Map of areas where imperialism is launching invasions, occupations and drone stations in North and West Africa. The Pentagon and NATO are escalating their involvement on the continent., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
US makes frantic efforts to take over Africa
Thursday, 04 April 2013 00:00
Prof. James Mbwabwadze
THE United States of America, the world’s colossus, with the temerity to trample upon smaller nations, has made frantic efforts to take over Africa by laying siege to the continent’s vast natural resource base, through a more subtle colonialism.
This is done by exerting pressure on African states through regime change and the formation of a military unit, Africom, to specifically deal with Africa and control the continent’s oil, land, minerals and other natural resources.
Everywhere where diamonds are found, the eye of the United States turns red with envy and desire to exploit. Everywhere where there is gold the US huge muscles twitch and everywhere where there is a revolutionary African leader protecting African interests, the US regime change antics make it drool.
The US has become the self-styled world policeman, with tentacles spreading all over the world in a dangerous and cruel, plunder game that involves military escapades. Africa is the centre and future ground of natural resources’ exploitation because it still remains largely untapped and wild.
Ultra-high technology is yet to be used to extract natural resources, hence there is a lot yet to be unearthed and there lies Africa’s source of problems — remaining with what others have already exploited to almost extinction.
The US idea is to wipe out all revolutionary parties and replace them with pro-Western governments that will allow it to mine and plunder resources at will. Under the plan, all revolutionary parties that fought protracted liberation struggles since the Winds of Change period in 1960s must soon be a thing of the past and pave way for a crop of new “democratic political parties” that are manufactured along the lines of Eurocentric democracy.
Democracy, good governance and accountability in the perception and context of America and its allies, and not necessarily in the eyes of Africans themselves and the world at large, are catchwords pushed down the throats of the rabid media. That media, which in Africa are called “independent’’ media (independent from African thinking), are sponsored to eccentrically demonise anti-Western African leaders, while propping up opposition parties created by America and its allies.
To maintain a foothold on this ideology and push forward the agenda, African revolutionary parties are seen as breeding grounds for anti-American leaders and therefore should be decimated. All revolutionary parties are therefore sold on the international media market as “evil and dictatorial” and hence have no place in modern-day democracy.
In that warped mantra, the new political forces, dubbed democratic forces, are therefore God-sent to remove the evil dictators of Africa and godly allow America to plunder Africa’s resources. Only when you allow America to harvest Africa’s fruits, mine Africa’s minerals, speak their American language, dress like Americans, disrespect African leaders, does one become a democrat and human rights activist. Any perceived harassment by African revolutionary governments then makes the person a hero, who deserves full protection.
Therefore, all progressive-thinking Africans should move in to thwart the militarisation of Africa through Africom — the US superior military command — to enable Africa to operate without lingering military duress. Not many African leaders can make anti-American decisions with an American army hovering above their country. Robert Mugabe, yes, and, to a certain extent, Yoweri Museveni and the late Bingu wa Mutharika, Muammar Gaddafi, among a few others.
The rest do not have the tenacity. Africa will have no one but itself to blame if it fails to come up with its own military unit for use in trouble spots in order to retain its capacity to defend its sovereignty and independence. Africom is also a tool meant to protect US interests in Africa, while at the same time elbowing out other countries who wish to deal with Africa in trade, industry and commerce.
Africa still has untapped uranium, platinum, oil and still has some of the world’s best soils for agriculture, hence America has identified Africa as the pinnacle of future world development. Africa’s resources should be negotiated and traded on fair deals and not plundered by America, Britain, France or Australia.
They must buy on a willing buyer, willing seller basis. No force! For America it is critical to plunder and accumulate, in its national strategic reserves, as much natural resources as possible ahead of every other nation, to ensure that it remains the richest nation in the world forever and ever, amen.
The American army cannot just come into Africa openly so it requires conflicts and strife, which it then uses to justify occupation of African countries as peacekeepers, but behind the scenes, America will be mining diamonds, gold, platinum, uranium and so forth and enriching itself at the expense of Africans.
Once they come in as peacekeepers, the Americans are so superior militarily that no one can push them out. They will only pull out when they are satisfied that they have plundered enough, not only to cover war costs but to keep the country going for a decade or two. Africa, therefore, needs on a long-term basis, an army answerable to the African Union that can be used in all troubled spots. It is a fact that this is no mean task, but Africa should, going forward, be able to establish its own army as lessons in Libya have become handy.
An African army operating under the AU mandate is the best thing for Africa. Many critics have argued that Africa has no capacity to build the army, but that is not true because if African countries sell their natural resources at market value, they can pool their resources and sponsor brigades at regional level. Region after region then seconds a thousand or so personnel to the continental army, and that is a good starting point.
The article first appeared on Day Africa.com
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