Nigeria won't host U.S. military command

Africa, you're next--consider yourself on notice!

Muah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

[note to the USM: you have to start a war, win it, then you get your bases, der...[/note]

Great, looks like I'm not going to see any return on that $13,000 check i sent to Nigeria.

Im still waiting for my £1,000,000 cheque from that Nigerian Prince aswell.

I can't help but wonder if this move by the US Defense Department is simply the next chapter in the neocon script. I think it was earlier this year when the US announced the formation of AFRICOM, which I believe is the military equivalent of shaping the theatre of war. This of course all comes on the heels of the "recently discovered" al-Qaeda in Africa.

Toss in the source of all evil - oil, and the neocon belief that you have to control resources in order to have access to them, and you have a recipe for turmoil that overshadows Iraq by a wide margin. Heaven forbid we should risk the global hegemony of our economic needs.

This latest move seems authored by those bastions of fair thinking the Heritage Foundation, the Center for Security Policy, and the American Enterprise Institute. Each of these groups has opined that Africa is unable to govern itself as individual nations and the entire continent should come under a single government - one I'm sure that will be created by the next Paul Bremer look alike.

I think I will stay here on the boat and drift toward an unknown island.

I'm surprised that Africom (what a stupid name) was looking to Nigeria anyway.
Surely the oil will take care of itself, or at least the oil companies will?
Aren't America's enemies in East Africa - Kenya, Somalia?
And aren't America's current wars happening to the east of Africa - Iraq, Afghanistan?


Oh wait - could this be about oil, not about "enemies" who don't threaten America?

Well, they're not necessarily going to want to setup command in an area that is unstable. Socom is in Tampa, FL I believe. But, yeah, I have a feeling oil has something to do with it. Oil has something to do with everything apparently.

SOCOM is based in Tampa with CENTCOM, with satellite command posts in Doha, Qatar, and South Korea, among other places. The problem with SOCOM is that you are dealing with people literally all over the world continuously operating in various capacities, and the logistics involved in that.

But yeah, oil is the reason for this. It might be a good idea to have a base in the area though, especially with the whole Sudan/Darfur mess, and logistical support for humanitarian missions, and not to mention, the water wars that will likely happen in the future. However, I doubt the main uses of the base will be to ensure the best interests of Africa as a whole.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against a command center in Africa per se. It just depends on what they intend to do with it. If by establishing peace they really mean to establish peace and help intervene in instances of genocide, then I'd be all for it. However, the administration doesn't have the greatest track record in that area. They've been entirely willy nilly since the beginning of the Sudan issue, and more recently Sudan kicked out the director of the International Aid agency, hey expelled the top UN envoy, and Khartoum still has not accepted the 26,000 UNMIS/AMIS force that was authorized in July 2007 without any real blow back from this administration. Meanwhile, Sudan keep prevaricating on the issues at hand.

So yeah, while I wouldn't mind it, I don't exactly see there intentions as pure. It's sad, Sudan is on the list of terrorist sponsor states AND they have a nice little genocide going on, but we go into Iraq. Harumpf, don't get me started.

No offense, but this sounds a bit naive. I don't think these moves have anything to do with tamping down violence under the auspices of humanitarian effort. This is plain and simply about controlling access to petroleum product production and using military force to accomplish that objective.

+1

Um, yeah. That kinda was my point.

"So yeah, while I wouldn't mind it, I don't exactly see [US] intentions as pure."

The only reason I mentioned "peace efforts" is because that was their stated motive. It certainly doesn't mean I took it at face value, and I'm not really sure how my comment could be construed as such. I don't mean to be a dick, but did you really even read my entire comment?

If one were going to pick a location for a base to maintain a presence in Africa (with no ill intentions), it would probably be in Nigeria, although it does come across as very "convenient".

Fun Fact: I'm friends with a guy who was in Nigeria in 1999, and through a bizarre twist of events, part of his job description became "Go to the president's mansion, and fill up large bags full of US Dollars to take to another person" Apparently, the president had an "arrangement" with his advisor, and he knew not to ask questions.