South African Perspective on United States Africa Command

As the United States continues its drawdown of troops in the Middle East and reevaluates its prosecution of the global war on terrorism following the recent elimination of key Al-Qaeda leaders, most especially Osama bin Laden, it is important to assess the impact of these events on American military forces elsewhere, especially in sub-Saharan Africa in general and South Africa in particular. The so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), with China taking the lead, are taking an increasingly active interest in developing improved trade and political ties with sub-Saharan African nations, and misperceptions of American global hegemonic intentions may interfere with the legitimate goals of the U.S. military in establishing improved relations with these countries. To help identify key challenges and potential solutions, this paper reviews the relevant literature to describe current U.S. military strategy in South Africa to provide salient...
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