American Empire of Permanent war and Hegemonic power

[Deeq A.]

By: Prof. Dr. Bischara Ali Egal

“Let us resolve that never again will we send the precious young blood of this country to die trying to prop up a corrupt military dictatorship abroad. This is also the time to turn away from excessive preoccupation overseas to the rebuilding of our own nation. America must be restored to a proper role in the world. But we can do that only through the recovery of confidence in ourselves…. together we will call America home to the ideals that nourished us from the beginning. From secrecy and deception in high places; come home, America. From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation; come home, America.”—George S. McGovern, former Senator and presidential candidate (1)

A) In Search Of Bases & Mineral Resources To Loot And Pillage al a Iraq/Syria

A US delegation headed by US AFRICOM commander Gen. James C. McConville , US ambassador for Somalia Donald Yamamoto, US deep state directors for The Horn (Somalia included) paid a visit to President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajoo (Former American citizen who since August 2019 renounced his US citizenship) on January 8th, at Villa Somalia, Mogadishu, Somalia.

They had the audacity/gall to diplomatically pressure the president and Somalia to ‘sever/cut relations with Turkey and to close their military base in Mogadishu, Somalia. And requested if the US could establish a huge military base on the Indian Ocean coastal town of Jazeera (22 km from Mogadishu) where they said they will train Somali National Army (lies + Deceit Deception); which President Farmajoo politely declined, refused and rejected by telling them that Turkey was and still is the only nation that came to Somalia’s assistance during the country’s humanitarian and political crisis with humanitarian aid, diplomatic, military, economic and cultural support since 2014 .

B) Turkish-Somali Relations

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s courageous visit to Mogadishu in August 2011 at the height of the famine and his decision to open an embassy gave fresh impetus to efforts to establish lasting peace. Widespread Somali gratitude for Turkish humanitarian endeavours and the country’s status as a Muslim and democratic state established Turkey as a welcome partner. Ankara has signaled that it is in for the long haul. However, it must tread prudently, eschew unilateralism and learn lessons to avoid another failed international intervention. (2)

This relationship is based on mutual bilateral relationship which emanates from the historic Ottoman Empire contacts and relations with pre-colonial Somalia, specially in the Northern and Northeastern regions of the country. Both Somalia and Turkey are Sunni Muslims and belong to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Turkey offered over 5700 University scholarships to Somali students since 2013 for free, especially in the agricultural, educational, engineering, social and applied studies fields, which Somalia lacked most since the post- civil war period.

Turkey opened its biggest overseas military base on Saturday in Somalia’s capital, cementing its ties with the volatile but strategic Muslim nation and building a presence in East Africa.

More than 10,000 Somali soldiers will be trained by Turkish officers at the base, a senior Turkish official said ahead of a ceremony in Mogadishu attended by Turkish military chief of staff Hulusi Akar.

The opening of the $50 million base signals ever-closer ties between Turkey and Somalia. Turkey’s relations with the Horn of Africa date back to the Ottoman Empire, but President Tayyip Erdogan’s government has become a close ally of the Somali government in recent years.

At the opening ceremony on Saturday, Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire thanked the Turkish government for opening the training school and said it would help the government “reconstruct” its national force — “not based on clan…not from a particular place, but well-trained forces that represent the Somali people.”

He noted that the military school was Turkey’s biggest overseas. The facility can train and house 1,000 soldiers at a time and also has sports courts and a running track.

Erdogan, whose roots are in political Islam, is an outspoken defender of Muslims, particularly those in need of humanitarian aid, such as Syrian refugees and Myanmar’s Rohingya. (3)

Analysts say that, in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, as Turkey’s foreign policy forays close to home have floundered, Ankara has found a willing partner in Somalia. The Somali Federal government and the people see Turkish- Somali relationship as win- win unlike the US/EU/AFRICOM/NATO empire subjugation.

The Somali people expect the Turks to be much more different both culturally, psychologically and historically, than their experiences with the American and European Empires in assisting/rebuilding Somalia’s National Military and Police forces with both financial and technical support;

 Help Somalia create a professional, decentralized police force, which, rather than external forces such as AMISOM (which will be leaving in 2021) will be responsible for the consolidation of peace and security;

 Coordinate with other countries and international agencies to prevent overlap and ensure aid is provided strategically;

 Ensure Turkish businesspeople operating in Somalia neither exploit vulnerable Somalis nor are exploited by Somali elite; (4)

Thus, Somalis have a traumatic political experience with US political and military cooperation support which dates back both with the Kennedy (1962-3) and Carter (1977-8) Administration and left them in da angerous and disastrous security , diplomatic, economic and geo-strategic crisis.

