Rumsfeld’s parting gift: Africa Command

Washington Post military blogger William Arkin doesn’t think the Pentagon’s new Africa Command, which Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday would be operational within two months, is a good idea.

“The creation of a military command to handle Africa will have the opposite effect of creating more security,” writes Arkin. Why?

Africa Command though isn’t just a waste of resources: It does the wrong thing and sends the wrong message. We will build a multi-million dollar headquarters somewhere, organize a permanent staff overseen by a dozen flag officers; build bases and institute “force protection”; organize new meetings, conferences, exercises and operations. We will be ever so pleased that we have put all of Africa under one unified organization, with one commander. We will talk about the need for non-military solutions, for economic development, improved health care and support for democracy. Our Africa specialists will finally feel satisfied that they have had their day and joined the senior varsity. Our adversaries and the skeptics of American power will just see it all as another example of empire and military domination in the making.