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The Obama administration is assembling a constellation of secret drone bases for counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of a newly aggressive campaign to attack al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, U.S. officials said.
One of the installations is being established in Ethiopia, a U.S. ally in the fight against al-Shabab, the Somali militant group that controls much of
that country. Another base is in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, where a small fleet of “hunter-killer” drones resumed operations this month after an experimental mission demonstrated that the unmanned aircraft could effectively patrol Somalia from there. More from the Washington Post on this.
Most level headed folks will agree that terrorism is abhorrent in all its forms and should be faced head on. The question on my mind is – by whom? Why should African countries not take responsibility for the terrorists in our back yard? Why are African leaders ready to outsource one of their main responsibilities as protectors to a foreign country?
These are largely rhetorical questions, as i’d like to think i’m not naive enought to think that the purpose of these secret drone bases are to tackle terrorism in Africa or to serve African interests in any way. I’d imagine the truth perhaps lies somewhere between developing more cost effective military capabilities and making more use of military technology that does not put American lives at risk. Drones and drone bases serve both purposes well. Locating the bases in Africa provides the US with a strategic geographical position where drone attacks could be launched relatively easy to more “terrorism rich countries” perhaps outside Africa. Drones were used extensively in the Libya conflict, not so much for shooting targets but for survellance.
That then begs the question. Why in goodness name would African states invite “big brother” to spy on the continent “officially” (not that they don’t already)? Is it not bad enough to have NATO planes flying in Libya at will? Imagine if the table were turned – could we ever have African Union planes flying over Europe under any circumstances?
These bases strike me as an incedibly bad idea. It is even more shocking when a people who have suffered more than most through slavery and colonialism yet again continue to make the same mistakes their forefathers made. Obama may claim to be of African descent but his interest lies squarely with his American people. Our leaders need to grow a backbone and say NO NO NO to any initiative that will lead to the loss of independence and further erode our pride as a people.
If unlike me you support the location of these drone bases in Africa please do let us know why.
submitted by Kweku Anderson – Ghana
