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US Wants to Establish New Military Bases in Africa to Maintain Superpower Status: Kenyan Expert

18:44, 18 May 2024

Christina Glazkova

Writer / Editor

Despite its failures in Chad and Niger, the United States is still trying to gain a wider military presence in Africa and, particularly, in the continent's West: the media has recently reported that the country is negotiating to open a military base for drone testing in Cote d'Ivoir.

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The United States is trying to establish its bases in Africa in order to maintain the perception of its superpower status on the continent and in the world as a whole, while also seeking to obtain at least some potential benefit, Dr. Gerald Peter Mutonyi, Lecturer at Kenyatta University, Kenya, told Sputnik Africa.

"The US has always prioritized its strength through alliances and strategies of deterrence to protect its interests and maintain its perception of being a superpower. [...] The US does not have a picking list or most times it doesn't even have priority countries which it can align with. All it knows [is] that each country it picks to do an alliance with, there'll always be a small percentage of gain. And that's that small percentage of gain is what they go for," Mutonyi explained.

Moreover, in order to maintain this superpower aura, the US won't be vocal about its military setbacks in Chad and Niger or any other country.

"[...] Specific setbacks or failures directly attributable to the US military in these countries [Chad and Niger] may not be prominent in the public knowledge. And definitely we know why we would not know about those failures because they want to guard their perception of being a superpower who are never failing or who are never having setbacks in any region," the lecturer also noted.

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While some might attribute US military failures in fighting terrorism in West Africa to poor training of its personnel or lack of arms, Mutonyi pointed out that the issue is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The US probably fuels the violence in the region, as it's always "distrusted" Islam, which is a common religion in West Africa.

"The US is cunning. So what we should be asking ourselves is of what interest is it for the US for those surges [...]? [...] We know the US has a culture of distrust to Islam. It is not a policy. It's just a certain silent culture. So when they go to some of those countries, you'll find that they will not be trying to quell or to put down the deadly violences. There is a possibility that they even bring about other issues which will make sure that those violences will now be self-sustaining. There will be an endless cycle of violence," the speaker pondered.

The US will leave a certain area, or allow its allies to do so, only when the area is "dried up" and "milked dry," the expert concluded.