America’s Empire in Africa That You Haven’t Heard of
(MINTPRESS) WASHINGTON D.C. — The
Obama administration has overseen an unprecedented expansion of
American military might on the African continent, with dozens of bases
and outposts opening there since he took office.
A Nov. 17 investigation by Nick Turse, a journalist and American military scholar, found that the United States maintains at least 60 bases or military outposts throughout Africa, although not all are actively used at all times:
“Some are currently being utilized, some are held in reserve, and
some may be shuttered. These bases, camps, compounds, port facilities,
fuel bunkers, and other sites can be found in at least 34 countries —
more than 60% of the nations on the continent — many of them corrupt, repressive states with poor human rights records.”
Even that figure does not fully encompass America’s reach in Africa.
According to Turse’s sources, the U.S. military operates “Offices of
Security Cooperation and Defense Attaché Offices” in 38 African
countries, while 30 others have agreed to allow U.S. forces to use their
international airports as refueling centers.
