AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.

POLITICS: PENTAGON USES NEW MILITARY POST TO KEEP EYE ON AFRICA.

Interpress Service

| February 01, 2007 | COPYRIGHT 2007 Global Information Network. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

by Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- For the first time in its history, Africa is poised to get its own U.S. military command.

The advent of "AFRICOM," which will be heralded next week when President George W. Bush submits his 2008 budget request to Congress, official acknowledges that a variety of ostensible threats in Africa require more sustained, high-level attention by the Pentagon.

Of particular concern are Africa's role in the "global war on terror" (which Pentagon sources refer to as "the long war"); the growing importance of the region's natural resources, especially oil and gas, to the world economy; and increased competition with China, among other countries, for those resources.

West Africa currently provides nearly 20 percent of the U.S. supply of hydrocarbons, up from 15 percent just five years ago and well on the way to a 25-percent share forecast for 2015.

Africa has been parceled out between three U.S. regional commands. The European Command (EUCOM) -- which covers all of Russia, the Caucasus, Turkey as well as the rest of Europe,-- also includes North Africa west of Egypt and all of west, central, and continental southern Africa.

The Central Command (CENTCOM), which covers central Asia and the Middle East, also includes Egypt, Sudan and the Horn of Africa. Finally, the Pacific Command (PACOM) covers the African islands of the Indian Ocean, including Madagascar, as well as all of Asia and the Pacific.

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, journals, and more
West Africa's Troubles.
News wire article from: Asia Africa Intelligence Wire August 18, 2003 700+ words
...Sarpong looks at the troubles of the West Africa sub-region which go as far back...gives a glimpse of the troubles of West Africa, a region that for the past 500...Liberia, for the past 20 years, West Africa has been no ordinary news maker...
West Africa Gold Inc.'s Significant Shareholder to Distribute Its Entire...
Press release article from: PR Newswire June 15, 2004 700+ words
...the Company to Its Shareholders West Africa Gold Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: WAGI...distribution its entire shareholding in West Africa Gold Inc, that being in the amount...would receive 3.3334 shares of West Africa Gold Inc restricted Common Stock...
WEST AFRICA.(Bibliography)
Magazine article from: Africa Barringer, T. A. January 1, 1998 700+ words
...Riding the demon: on the road in West Africa, 1998, 195 pp 1796 Macintosh...Positive management of conflicts in West Africa, Community development journal...Review of African psychology in West Africa, Liberian Studies Journal, 23...
West Africa now key cocaine hub for Europe.(WORLD)(United Nations Office on...
Newspaper article from: The Christian Science Monitor McConnell, Tristan November 23, 2007 700+ words
...observers say is a troubling trend for West Africa, as the region becomes a key staging...Caribbean has led the drug cartels to West Africa, where they take advantage of...Europe is now shipped there via West Africa. In its annual report on the global...
West Africa's Military And Its Troubles.
News wire article from: Asia Africa Intelligence Wire October 16, 2003 700+ words
...of coup in some of the states in West Africa for the past six months. This...beginning of the year it is only in West Africa that either there have been successful...paralysis (Guinea Bissau). That West Africa is the most unstable region in...
West Africa Gold Inc. to Expand Its Gold Mining Interests.
Press release article from: PR Newswire June 4, 2004 700+ words
...Investigating North American Gold Mining Acquisitions West Africa Gold Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: WAGI) announced...acquisitions will be made in due course. About West Africa Gold Inc.:- West Africa Gold (http://www.westafricagold.com...
Heavy cargo dominates South Africa-West Africa route: cargo volumes, especially...
Magazine article from: African Business Nevin, Tom June 1, 2008 700+ words
...dominant cargo being shipped to West Africa for, primarily, infrastructural...South Africa's close proximity to West Africa offers definite advantages. "Overall, shipping volumes to West Africa are on the increase," he says...
Glaucoma in west Africa: A neglected problem. (World View).
Magazine article from: British Journal of Ophthalmology Egbert, Peter R. February 1, 2002 700+ words
...satisfactory treatment. In sub-Saharan west Africa, glaucoma is a devastating and...African black people, but is rare in west Africa. Data from one region may apply...I am limiting my discussion to west Africa, rather than the whole of Africa...
Regional integration and cooperation in West Africa: a multidimensional...
Magazine article from: Africa Obi, Cyril I. January 1, 2000 700+ words
...Integration and Cooperation in West Africa: a multidimensional perspective...prospects of the integration project in West Africa is divided into three broad sections...of the state of the discourse on West Africa regional integration and cooperation...
Nigeria still tops, but shares drop value.(West Africa)
Magazine article from: African Business April 1, 2009 700+ words
...50 biggest listed companies in West Africa. Top-ranked Sonatel is the industry...Nigerian companies in our survey of West Africa's 50 largest listed firms for...former importance. Elsewhere in West Africa, most national economies are too...
For more facts and information, see all results

Source: HighBeam Research, POLITICS: PENTAGON USES NEW MILITARY POST TO KEEP EYE ON AFRICA.

©2009 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
About us | FAQs | Contact us | Privacy policy | Terms and conditions
Other Gale sites: Encyclopedia.com | HighBeam Research | Acquire Content | Books & Authors | Goliath | MovieRetriever | Smart QandA