Where would Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and the British Eighth Army be when we needed them?
Back to Africa in 1942. Tobruk is under attack It came from Europe — this time besieged by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
One of Putin’s strategic goals is to create a newTobruk naval baseLibya will project military power into the Western Mediterranean and pose a threat to the United States in the future.United States Sixth FleetThe company is headquartered in Naples in the northwest.
Another strategic objective of Mad Vlad is to secure eastern Libya as a major logistics base for Moscow and a base for Russian paramilitary forces (including PMC Wagner) operating on the African continent. To secure this base, Putin is relying on Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army.
The 80-year-old warlord and his six sons effectively control all of eastern Libya.Haftar’s 11-year ruleWidespread “decay, death, [and] Now that it has been destroyed,Meeting with President Putin in MoscowLast September, Haftar supported Russia and its mercenary forces in Libya, subtly consolidating his own power.
Yevgeny Prigozhin may be dead, but his Wagner Group is thriving in Africa. Now fully controlled by the Kremlin and renamed the “Expeditionary Corps,” it is being used by Putin to instigate coups, subvert democracies, and prop up dictators, all under the pretext of fighting Western colonialism.
Putin is certainly not liberating Africa, nor is he ending the vestiges of 19th century French and British imperialism, but rather fighting his own war of imperial domination to steal Africa’s gold, rare earth minerals and other natural resources to finance his war in Ukraine, and he is also using his African adventure to recruit foreign fighters to serve on the front lines.
Putin’s expeditionary forces are active in the Western Sahel countries of Sudan, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Russia BBC report“It is offering ‘regime survival packages’ to African governments in exchange for access to strategically important natural resources.”
Another 1,800 Russian mercenariesHalf of those just arriving in Libya were already in Niger and had recently been abandonedNiamey Air Base 101The former US military facility was used in the fight against ISIS and Boko Haram.
While the Biden administration pursues detente, President Putin is rapidly expanding the arena of war with the West, unleashing a ferocious attack on African peoples and democracies with the Kremlin’s modern-day Afrika Korps.
Mad Vladimir continues his march across Africa, while Washington shys away from defending freedom. By surrendering Niger to a Russian-backed military coup, the White House has essentially handed over the Western Sahel to Moscow.
France is doing the same: Paris is scaling back its military presence and economic aid in the region, leaving Putin all but invincible while oil-rich, pro-Western southern Nigeria finds itself increasingly besieged by Russian-backed dictators and Wagnerian mercenaries.
This is all part of Russia’s long-term plan to conquer the African continent and divide it with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This is because the Biden administration has already lost World War 3 and Biden’s National Security Strategy It is not designed to fight the three and a half wars that may occur simultaneously in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa in the near future.
Its secondary military objective is to threaten, and if necessary strangle, commercial sea routes essential to Western trade throughout Africa.Moscow’s Syrian port in TartusTobruk andSudan borders the Red SeaPutin is building capabilities that directly challenge and threaten the West’s vital maritime lifelines.
Putin’s future Afrika Korps could even block the Suez Canal, disrupt shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, and threaten the South Atlantic. Notably, Germany operated a U-boat base during World War II just south of Nigeria, in what is now Equatorial Guinea.
Russia is not acting alone. Putin’s Africa Corps will provide military support, while China’sBelt and Road Initiative It’s an outstretched hand: China has been planting debt traps across the continent, and Chinese investments in infrastructure, industry and mineral extraction (usually made possible by bribing current leaders) are pushing African countries into a future of extreme poverty and seizure by China.
Beijing is also building its own military presence in Africa and expanding its first overseas base in Djibouti. Build a spaceportand as part of 21st Century Maritime Silk RoadIt is currently investing in deep-water ports in Kenya, Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti. 100 other ports.
All this combines to represent a growing military and economic threat to the region. If left unchecked, Russia and China will increasingly dominate the continent diplomatically and influence votes in the UN General Assembly.
Washington needs a new plan to counter Russia in Africa and Chinese investment across the region. Biden’s U.S. Strategy for Sub-Saharan AfricaThe policy, announced with great fanfare in August 2022, is not working fast enough.
The main points are well-written: the White House’s commitment to fostering openness and democratic societies is commendable, as is its search for a better balance between expanding economic opportunity and moving sub-Saharan Africa away from traditional oil and gas-based energy.
But in reality, this will not stop Putin or slow the pace of his military victories. The status quo in Africa will not accomplish anything, especially since the Biden administration’s Africa policy was formulated before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
While Putin marches on, Washington’s military footprint in Africa is getting smaller and smaller. There is no metaphorical equivalent of Montgomery retaking Tobruk, no General George S. Patton waiting in the wings.Turning the tideIn North Africa El Guettar 1942.
Instead, the United States and the West are left defenseless in Africa, with its remaining allies facing Putin’s growing African corps alone and increasingly vulnerable.
That needs to change immediately.
Mark TothHe writes about national security and foreign policy. Colonel Jonathan Sweet (Ret.)He served as a military intelligence officer for 30 years and led U.S. European Command’s Intelligence Division from 2012 to 2014.
