Pambazuka News is produced by a pan-African community of some 2,600 citizens and organisations - academics, policy makers, social activists, women's organisations, civil society organisations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful, sharp and thoughtful analyses and make it one of the largest and most innovative and influential web forums for social justice in Africa. 
africom
America's role in Somalia's humanitarian crisis
US sends in the marines and more drones
Glen Ford
2011-07-20, Issue 540
cc E IGlen Ford for Black Agenda Radio explains how US militarisation has contributed to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.
The new American imperialism in Africa
Michael Schmidt
2010-02-04, Issue 468
cc US ArmyMichael Schmidt reveals the alarming extent of American military expansion in Africa. This article was written four years ago, but still holds strong relevance today in the context of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). Schmidt describes three avenues that the US is taking to increase its military foothold in Africa in pursuit of its ‘War on Terror’: ‘piggybacking’ off already strong French military presence, creating an unofficial ‘School of the Africas’ in the guise of the African Centre for Strategic Studies, and with its Africa Contingency Operations Training Assistance (ACOTA) programme ‘aimed at integrating African armed forces into US strategic (imperialist) objectives’. Schmidt places blame beyond the US, however, and uncovers the role that African countries, particularly South Africa, are playing in strengthening US military presence through ‘secret pacts’. In light of all this, Schmidt concludes with a warning: ‘It would be naïve to think that bourgeois democracy… will protect the working class, peasantry and poor from state terrorism.’
Obama’s national security policy towards Africa: The first year
Daniel Volman
2010-01-20, Issue 466
cc US ArmyA year into his presidency, Barack Obama is essentially following the same course of militarised action in Africa pursued by his predecessors over the past decade, writes Daniel Volman. A consequence of the US president's faith in the necessity of the global war on terror and pragmatic political concerns around retaining oil supplies, Obama's approach to Africa has been entirely rooted in asserting his country's military might, Volman concludes.
Obama moves ahead with AFRICOM
Daniel Volman
2009-12-10, Issue 461
cc US ArmyConcerned over the supply of oil to the US and a supposed need to continue the global 'War on Terror', President Barack Obama has essentially maintained the militarised approach to Africa that was the hallmark of his immediate predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, writes Daniel Volman. The escalation of AFRICOM (United States African Command) activities, argues Volman, underlines a troubling commitment to an approach based on might and dominance, one entirely at the expense of promoting sustainable economic development and democracy.
AFRICOM: Stop in the name of the law!
An open letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder
Mark P. Fancher
2009-09-17, Issue 448
cc Army.milIn an open letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder, the National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) sets out the organisation’s concerns about US military operation Africa Command (AFRICOM), and calls for it to be dismantled. While officials insist that it is ‘a force for peace’, says NCBL, AFRICOM is ‘perceived as a military command that is designed to facilitate warfare’. The US has a ‘history of using military advisors to guide and direct troops in other countries to no good end’, says NCBL, and AFRICOM’s agenda ‘makes it possible for more lawsuits to be filed in the future, challenging US involvement in Africa’s conflicts.’
False pledges to Africa in the crisis
Lee Wengraf
2009-09-17, Issue 448
cc Nick HobgoodWith the prospects for development across the African continent severely undermined by the effects of the global financial crisis, Africa has seen Western countries break promise after promise, writes Lee Wengraf in this week's Pambazuka News. While the US continues to be nowhere near fulfilling its commitment of 0.70 per cent of national income towards foreign aid, it has had no trouble finding funds for militarisation programmes, with some US$500 million available for AFRICOM alone. As imperial competition heightens in the spectre of a global financial crisis, Wengraf writes, it is ordinary Africans who will continue to suffer under a system based on profit.
What the US wants from Ghana
Asare Otchere-Darko
2009-06-11, Issue 437
cc flickr.comAn understanding of US interests is crucial for Ghana if it is to capitalise on the immense opportunity provided by the President Obama's July visit, writes Asare Otchere-Darko. Following a deepwater oil find in 2007, Ghana's pending oil-rich status has made it the subject of strategic US energy and military interests, and raising the stakes of Ghana–US relations, Otchere-Darko argues. As the US's preferred physical location for the US African Command (AFRICOM) headquarters and with the superpower concerned not to cede strategic ground to China in the region, Ghana has an unprecedented hand to play in this round of international diplomacy. The task of Ghanaians, says Otchere-Darko, is to ensure that Ghana comes away with concrete deliverables that help meet its own strategic goals, rather than simply being the honoured recipients of President Obama's first visit to Africa.
AFRICOM to continue under Obama
Daniel Volman
2009-06-11, Issue 437
cc MateusWith the Obama administration set to oversee significant increases in US security assistance programmes for African countries, Daniel Volman examines the US government's plans for its military operations on the African continent over the coming financial year. Stressing that the US president is essentially continuing the policies outlined under his predecessor George W. Bush, the author considers the proposed funding increases for initiatives like the Foreign Military Financing programme and the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme. Pointing out that the administration is yet to offer any public explanation of its policy, Volman concludes that it would be a mistake to assume that there will be no US military action if the situation in Somalia deteriorates.
Obama and US policy towards Africa
Horace Campbell
2009-01-15, Issue 415
As Obama takes over the presidency of the United States, Horace Campbell contextualizes an Obama presidency in the realities of Africa and the ongoing global finance crisis. He argues that “capitalism should not be reconstituted and rebuilt on the backs and bodies of Africans." For Campbell, the crisis is not simply a cyclical crisis of capitalism; it is a fundamental shift in the global political and economic order. In light of this fast changing world, Campbell is also interested in the possibilities and our responsibilities in bringing about change in and for Africa.
African voices on AFRICOM
Africa Action
2008-04-01, Issue 363
This Africa Action resource provides examples of statements from African leaders from multiple regions who stand opposed to AFRICOM."The stand that many African countries have taken against the military command is one that needs to be supported and needs to be explained to the U.S...
By Inviting Bush We Are Dishonouring Ourselves
Hamza Mustafa Njozi
2008-02-12, Issue 345
“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men” – Abraham Lincoln It would seem to me that there are certain moral limits beyond which no one can cross without forfeiting one’s honour and human dignity. Our seemingly voluntary de...
Africom: The new US military command for Africa
Daniel Volman
2007-11-07, Issue 327
On 6 February 2007, President Bush announced that the United States would create a new military command for Africa, to be known as Africa Command or Africom. The Bush administration wants to significantly expand its security assistance program for regimes in Africa that are willing to act as surrogates, says Daniel Volman. It also reflects the growing alarm at the efforts of China to expand its energy supplies in Africa and to extend its political influence on the continent.