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AfriCom HQ in Germany for forseeable future

DAKAR, Senegal — The headquarters of the U.S. military’s nascent regional command for Africa will remain in Germany — not Africa — for now because of reservations on that continent over its creation, a spokesman for the command said Tuesday. The comments were backed up Wednesday by President Bush, who was visiting Ghana.

Vince Crawley, a Stuttgart, Germany-based spokesman for the military command known as AfriCom, said “the discussion of where we will place the headquarters has been so animated and apprehensive that it is getting in the way of our programs.”

The Defense Department created Africa Command last October to consolidate operations that had been split between three other regional commands, none of which had Africa as a primary focus. Several African countries, however — including Libya, Nigeria and South Africa — have expressed deep reservations about its creation, claiming it could signal an unwanted expansion of American military influence or turn Africa into another battleground in the so-called war on terrorism.

AfriCom’s purpose, Bush said, was to help leaders deal with African problems.

“The headquarters will be in Stuttgart for the foreseeable future,” Crawley said. “We want to build the command and show people what it is and what it is not. And when we are up and running fully, people will understand what it is and we can have discussions with sovereign governments whether it makes sense to do that in locations on the continent.”

AfriCom officials say the organization’s goals have been misunderstood and emphasize there are no plans to build new U.S. military bases in Africa. Though they concede U.S. interests will take priority, the increased focus on Africa will benefit both sides and pave the way for closer collaboration with African leaders, U.S. officials say.

America’s focus in Africa in recent years has been on improving security and helping prepare security forces to avoid future conflicts, prevent terrorist groups from gaining footholds and deal with humanitarian disasters. U.S. forces have conducted training exercises with African armies for years, and most African nations have enthusiastically welcomed such aid.

Unlike America’s other global combat commands, AfriCom will also have a civilian deputy responsible for coordinating with other U.S. government agencies on humanitarian operations.

“Now you have governments or members of governments making decisions on whether or not to work with Africa Command without necessarily understanding what it is we do,” Crawley said. “From Stuttgart, we can show people what we do and let it evolve from there.”

Though officially launched in October, AfriCom’s field programs are still run mostly by the European Command, which is also based in Stuttgart. AfriCom is expected to take over all such operations later this year.

During a visit to Egypt on Sunday, AfriCom chief Army Gen. William “Kip” Ward said Washington had not yet asked any countries on the continent to host its headquarters. Liberia is the only country that has publicly offered to do so.

AfriCom officials have previously weighed the possibility of creating five smaller offices across Africa instead of having one central headquarters.

AfriCom has a budget of $50 million this fiscal year. It is responsible for 53 countries in Africa and the island nations surrounding it — everything except Egypt, which will remain under U.S. Central Command because of its proximity and importance to the Middle East.

African nations supply the U.S. with more than 24 percent of its oil — more than the Persian Gulf, at 20 percent, the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration says. Much of that crude comes from or through the Gulf of Guinea.