by Alex Davidson

The United States House of Representatives in April 2022 passed the “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act”. It now lies with the US Senate where it has been passed to the Foreign Affairs Committee for a detailed implementation plan. The Countering Malign Russian Activities Act would sanction African states if they do business with Russia (and could possibly extend to China in the future).

The African Union reacted angrily to the Act referring to it as a bullying and paternalistic piece of legislation. It is seen by many African countries as punishment for them abstaining at the United Nations on votes relating to the conflict in Ukraine and to pressurise them to fall into line behind the US, NATO and the West’s condemnation of Russia.

In August 2022, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield travelled to Ghana, Uganda, and Cape Verde. “We’re not asking Africans to make any choices between the United States and Russia”, she said ahead of her visit, but, she added, “for me, that choice would be simple”. (1) US Secretary of State Blinken visited Africa one week later to reinforce the message.

In votes at the United Nations General Assembly while around 140 member countries voted to condemn Russia, five have voted against and around 35 countries have abstained with 9 not voting. Those voting against, abstaining or not voting for the US resolutions since the conflict began representing nearly half of the global population and, “suggests that, even at this crucial stage in the war, Russia’s allies are not as sparse as the West might like to think” (Washington Post, 11/10/2022).

In August 2022 the White House published “US Strategy towards Sub-Saharan Africa” in which, under the heading, “Refine and Re-invest in US Defense Tools”, it stated that, “In line with the 2022 National Defense Strategy, the Department of Defense will engage with African partners to expose and highlight the risks of negative PRC (Peoples Republic of China) and Russian activities in Africa”. (2) At the NATO summit in June 2022 Africa and the Middle East were named as NATO’s ‘southern neighbourhood’. This was reminiscent of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 in which the United States claimed Latin America as its ‘backyard’.

Developing countries in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia have been disproportionately hurt by rising fuel prices and a global food shortage driven by Western sanctions. Many countries in the Developing World, suffering from the effects of sanctions and also conscious of Western interventions which have led to millions of deaths in Iraq, Libya, Somalia and other countries as well as the huge migration of peoples, are sceptical about the US and the West’s motives. Many countries are trying to take a non-aligned path hence the abstentions or not voting in these votes at United Nations, despite the cajoling of the United States and its western allies.  

AFRICAN NATURAL RESOURCES 

The African continent holds a huge proportion of the world’s natural resources, both renewables and non-renewables. It is home to some 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, 8% of the world’s natural gas and 12% of the world’s oil reserves. The continent has 40% of the world’s gold and up to 90% of its chromium and platinum. The largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum and uranium in the world are in Africa. These minerals are critical in the manufacture of electronic goods and armaments.

Relatively recent oil finds along the coast of West Africa in Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire have further enhanced the continent’s strategic importance. These more recent oil discoveries are in addition to the established fields of Nigeria, Gabon and Angola. New finds of oil along the lake system of the Rift Valley and large gas deposits off the coast of Mozambique and Tanzania have attracted some of the largest oil and gas majors. These finds are of particular interest to India and China because the resources can be shipped directly across the Indian Ocean.

AFRICOM

These strategically important natural resources of Africa are the focus of the build-up of United States military power on the continent.

On 6 February 2007, long before the current Ukraine conflict, then US President George W. Bush directed the creation of US Africa Command (AFRICOM). The decision was the culmination of several years of deliberation within the Department of Defense acknowledging the growing strategic importance of Africa. The stated aims of US Africa Command, with partners, are “to counter transnational threats and malign actors, strengthen security forces and respond to crises in order to advance U.S. national interests and promote regional security, stability and prosperity.” (my emphasis) (3)

AFRICOM now has some 29 bases spread over the African continent. These bases are classified as “Enduring” and “Non-Enduring” by AFRICOM.

U.S. Africa Command’s “Enduring Footprint” and “Non-Enduring Footprint” in 2019.

ENDURING FOOTPRINT 2019	NON-ENDURING FOOTPRINT 2019
Chebelley, Djibouti	Bizerte, Tunisia
Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti	Arlit, Niger
Entebbe, Uganda	Dirkou, Niger
Mombassa, Kenya	Diffa, Niger
Manda Bay, Kenya	Ouallam, Niger
Liberville, Gabon	Bamako, Mali
St. Helena, Ascension Island	Garoua, Cameroon
Accra, Ghana	Maroua, Cameroon
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso	Misrata, Libya
Dakar, Senegal	Tripoli, Libya
Agadez, Niger	Baledogle, Somalia
Niamey, Niger	Bosasso, Somalia
N’Djamena, Chad	Galcayo, Somalia
	Kismayo, Somalia
	Mogadishu, Somalia
	Wajir, Kenya

 

DJIBOUTI 

The tiny country of Djibouti, formerly known as French Somaliland, gained its independence from France in 1977. The country, with just over one million of a population, is located in a critically strategic location near some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. It controls access to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean and serves as a key refuelling and transhipment centre. It hosts many foreign military bases, leasing of which makes up a large proportion of the small country’s income.

By far the largest base is that of the United States, which leases Camp Lemonnier, which was originally established as a garrison for the French Foreign Legion. It accommodates some 4000 US soldiers and contractors and includes military personnel from the UK. France operates the military airfield at Chebelley, which, since 2013, AFRICOM has used as a separate base from Camp Lemonnier for its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Predator and Reaper drones operate from Chebelley.

