When the United States Africa Command was created four years ago, it was the military’s first “smart power” command. It has no assigned troops and no headquarters in Africa itself, and one of its two top deputies is a seasoned American diplomat.
Now the young, untested command and its new boss, Gen. Carter F. Ham, find themselves at their headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, setting aside public diplomacy talks and other civilian-military duties to lead the initial phase of a complex, multinational shooting war with Libya. The command has faced difficulties in its first few years. Initial statements about its mission and scope of activity alarmed some African leaders and State Department officials, who feared the Pentagon was trying to militarize diplomacy and development on the continent. These concerns led the command to set up its headquarters in Germany.
Congressional critics have warned that the command is understaffed and poorly resourced for challenges that include countering fighters with an affiliate of Al Qaeda in North Africa, Islamic extremists in Somalia, drug traffickers in West Africa and armed rebels in Congo. Other Congressional officials cast doubt on the command’s ability to gauge progress in its programs.
nytimes.com
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