AFRICOM future unclear under Obama

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AFRICOM future unclear under Obama
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, November 16, 2008

STUTTGART, Germany — In the streets, there were celebrations.

From his father’s native land of Kenya, to Botswana and South Africa, many Africans seemed to welcome the election of Barack Obama as U.S. president as if he were one of their own.

Those are some of the same places where many Africans have been leery of the United States and its heightened strategic interest in the continent, exemplified by its new military command, the U.S. Africa Command. In Africa, apprehension abounds about what America seeks to accomplish with AFRICOM. That it’s all about oil and military domination are among the suspicions.

Now, with the election of a black president, could some of those perceptions shift? Could the good will from Obama’s election rub off on the military? And will a new administration mean new missions for AFRICOM in hot spots, such as Darfur?

Some longtime Africa watchers and political figures suggest that an Obama administration could be something of a game changer in the region.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58842