The Lie

June 21, 2013

“The history of the African nations, the colonialism, all those things are what point to the reasons why we should not go in there in force and everything else, and just use a small footprint with creative and innovative solutions to get high payoff from a small number of people, as well as come in for short periods of time to do exercises, to do operations, to help build that capacity.” - General David Rodriguez

The Truth

Ever so quietly, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) has been ramping up its involvement across that continent—training proxies, courting alliances, and building camps.

The attack on the US consulate in Benghazi has come to represent many things to many parties, but it’s also been used as a point of growth and pivoting for the military. Crisis response forces have been popping up across Africa ever since. Boko Haram kidnappings have created yet another reason for a shadowy buildup to a new operational front.

“Each crisis has provided the US with further justification for publicizing a steady expansion on that continent that's been underway but under wraps for years,” concludes investigative journalist and associate editor at tomsdispatch.com Nick Turse, writing in Mother Jones.

Turse found numerous inconsistencies when he travelled to South Sudan to investigate further, and the US government continues to contradict itself on what is actually being implemented there, all while little-to-no mainstream media attention is devoted to this ongoing and evolving story.

Capt. Andrew Murphree, commander of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, observes Senegalese soldiers bound toward an objective during a squad-level exercise July 13, 2016 in Thies, Senegal as part of Africa Readiness Training 2016. ART 2016 is a US Army Africa exercise designed to increase US and Senegalese readiness and partnership through combined infantry training and live fire events. (US Army Africa photo by Staff Sgt. Candace Mundt)

Read Nick Turse's coverage of AFRICOM

Tomdispatch.com - The Numbers Racket AFRICOM Clams Up After Commander Peddles Contradictory Statements to Congress - June 23, 2016 by Nick Turse

The Process

Tom Engelhardt publishes Nick Turse's investigations into AFRICOM on his website, Tomdispatch.com.