The election of a US president with a Kenyan father was greeted by jubilant scenes in Kenya in 2008.
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"[What] we are
seeing is kind of the magic bullet approach to this administration's
counter-terrorism policy .... The United States is looking to head off
some problems, what it sees to be threats to the homeland, ahead of time
.... The question is are we making the problems worse .... we are
exposing ourselves to threats that may not exist and we may actually be
exacerbating them and directing them towards us." - Paul Mutter, a fellow at Truthout.org |
Building on this theme, the White House has just launched a new strategy for Africa, promising to strengthen democracy and encourage economic growth through trade and investment.
Though the strategy did mention the importance of countering al-Qaeda across the continent, there was no reference to the role of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), which was established in 2007 under George W Bush.
Under the Obama administration, the US has expanded its military footprint and its secret intelligence operation across Africa, establishing a series of small bases from which to launch spy missions and drone strikes on groups like al-Shabab in Somalia.
US troops have also been deployed, particularly in Uganda where they are searching for Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lords Resistance Army
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