Obama Just Another American President

Obama has continued the US imperialist militarism throughout the world. His administration has escalated the war in Central Asia and sent the CIA and AFRICOM into Libya and other regions of Africa., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Obama just another American president

Monday, 12 November 2012 00:00
Rukundi wa Njiga
Zimbabwe Herald

Barrack Obama has won a second term to run the monster called the United States of America. Of course, we did not expect him to lose although it would have been most ideal, especially for Africa. Maybe a new broom and after all, with no African routes, would not disappoint the continent in the same manner as did Obama.

Last week as the results started pouring in and showing that Obama was winning, some African friends joked that the second and last term would give Obama the chance to deal with issues that really affect Africans, without fear of losing another term. It is a very good and intelligent joke but the full import of it is that Africans have been, and are still disappointed with Obama.

What they expected from him is a far cry from what he turned out to be. The problem is that despite calls by veteran nationalists like President Mugabe that American and British hegemony on the United Nations Security Council is tantamount to bullying, many African leaders have silently kept quiet, while Obama clandestinely increased Africom presence on the continent.

All what Obama has done is help the United States to increase foothold on the continent’s politics and natural resources, through Africom. Since 2008, the US has been battling to find a strategically suitable African country in which to establish the base for Africom, the sophisticated US military outfit, established specifically for African operations. The strategy has since changed after a crusade, started by Sadc and spread to all parts of the continent, to vehemently reject any plans to have an African country host Africom, thanks to leaders like President Mugabe and Hifikipunye Pohamba and Jacob Zuma.

It is known that Africom’s biggest mandate is regime change, which has, however, been disguised as military co-operation. Once the US puts into place puppet governments under regime change, it is sure to get express authority and monopoly on that country’s natural resources, especially now when it is being outwitted by China, left right and centre.

In the past month or so, the US has increased its presence, especially in East Africa, where it claims to be helping Yoweri Museveni to hunt Joseph Kony, but is using that operation to spy on DRC and even get contact with M23 rebels in that country. That the US is getting diamonds from M23 is no longer a secret in as much as it is not a secret that the US wants Presidents Mugabe and Kabila out of power.

President Mugabe in particular is regarded as a serious stumbling block or rather a mountain that should be razed to allow the Americans and their allies foothold on Zimbabwe’s growing diamond output.

Knowing that the influence of the Chinese in Africa is increasing at its expense, the US is now seeking to use its military command to marshal sea trade routes.

In fact, the US geo-strategic interests lie behind the creation of Africom, allegedly formed to provide security in Africa and that has been confirmed recently, in particular, by American military exercises in Cape Verde, as well as co-operation with the Seychelles.

This also indicates that the key US goal in the African region is the control of sea and air routes in areas of natural resources’ extraction and the monitoring of pipelines.

At the same time, the US military presence in Africa will also allow Americans to control southern parts of Eurasia, as well as basins of Atlantic and Indian oceans.

After unsuccessful attempts to gain a foothold on the African continent the Pentagon has developed new tactics which are supposed to expand the US military presence in Africa without building military bases.

According to the head of Africom General Carter Ham, a launch of this programme, Forces of the Regional Deployment, is scheduled for 2013.

According to the idea of the Pentagon, the US military in rotation will travel to Africa in a short trip on the pretext of training local security forces and assisting the civilians. In fact, the main purpose of this project is to conduct a reconnaissance of the terrain and promotion of American interests in the region.

Acting in Africa under the slogan “countering new challenges and threats,” the Pentagon has far-reaching goals. According to their plan, creation of a network of control points of military presence under the auspices of the Africom should become a pillar of the US administration comprehensive African strategy.

Thus, the US military intends to contribute to the promotion of the interests of Washington in the region, where the competition for access to natural resources intensifies. American projects related to the deployment of US military instructors in Uganda are under the pretext of fighting the LRA. But they are pursuing its goal to form a so-called zone of instability around the South-Sudan to push the Chinese out and get access to oil reserves.

Americans have to use such methods after Beijing defeated Washington in the development of relations with South-Sudan.

The United States believed that after separation South-Sudan had to pass under the control of the West (primarily US) and the related companies.

The expansion of US military presence in some African countries will inevitably result in strengthening of terrorist activities in such territories. By allowing the Americans to create a network of control points of its military presence in Africa under the auspices of Africom, the governments of African states will indirectly jeopardise their own people by attracting terrorist organisations such as al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda is ready to organise high-profile terrorist attacks against Washington in all parts of the world and whichever country would host Africom, will certainly be a good target.

Professor Rukundi wa Njinga is a Malawian political analyst. He writes for DayAfrica.com