U.S. Africa Policy: Some Possible Course Adjustment
AMB Daniel H Simpson
Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute
"U.S. relations with Africa have always come low on the list of overall U.S. foreign policy interests, after Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. This prioritization is logical in terms of overall global U.S. strategic, political, and economic interests. At the same time, in a striking anomaly, during 1993 nearly 30,000 members of the U.S. armed forces were deployed in Africa at one time or another. Army and Marine units were primarily involved in operations in Somalia that ended March 31, 1994. Within a few months, U.S. forces were involved in a desperate attempt to provide humanitarian support to war-torn Rwanda. Africa remains a minefield of issues with the potential of involving the United States, either bilaterally or through the United Nations or regional organizations."