Pentagon Forming ‘Africom’ Amid Threats to Resources

The Pentagon is to reorganize its military command structure in response to growing fears that the United States is seriously ill-equipped to fight the war against terrorism in Africa.

These high-quality reserves – West African oil is typically low in sulfur and thus ideal for refining – are easily accessible by sea to western Europe and the US. In 2005, the US imported more oil from the Gulf of Guinea than it did from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. Within the next 10 years it will import more oil from Africa than from the entire Middle East. Western oil giants such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, France’s Total and Britain’s BP and Shell plan to invest tens of billions of dollars in sub-Saharan Africa (far in excess of “aid” inflows to the region).

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