Yankee imperialism militarizes the Horn of Africa even more
Featured image: map of the military bases’ network that Yankee imperialism wants to deploy in Africa. Source: John McCann/Mail&Guardian
On Thursday 15th of February, the US and Somalia governments signed an agreement for which Yankee imperialism will build five bases for the Somalian army, specifically to prepare an elite brigade, the Danab Brigade. The bases will be built in: Baidoa, Dhusamareb, Jowhar, Kismayo and Mogadishu, the capital of the country. According to the USA’s goal, the brigade must reach 3,000 troops. This agreement is preceded by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland, on which we already reported. This agreement gave access to the sea to the Ethiopian State. Somaliland is an independent State from Somalia for more than 30 years, but not internationally recognized as sovereign. The agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland has shaken the already convulse region of the Africa’s Horn.
The bourgeois press mention that the US will build bases for the Somalian army, but most likely it will also use them for its own armed actions in the region. Several of these bases, specifically the ones of Kismayo and Mogadishu coincide with the plans of Yankee imperialism of making a broader network of permanent and temporary military bases in the African continent. This is known from a Pentagon document that was leaked in 2020. The plan would include an investment of 330 million dollars, and would be designed to be carried out from 2021 to 2025. Regarding the Yankees military facilities in Somalia, it is known that the first plan was to prepare several temporary facilities, but it was soon decided that three of the bases would be “semi-permanent”, that means a higher level of importance than expected, specifically were the bases of: Baledogle, Kismayo and Mogadishu. Recently Yankee imperialism suffered its own direct casualties, when on 11th of January, two members of the Navy Seals disappeared on the coast of Somalia, being declared casualties in combat on 22nd of January after continuing missing.
The Yankee military presence in the Horn of Africa has been increasing over the years, not only with this network of military bases throughout Africa, but with specific efforts in the area. After the withdrawal of Yankees from Somalia under Trump’s presidency, with the presidency of Joe Biden hundreds of Yankee troops were deployed again in Somalia. Yankee imperialism is involved in sinister crimes against the Somalian people, as it was discovered soon after being deployed again, when the Danab Brigade that we have mentioned before, and other militias trained and equipped by Yankee imperialism were involved in massacres of civilians and in other crimes against the Somalian people.
Regarding the Yankee military presence, it is not limited to its direct presence, but its lackeys also have a military presence. For example, the United Arab Emirates, which maintain a strong presence in the region of the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, where in fact the Emirate-troops have been involved in operations against Al-Shabab, and several of its units been eliminated along with troops from others States subjugated to Yankee imperialism, as we have reported. Other lackeys of Yankee imperialism also plan to directly deploy themselves in the region, as is the case of the old Turkish State, which recently has signed a defense agreement with Somalia, arguing that the main reason for that, is the cooperation in the struggle against terrorism. Additionally, another lackey, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, president of Egypt, has quickly expressed his support for Somalia in the dispute with Ethiopia for the MoU, stating that Ethiopia wants to take Somali lands. The Egyptian President has hypocritically used the “brotherhood” between Arab peoples, stating that Egypt is ready to provide “support in case of aggression against one of the Arab countries, especially when brotherly countries ask us to stand by them”. This firmness in its position has not been present to defend other Arab brothers, such as the Palestinian people which face the genocide committed by the State of Israel.
Yankee imperialism continues its subjugation plans on the African oppressed nations, in this case of Somalia, and accelerates this process in a convulse moment in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, being Somalia a key point for its proximity to the Middle East and its access position to the Red Sea. Additionally the struggle of the Somali people and the Arab peoples are challenges that Yankee imperialism wants to bend to blood and fire, as it has been doing for years in the area. This agreement will reinforce the Yankee military presence in the area, but as the Arab peoples have already shown numerous times and particularly the Palestinian people, and also the Somali people, a larger military presence and repression are not enough to bend the oppressed peoples’ will of combat and resist.
