been established throughout the continent. The strategic intent of the Pentagon’s military planners is for AFRICOM to increase its footprint in the continent and to lay the ground for a rapid and long-term access to troubled areas and specifically oil producing regions.
A. T. B. Copyright © 2008
we would like to post some of your articles on moroccoboard and have more people read them
Comment by Msaout — October 6, 2008 @ 3:28 am |
That info was flatly denied by Africom: http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=22894 . But they would, wouldn’t they, the subject being touchy in Morocco…
Comment by ibnkafka — October 7, 2008 @ 2:25 pm |
Ibnkafka,
I read the rebuttal yesterday. Of course AFRICOM will deny it. Morocco is not about to scream it on roof tops either. The truth of the matter is a US base is being built in Cap Draa. US forces, mostly MEUs, have been conducting training in the area. AFRICOM’s denial pertained to the establishment of a headquarters in Morocco. In my analysis, I stated that AFRICOM will probably use the base as a pre-positioning platform with a minimal C2 ops planning cell rather than a fullfledged headquarters. I believe that AFRICOM headquarters will remain in Germany for a longtime to come.
Comment by cabalamuse — October 7, 2008 @ 4:36 pm |
I do Agree with you, AFRICOM’s headquarters will stay in Germany, I heard humors about AFRICOM in Morocco but last year I saw in the Moroccan news that many U.S personnel sponsored by some agencies were volunteering to help and teach citizens of Tantan’s area to learn English etc… so i figured that’s just a strategy so when it come the time to open the base… Locals could be hired which will provide more economy to the region and at the same time save a lot of money to the U.S because they wouldn’t need to hire contract interpreters from the U.S. which they are very expensive.
Comment by SSG — October 10, 2008 @ 1:37 pm |
guy, just one thing, I am moroccan, and believe me I don’t care what Algeria or others think about the moroccan gouvernment decision, i welkom plently the Africom, in short middle or long term it’s a good idea, do you remember the misiry of studgart region after the WW2?
this region survived thanks to the us base, which provide jobs and pararel activities, restaurants bars, leusure places.
Algeria is against Africom why they offred to host it? evey one know the Algerian minds, they say yes we are against but secretely the try to negociate?
Morocco have already a deep and rish friendly history with the US, and there’s already a base in the north, so why all this noise, Nigeria South Africa are behind this low cost lobiying, they think that they are strong and influent in africa, let me tell them ‘keep dreaming’ and your evil trio Algeria Nigeria and ZA, is over, at the same time when the cold war ended.
they are scared that a north african nation without ‘oil’ is more stable and rich then thiere corrupted elits.
Comment by jalal nali — October 16, 2008 @ 12:43 pm |
Jilal,
I wholeheartedly agree that AFRICOM presence in Morocco will greatly benefit the Moroccan government. It will provide Morocco with the needed edge to leverage the unfavorable dynamics of the region.
Comment by cabalamuse — October 16, 2008 @ 7:25 pm |
AFRICOM. Kinda like USSOUTHCOM in Central America, no? Panama. Haiti. Guatemala. Or maybe CENTCOM in the Middle East/Central Asia going on now in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is, U.S. Military clearing the way for U.S./Multinational/World Bank/IMF “making the region safer” and “promoting democracy”. Um. Yeah.
Yes the threat of “Islamic Terrorists” is good line. Just like the U.S. claimed the threat of “Communism” in Central America back in the 1970’s-80’s, which has now morphed into the “War on Drugs” where the U.S. send huge military efforts to Columbia and other countries and now it’s against “Leftist Regimes” and attempted CIA coups in Venezuela and most recently against Morales in Bolivia.
These operations are all the same: promise “economic growth” and “stability” via USAID and other NGOs. Meanwhile, the U.S. Military create a McDonald’s Culture for their military, with the SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) exonerating the U.S. of ANY wrongdoing, from military personnel breaking local laws (like rape and vehicular homicide) to environmental damages and clean-up.
Read Chalmers Johnson’s trilogy of “Blowback” “Sorrow of Empire” and especially “Nemesis” to see how these SOFAs have worked out for the host countries’ local citizens. The sooner Moroccans wise up to the realities of AFRICOM, the better off you will be. But, based on how far down this path your government’s leaders have gone, it looks like Tan Tan will be Morocco’s and Africa’s version of Japan’s Okinawa.
Remember, these are the SAME PEOPLE who brought us the War on Iraq, the War on Afghanistan and the Global War on Terror. If EVERY OTHER COUNTRY on the continent said NO to AFRICOM, what does that tell you?
Read Danny Glover at The Nation: Say No to Africom
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071119/glover_lee
imbillorightsmanandiapprovethismessage
Comment by BillORightsMan — April 24, 2009 @ 4:20 am |