In this case I am talking about US operations against terrorism in Africa.
The US has asked for $500 million to fund our ops in Africa for the next year…..would that be money well spent?
Probably not.
America’s Global War on Terror has seen its share of stalemates, disasters, and outright defeats. During 20-plus years of armed interventions, the United States has watched its efforts implode in spectacular fashion, from Iraq in 2014 to Afghanistan in 2021. The greatest failure of its “Forever Wars,” however, may not be in the Middle East, but in Africa.
“Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated,” President George W. Bush told the American people in the immediate wake of the 9/11 attacks, noting specifically that such militants had designs on “vast regions” of Africa.
To shore up that front, the U.S. began a decades-long effort to provide copious amounts of security assistance, train many thousands of African military officers, set up dozens of outposts, dispatch its own commandos on all manner of missions, create proxy forces, launch drone strikes, and even engage in direct ground combat with militants in Africa. Most Americans, including members of Congress, are unaware of the extent of these operations. As a result, few realize how dramatically America’s shadow war there has failed.
The raw numbers alone speak to the depths of the disaster. As the United States was beginning its Forever Wars in 2002 and 2003, the State Department counted a total of just nine terrorist attacks in Africa. This year, militant Islamist groups on that continent have, according to the Pentagon, already conducted 6,756 attacks. In other words, since the United States ramped up its counterterrorism operations in Africa, terrorism has spiked 75,000%.
Let that sink in for a moment.
75,000%.
The Pentagon Proclaims Failure in its War on Terror in Africa
But that matters not…..it is money that must be spent….even if it is ill-advised.
More waste money and time…..it is what we do best.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
The Wagner mercenary group is enjoying some success propping up unstable governments in Africa against insurgent groups or rebels. But Africa is too big, so stop one war, and another will have started while you weren’t looking.
Best ishes, Pete.
Africa is proving just how ‘terrorists’ are made….chuq
If America is going to get involved in Africa, it should be so that we can compete with Russia and China for their treasure trove of natural resources.
There is no ‘if’ we are already involved in Africa….might say ass deep yet again chuq
Africa has been a mess ever since first the Arab countries then later the Europeans began to invade the place. The Arab countries began enslaving African people starting back around 700AD. You should read Sir Richard Burton’s books and journals about his travels through Africa and the Arab countries. No, not THAT Richard Burton, Richard Francis Burton, born 1821. His journals and books make very interesting reading about the abuses Africa suffered at the hands of the Europeans and before them the Arab slave traders. Burton at least managed, barely, to survive. Others like Mungo Park didn’t get out alive from his 2nd trip in the early 1800s. Arab and European greed, slavery, raiding for resources like ivory, gold and later diamonds, disrupted long standing territorial borders and political structures, started centuries old grudges between different ethnic groups… The US didn’t help much. During the Cold War we propped up cruel dictators and oppressive governments in the crusade against communism, supported the commercial exploitation of the local people and destruction of the land by US companies even after the colonial period.
The best thing to do with Africa would be to just leave them alone. If we try to “save” Africa from whatever threat we imagine it is facing it will only make the situation worse than it already is, and the only people it benefits in the long run are the arms traders and weapons manufacturers.
Since our involvement terrorist activities has gone up by 7500%…..so you point is spot on. chuq