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Reuters reports that the Pentagon is quietly building up a small airstrip in a remote region of east Africa that is a complex microcosm of how Washington runs military operations overseas — and how America's way of war will probably look for the foreseeable future. Chabelley Airfield is less than 10 miles from the capital of the small African nation of Djibouti but the small airport is the hub for America's drone operations in the nearby hotspots of Somalia and Yemen as part of its war against Islamic militants. "The U.S. military is being pressured into considering the adoption of more of a lily pad basing model in the wake of so much turbulence and warfare across the region," says Dr. Geoffrey Gresh. "Djibouti is a small, relatively safe ... ally that enables the U.S. special operators to carry out missions effectively across the continent."
In September 2013, the Pentagon announced it was moving the pilotless aircraft from its main base at Camp Lemonnier to Chabelley with almost no fanfare. Africom and the Pentagon jealously guard information about their outposts in Africa, making it impossible to ascertain even basic facts — like a simple count — let alone just how many are integral to JSOC operations, drone strikes, and other secret activities. However a map in a Pentagon report indicates that there were 10 MQ-1 Predator drones and four larger, more far-ranging MQ-9 Reapers based at Camp Lemonnier in June 2012 before the move to Chabelley.
The Pentagon does not list Chabelley in its annual Base Structure Report, the only official compendium of American military facilities around the world. "The Chebelley base ... [is] a reflection of the growing presence of the U.S. military in Africa," says Dr. David Vine, author of 'Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World". "The [U.S.] military has gone to great lengths to disguise and downplay its growing presence in Africa generally in the hopes of avoiding negative attention and protests both in the U.S. and in African countries wary of the colonial-esque presence of foreign troops."
American drones fly regular missions from Chabelley, an airstrip the French run with the approval of the Djiboutian government. Washington pays Djibouti for access to Paris' outpost. Part of the reason for this circuitous chain of responsibility could be the fact that the Pentagon's drone missions are often controversial.
Critics contend targeted strikes against militants are illegal under American and international law and tantamount to assassination. "The military is easily capable of adapting to change, but they don't like to stop anything they feel is making their lives easier, or is to their benefit. And this certainly is, in their eyes, a very quick, clean way of doing things. It's a very slick, efficient way to conduct the war, without having to have the massive ground invasion mistakes of Iraq and Afghanistan."
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 19 2016, @08:08AM
Do you see a Roman Empire in existence today?
Fuck You, America. Your future is downfall.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 19 2016, @08:13AM
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/261153-chinas-military-makes-move-into-africa [thehill.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 19 2016, @08:20AM
Predicted by Orwell in 1948. We have always been at war with Eastasia, and Africa is the Disputed Zone. Have you read Nineteen Eighty Four? Do you even read?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 19 2016, @08:34AM
Wow, you got your foreign policy views from an overrated book. Do you even wipe your ass?
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday January 19 2016, @07:17PM
Wow, you got your foreign policy views from an overrated book.
Well, they do cover some of this territory in those Twilight books, which is clearly more your speed. Just think of Team Edward as the impending global communist uprising.
(Score: 5, Funny) by aristarchus on Tuesday January 19 2016, @08:51AM
Predicted by Orwell in 1948. We have always been at war with Eastasia, and Africa is the Disputed Zone.
No! We have always been at war with Oceania, and Africa is the Disputed Zone. I will lean you into the loop, to help you unremember.
Have you read Nineteen Eighty Four? Do you even read?
I read it when it first came out, in the original Greek. Then I read it again, in 1948 I think. Definitely read it again in 1984, a sort of "anniversary" edition, if you will. But then I tried to read it on a kindle from Amazon, and the entire book just disappeared like it was erased from history.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 19 2016, @08:35AM
so is the pentagon really just doing this cos china is doing it?
how the mighty have fallen
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday January 19 2016, @08:49AM
I kinda hope that the US is doing this because it is cheap/cheaper than wherever they were using before.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Geezer on Tuesday January 19 2016, @11:02AM
Seeing as how the primary mission of the US military is to provide profits for the industrial complex, I doubt whether cost/benefit is a factor.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday January 19 2016, @06:13PM
Seeing as how the primary mission of the US military is to provide profits for the industrial complex, I doubt whether cost/benefit is a factor.
Cost/Benefit IS a factor, just not in the way the GP was implying...