"The U.S. operations of peacekeeping in Africa ", A. Sarjoh Bah and K. Aning (2008)

Résumé du document

The US engagement in Africa after the cold war was rather half-hearted but the 9/11 attacks led to a renewed interest in the continent, as the US now fight a war of terror and wish to prevent failing African states from providing sanctuary to terrorist groups as well as to reduce its dependence on Middle Eastern oil. The US engagement in Africa is irregular and largely driven by the preoccupation of terrorism. The failure of the US intervention in Somalia in the early 1990s shaped the US-African policy for a long time. G. Bush Sr. launched the United Task Force which consisted of contingents from about 24 countries, and US troops took part in the United Nations Mission for Somalia. But following the death of 18 US rangers in an unsuccessful raid trying to capture General Mohamed Farah Aidid, US troops were withdrawn from Somalia.

Extraits

[...] The US administration actually refused to label the killings as genocide. Peacekeeping Training Programs US policy was now centered on developing the capacities of African countries to undertake peace operations ( African solutions to African problems ) mainly through bilateral training programs, with limited focus on regional and subregional institutions such as the AU or ECOWAS. The African Crisis Response Initiative The African Crisis Response Force was launched in 1994 to provide security for civilians in designated areas. But it failed to gather support among African leaders who saw the ACRF was a way to establish a foot-hold on the continent. [...]

[...] - These organizations have put in place the necessary legal framework that lends legitimacy to their actions. Like its predecessors, GPOI was underfunded. Us logistic support to ECOWAS and the AU has been provided through private companies. In the case of Darfur, the Bush administration's preoccupation with the war on terror outweighed its concern for the crisis in Darfur as the US continued to collaborate with the Sudanese government on counter-terrorism despite accusing it of committing genocide. US policy in Africa and the Global War on Terror Beneficiaries in Africa 9/11 boosted aid to the security sector not for development for several countries, mainly oil-producing countries or countries that had been enlisted to support the war on terror. [...]

[...] "Les opérations américaines de maintien de la paix en Afrique", A. Sarjoh Bah et K. Aning (2008) US engagement in Africa right after the cold war was rather half-hearted but the 9/11 attacks led to a renewed interest in the continent, as the US now fight a war on terror and wish to prevent failing African states from providing sanctuary to terrorist groups as well as to reduce its dependence on Middle Eastern oil. US engagement in Africa is uneven and largely driven by the preoccupation of terrorism. [...]

[...] But it was underfunded and driven largely by considerations of US national interests: aid was cut off for some countries that did not signed Article 98 agreements ( a waiver exempting US citizens from being prosecuted by the ICC on the signatory country's soil The 2002 US National Security Strategy stated that the capacities of several key states had to be strengthened in the post 9/11 environment. South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia thus became anchor states as they have a major impact on their neighboring countries. Global Peace Operations Initiative GPOI was launched in 2005 to improve the supply of personnel for peace operations. It recognized the strategic significance of developing the capacities of regional and subregional institutions. [...]

[...] government is deliberating with partner nations to determine the best presence for U.S. Africa Command. ] Conclusion One can wonder the extent to which US policy imperatives dovetail with the security concerns of the peoples of Africa. Terrorism is a major threat to African security but the continent needs to deal with more important and urgent issues such as socio-economic underdevelopment, lack of clean water, HIV/AIDS The challenge is how to reconcile US strategic concerns with Africa's human security concerns without sacrificing the latter at the altar of counter-terrorism. [...]