AFRICOM established earlier

Is there any way that AFRICOM could've been established as the newest US regional command before 2007- by say 1998 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, Great Lakes crisis & Bill Clinton's acknowledgment that the US had been wrong in not recognising & responding to the former ? What effects would an earlier AFRICOM have had for the continent as a whole, esp in festering troublespots like Liberia, Sierra Leone, DRC, Cote d'Ivoire, or Darfur ?
 

MacCaulay

Banned
Perhaps after the bombings in Dar es Salaam, etc. It was probably more likely to happen under the Clinton administration than Bush. There were moves made in that direction under Clinton, but it takes time to put a Command in action.

So, if you suppose that the bombings happen and he listens to folks like Tony Zinni and others who were pushing for more involvement in Africa and is willing to go over the heads of the Congress (the Republicans in Congress were very isolationist), then you could see the establishment of AFRICOM earlier.

Clinton had an ability to get us involved in lots of places whether or not Congress wanted it. He'd just have to come up with a reason, then tailor it so the NSC or whatever would say "We need an African Command to make this easier," then he gives the green light.
 
If the USA did establish this African command, how much international support would there be for the USA? How much would the USA be condemned for doing this? (though, is it really that much different from what France does in Africa?)

My memory is that pretty much the whole world ignored the genocide in Rwanda. So I find it funny when the USA is singled out for not doing anything.
 

MacCaulay

Banned
If the USA did establish this African command, how much international support would there be for the USA? How much would the USA be condemned for doing this? (though, is it really that much different from what France does in Africa?)

My memory is that pretty much the whole world ignored the genocide in Rwanda. So I find it funny when the USA is singled out for not doing anything.

Well, if the Clinton Administration established it, there would be less outcry about "American Imperialism." Politics aside, it's hard to argue that the world liked America better in the 90s. We could walk into a place and people genuinely believe we were doing stuff for them because we were nice people and not because it was a prelude to invasion.

As for Rwanda, that's a Pandora's Box I'd rather not open.
 
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