Situation Report: Why AFRICOM? An American Perspective, Theresa Whelan

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for African Affairs, James Woods, used to begin his annual presentation to U.S. Army Foreign Area Officers (FAOs) with a question: “Why is Africa important to the United States?” The answers would range from the practical (natural resources) to idealistic (people yearning to be free of dictators) to the altruistic (prevent disease and save lives from humanitarian disasters). According to Woods, while those were sound reasons, he wanted to draw the FAOs’ thinking to the strategic level, so the answer was: “Because it’s there.”

That’s a simplification, but Africa’s place in the world cannot be overlooked. As the second-largest continent in the world – 11,700,000 square miles (22% of the world’s total land area) with an estimated population of 690 million people (roughly 14% of the world’s population) – it’s geographically and demographically important. It’s economically important as well: by 2005, economic growth was averaging 5% and there were tens of thousands of U.S. jobs tied to the African market; Africa possesses an estimated 8% of the world’s petroleum; and it is a major source of critical minerals, precious metals, and food commodities. It is also politically important: of the ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, three are from Africa.