President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he had approved plans to create a U.S. military command for Africa, a move that reflects increased U.S. strategic interest in the continent. Bush's decision was the culmination of a long debate that gained momentum as Washington grew more concerned about Islamist militancy in parts of Africa and more attracted by the potential of the continent's natural resources. "This new command will strengthen our security cooperation with Africa and create new opportunities to bolster the capabilities of our partners in Africa," Bush said. "Africa Command will enhance our efforts to bring peace and security to the people of Africa and promote our common goals of development, health, education, democracy and economic growth in Africa," he said in a statement.In Germany, a spokeswoman for the U.S. military, Holly Silkman, told the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper the unit dubbed "Africom" would be based initially in the Kelly Barracks in the Moehringen district of Stuttgart. "We've started moving already this week," Silkman told the newspaper's Wednesday edition. She said the unit would later be transferred to a base in Africa.
Bush said he had asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to get the new Africom unit up and running
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The United States has paid increasing attention to Africa in recent years, partly out of anxiety that African states with weak governments can be a haven for Islamist militants. The United States began counterterrorism training in West and Central Africa in 2002, teaching local armies basic techniques to help them locate and take out militant cells. "It's an important continent," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. He said Pentagon officials would flesh out plans for the new command at a briefing on Wednesday. No commander had yet been nominated to run it, he said.
While Africa now mainly falls under the remit of European Command and Central Command, Pacific Command has responsibility for Madagascar and some other smaller islands. U.S. officials declined to say what the exact geographical boundaries of the new command would be.
