US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, with Angolan Foreign Minister Tete António in Luanda on January 25, 2024. The US is desperately seeking a drone base is West Africa. Without solid military bases on the Continent, the US’s ability to ensure the spill and spread of terrorist activity and control immigration, is severely curtailed, the writer says. – Picture: Andrew Caballero- Reynolds / POOL / AFP
By Kim Heller
The United States is bringing its Top Guns to Africa. This after it was dealt a heavy blow by Niger who rejected American troops and forced the closure of the US drone base in central Niger. After losing its stronghold in the Sahel region, the US, and its Africa Command unit (AFRICOM) is eyeing new allies in Africa.
In January, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flitted across West Africa, working hard to drum up support, during his four-day visit. Blinken made an extra special effort with Cote d’Ivoire, praising the country for its fight against “extremism and violence”.
In the battle of friends and foes, Blinken referred to Cote d’Ivoire as a partner of choice for the US. This praise-singing was not a whimsical, spur of the moment gesture. Rather, it was a carefully concocted remark.
With relations between Côte d’Ivoire and Niger strained after the country supported economic sanctions and military intervention against Niger, the US friendly approach and disposition to Cote d’Ivoire is a strategic move. It is also divisive as Côte d’Ivoire is perceived by many in the Sahel as the “favourite child” of the French. Stronger links between Côte d’Ivoire and the US could fuel additional tension in the region.
The US is working hard. In April, Michael Langley, commander of AFRICOM General, visited both Cote d’Ivoire and Benin, to discuss partnership possibilities. The attendance of Langley as well as Charles Quinton Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the annual African Defence Chief’s Conference in Botswana in June is a noteworthy gauge of the seriousness of the US’s mission to secure new allies.
The US is desperately seeking a drone base is West Africa. Without solid military bases on the Continent, the US’s ability to ensure the spill and spread of terrorist activity and control immigration, is severely curtailed. Its strategic influence in Africa and beneficiation from resource-rich nations is severely impacted.
It has been reported that US has approached Benin, Ghana, as well as Cote d’Ivoire in this regard. There are also reports of military personnel and equipment being moved to Benin and part and parcel of the upgrading of US capacity and presence in the country.
Joe Biden is expected to visit Angola in October. This is timely as Angola appears to have grown wary of its longstanding friendship ties with China and Russia. In August Blinken claimed that the relationship between US and Angola was “reaching new heights”. Biden’s revived interest in Africa after a rather lack-lustre approach is seemingly driven by the aggressive gains made by China throughout the Continent.
Although the US has a military presence in twenty-six of the Continent’s 54 nations, both Russia and China are supersizing their military programmes and support in Africa. China has established partnerships with 53 of the 54 countries in the Continent, based on industrial, agricultural or military support.
The President of China, Xi Jinping, recently committed $140 million to train six thousand military personnel in Africa and extended an invitation to 500 African officers to visit China. China’s current base in Djibouti has given the super-power control over prized trade passages and sea-routes.
The US is concerned that China is now seeking a base in Gabon which could give it enormous strategic advantage both militarily and in terms of geo-political muscle. A recent Bloomberg report reveals a plan by the US to offer Gabon a multi-million security and training package, allegedly to disrupt China from setting up a base in the country.
Speaking of the Africom strategy in Africa, Langley emphasised the need for security co-operation in the Sahel, region, and West Africa more broadly, given the persistence of terrorist threat and the lack of security and stability.
He spoke of how the US is in talks with several countries in West Africa as they “start to reset and recalibrate some of our assets”. He spoke empathetically about the need for “African-led and US enabled programmes”. He also expressed the preference to build partnerships with “like-minded countries with shared values and shared objectives”.
In a 2023 thought piece for Anadolu Agency, entitled, ‘Chains of colonialism’: Western powers in Africa vying for control, geopolitical edge’, Hassan Isilow writes of how Africa’s interests are being compromised as foreign powers scramble for military presence on the Continent.
He quotes UNISA Professor, Ahmed Jazbhay, who argues that the rush for foreign military bases in Africa is wide-ranging and goes beyond resource extraction. “It has to do with competing geopolitical interests,” Jazbhay said. “Global powers including former colonial powers, want to hold influence on the Continent.”
In the same thought piece, political analyst, Lesiba Teffo wrote: “Superpowers compete to at least have their deployments at strategic positions so that should the need arise to go all out in any form of warfare, they will have access to resources and ammunition.”
He argues too that the African Union (AU) has failed to put an end to foreign military bases. “If a long time ago, they acted against dictators, against leaders who destroyed their economies, and said we would rather starve in dignity than eat in shame, maybe Africa would be far more advanced today and would be able to raise its voice.”
As Western powers woo African nations, the persistent pleadings of the AU’s Peace and Security Council African Union for member countries to be circumspect in forging military agreements with foreign powers appears to fall on deaf ears.
For now, it looks like Africa is for sale. Once again. The big guns are out and appear to be winning the new scramble for Africa.
* Kim Heller is a political analyst and author of ‘No White Lies: Black Politics and White Power in South Africa’.
** The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The African.
