Africans' Perception of the United States' Post-9/11 Africa Policy and Africom

<p>The United States' post-9/11 global strategy demonstrates an interest in Africa that contrasts with decades of relative indifference. The 2006 National Security Strategy has stated the United States' commitment to promote security stability democracy and economic prosperity in the continent. Yet beyond these idealist declarations of good intentions some foreign policy experts consider that the turnaround in the United States' Africa policy stems from the rising value of the continent for tangible American economic and security interests. They hold the actual objectives of the United States to be to secure its access to energy sources to counter global terrorism and to contain the influence of China. In that regard they see the creation of a dedicated combatant command the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) as the reflection of the dramatic evolution in the US policymakers' perceptions of US interests in Africa. However the deployment of that unprecedentedly vigorous strategy is facing the reluctance of significant segments of the African intellectual and political elite due essentially to China's increasing influence the push-back effect of the War on Terror AFRICOM's weak security concept and the continent's marked preference for collective security systems built around its regional organizations and the United Nations.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>