In 2006, the then Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, General T. Michael Moseley, said, "We've moved from using UAVs primarily in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles before Operation Iraqi Freedom, to a true hunter-killer role with the Reaper… Today, the Air Force can launch a UAV from a remote field on the other side of the globe, then pilot that aircraft from a base in the United States. These systems and the Airmen who operate them offer unprecedented flexibility to combatant commanders worldwide." (4)

France also has a military base which hosts some German and Spanish military personnel. Other bases in Djibouti are operated by Italy, Japan and China.

AFRICOM EXERCISES 

AFRICOM undertakes several military exercises involving African countries including Justified Accord 23, or JA 23, which this year is scheduled to take place from February 13th-24th. Other exercises include Cutlass Express, Flintlock, Obangame, Phoenix Express and African Lion. (5)

“African Lion 2022”, the largest military exercise on the African continent, was launched by the United States and Morocco, the host country, in June 2022. These annual manoeuvres took place mainly in Morocco but also in Tunisia, Senegal and Ghana. They mobilised more than 7,500 soldiers from ten nations, including Brazil, Chad, France and the United Kingdom. Military observers from NATO and fifteen "partner countries" took part, including, for the first time, Israel. In Morocco, these land, airborne, sea and CBRN (nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical) decontamination manoeuvres took place near Rabat, Morocco, and in several southern regions, including Mahbès, on the Algerian border. As in 2021, airborne troop jumps and artillery fire took place in the desert, on the edge of Western Sahara, not far from Tindouf, the base in Algeria of the Polisario Front, the long-established independence movement for the Western Sahara.

The question of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony has for decades pitted Morocco against the Polisario, supported by Algeria. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), led by the Polisario Front, has been recognised by many independent African countries but not by Morocco nor the West. A referendum on independence was agreed decades ago but has never been implemented due to the intransigence of the West.

As part of an agreement brokered by former US President Donald Trump, the United States recognized Morocco's sovereignty over this vast desert territory in December 2020, in return for a resumption of diplomatic ties between Morocco and Israel. Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco in August 2021, accusing Morocco of "hostile acts" and denouncing its military and security cooperation with the "Zionist entity" (Israel).

Much of Africa gained its independence from colonialism in the aftermath of World War 2. Angola and Mozambique gained their independence in 1975 with the overthrow of Portuguese colonialism. This was followed by the liberation of Zimbabwe and Namibia and then South Africa in 1994 with the ending of apartheid. However, the colonisation of Africa, dating from the nineteenth century, and its aftermath of neo-colonialism, still casts a shadow and mars the development of the whole of Africa. 

ENTENTE CORDIALE 

In 1880 only the coastal areas of Africa had been colonised but, in what became known as the “Scramble for Africa”, within twenty years the whole of Africa was colonised. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 attempted to formalise the Scramble for Africa by regulating European colonisation. The Entente Cordiale of 1904 between Britain and France, with its secret agreements, brought an end to this period with the complete division among the imperial powers of the whole continent.

France and Britain signed the Entente Cordiale under which the two powers said “they had no intention of altering the political status of Morocco”. However, the Treaty carried with it secret clauses envisaging that “force of circumstances” might oblige them to “modify” their policy – and, in that event, France (and Spain) might in effect divide up the territory between them. In return, France renounced all previous objections to British control of Egypt. In other words, France and Britain had privately entered into a contract for the destruction of the independence and integrity of Morocco, an independent African state of some 219,000 square miles and some 8 million people with great natural wealth. It was carved up by France (and Spain) in exchange for untrammelled British control of Egypt. (6)

Thus, the Entente Cordiale brought to an end lengthy years of rivalry and military hostility between Britain and France. The imperialists had been busily snatching what they could get in Africa since the Scramble for Africa began in 1880. The snarling at one another over the booty had been brought to an end with the complete division among the imperial powers of the whole continent. Incidentally, Edward VII, King Charles’ great, great grandfather, is credited with playing a major role in paving the way for this infamous agreement with his closeness to the French and in particular his state visit to Paris in July 1903. 

Are we now witnessing a different kind of Scramble for Africa in the 21^st century but with the possible end result the continuing subservience of Africa to imperialism?

DIFFERENT SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA 

This new and different Scramble for Africa is overwhelmingly dominated by the United States, which is intent on securing its hegemony over Africa. Britain and France are also heavily involved but as junior partners. It is fuelled by growing competition with China.

As in the late nineteenth century the prize is access to Africa’s resources, especially oil, gas and minerals. It involves a drive to impose unequal terms of trade on Africa and it is backed by military might to secure control over Africa’s resources. As well as fossil fuels Africa has rich deposits of ‘strategic’ minerals that are essential to a modern manufacturing economy for the production of electronic goods and armaments manufacturing.

The United States with its military might, organised through AFRICOM , along with its ‘soft power’ including the use of ‘aid’ and the bribery of governments, institutions and individuals, is determined to own and control Africa and its vast resources.

1. Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a U.S. Department of State Africa Regional Media Hub Briefing-United States Mission to the United Nations (usmission.gov).
2. S.-Strategy-Toward-Sub-Saharan-Africa-FINAL.pdf (whitehouse.gov).
3. https://www.africom.mil/about-the-command.
4. https://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123027012.
5. https://www.africom.mil/what-we-do.
6. Morel, E.D., Morocco in Diplomacy, London, 1916.