C) Tomorrow’s Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa since 9/11

The U.S. military reportedly has more than 1.3 million men and women on active duty, with more than 200,000 of them stationed overseas in nearly every country in the world. Those numbers are likely significantly higher in keeping with the Pentagon’s policy of not fully disclosing where and how many troops are deployed for the sake of “operational security and denying the enemy any advantage.” As investigative journalist David Vine explains, “Although few Americans realize it, the United States likely has more bases in foreign lands than any other people, nation, or empire in history.”

Don’t fall for the propaganda, though: America’s military forces aren’t being deployed abroad to protect our freedoms here at home. Rather, they’re being used to guard oil fields, build foreign infrastructure and protect the financial interests of the corporate elite. In fact, the United States military spends about $81 billion a year just to protect oil supplies around the world.

The reach of America’s military empire includes close to 800 bases in as many as 160 countries, operated at a cost of more than $156 billion annually. As Vine reports, “Even US military resorts and recreation areas in places like the Bavarian Alps and Seoul, South Korea, are bases of a kind. Worldwide, the military runs more than 170 golf courses.”

This is how a military empire occupies the globe. Already, American military service people are being deployed to far-flung places in the Middle East and elsewhere in anticipation of the war drums being sounded over Iran. (5)

Somalia does not want to be “Tomorrow’sBattlefield” in the US empire’s hegemonic military power/empire. There are already over 5000 illegal, illegitimate and unauthorized US personal in Somalia on the pretext of the Fake War On Terror (GWOT) since 2014.

Somali People and their political/social/cultural leadership have a painful experience and memory of the US’ destructive brutality, wanton violence, vicious racism, death and the destruction of Somali infrastructures including both public and private properties; not to mention outright looting, pillaging and exploiting without any regard for international laws and human rights in the fake phony ‘Operation Restore Hope “ of 1991-4 by PresidentGeorge Hubert W. Bush Sr.

“Gripping and meticulous, Nick Turse’s reporting on Africa sheds much-needed light on shadowy missions the U.S. military would rather keep secret. His investigations of U.S. military missions in Africa in Tomorrow’s Battlefield reveal a secret war with grave implications for Africans and Americans, alike. the secret war that the USA has been waging in Africa since 2001 is a perfect example of the upcoming future wars that the American Empire world intends to fight around the world and a perfect example is what is currently happening in Iraq, Syria and Iran in the M.E.

D) Conclusions

Finally, on a planet still impressively heavily garrisoned by Washington, hardly noticed by anyone and rarely written about, the U.S. military has for years been quietly moving into Africa in a distinctly below-the-radar fashion (6). As for the military base built by Turkey, it will stay in Somalia for the next 50 years, while the Americans just leave behind physical, structural and social destruction that will last many decades to come.

Prof. Dr. Bischara Ali Egal is Executive Director, Chief Researcher of The Horn of Africa Center for Strategic and international Studies (Horncsis.org)

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Footnotes:

1. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/01/john-w-whitehead/come-home-america-stop-policing-the-globe-and-put-an-end-to-wars-without-end/ (accessed January 9h, 2020)
2. https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/somalia/assessing-turkey-s-role-somalia (Accessed January 9th, 2020)

3. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-turkey-military/turkey-opens-military-base-in-mogadishu-to-train-somali-soldiers-idUSKCN1C50JH (Accessed January 9, 2020)

4. https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/somalia/assessing-turkey-s-role-somalia (Accessed January 9th, 2020)

5. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/01/john-w-whitehead/come-home-america-stop-policing-the-globe-and-put-an-end-to-wars-without-end/ (accessed January9, 2020)

6. Nick Turse:Tomorrow’s Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa (Dispatch Books)Paperback– May 19, 2015

7. Ibid
8. https://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175818/tomgram%3A_nick_turse,_american_proxy_wars_in_africa (accessed January 9, 2020)