Since the formation of the CIA in 1948 and the Special Forces in 1952, an important tactic for the United States has been to engage in warfare around the world without mobilizing entire armies. The resulting hybrid wars have several names in official government documents, including low-intensity conflict, small wars, counterinsurgency, foreign internal defense and military operations other than war (MOOTW). Violent extremism is often a direct result of U.S. hybrid warfare in Africa, militarization of the continent and general destabilization, all of which serve the interests of the U.S. and other Western countries. One of the most poignant examples is when the U.S. funded and armed violent extremists in their successful war on Libya that obliterated the country.
This insidious hybrid warfare is often used to suppress people’s movements. The popular uprisings in Haiti, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia and South Africa are against police brutality, austerity, sexual and gender-based violence and violent resource exploitation to enrich western based multinational corporations, which are the result of neoliberalism, imperialism and neocolonialism. We are already seeing murderous repression from police forces and militaries on the continent that have been trained by AFRICOM and the U.S. funded and led IACP. The governments repressing their people on the continent through these security forces are serving the interests of western countries, just like black politicians in the U.S. do, in the intensifying war that is being waged on Black/African people globally.
According to a Kennedy administration document released in 1962, the goal of hybrid wars, which are referred to as “foreign internal defense,” is for the U.S. to remain in the background so that it is not exposed unnecessarily to charges of interventionism and colonialism. The document acknowledges that U.S. actions across the continent and world are tantamount to colonialism and imperialism. However, the U.S. has been extremely successful at avoiding charges of colonialism for its actions on the African continent, and the popular narrative is that the U.S. is acting benevolently by fighting terrorism and giving aid. We must expose the true nature of U.S. imperialism. That is why we say U.S. Out of Africa, Shut Down AFRICOM! Defeat the War on African/Black people!
Africa Today – October 13, 2020
A new report by the United Nations estimates that 16 African countries have lost an average of 97 billion dollars per year due to terrorism since 2007.
U.S. AFRICOM: Africa and the world in the crosshairs
By Karamo Muchuri Sulieman – October 21, 2020
AFRICOM is supporting the organized assault on behalf of U.S. and international capitalism on African people and at the expense of the other working people of the world.
#EndSars: Contextual Primer on the Youth-led Anti-Police Movement in Nigeria
By Nnennaya Amuchie – October 15, 2020
It is not merely a struggle against a police-state, but rather a much larger imperialist neo-colonial policy that both Nigeria and the U.S. share.
AFRICOM Hypes Threat of Al-Shabaab Amid Reports of Somalia Troop Pullout
By Dave Decamp – October 14, 2020
AFRICOM was quick to warn of the “dangers” of a withdrawal from Somalia after reports said President Trump is looking for a reduction of US troops in the African country.
No Longer Safe That’s Why We Say #ShutItAllDownNamibia
By Beauty Boois – October 14, 2020
Namibian youths, mostly, young girls and women, have taken to the streets to march against the rampant rates of sexual and gender-based in the country.
How One of the Most Stable Nations in West Africa Descended Into Mayhem
By Nick Turse – October 15, 2020
Burkina Faso was a focus of U.S. military aid. Now it’s contending with a growing insurgency, an unfolding humanitarian crisis — and a security force targeting civilians.
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Photo credit: U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs