'America's thirst for oil','U.S.-backed invasion of Somalia'

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Aired on June 28, 2007

Ungoverned spaces." Two words you are going to be hearing a whole lot more in coming months. Andre Hollis used them to describe the drug producing regions of Colombia and Afghanistan. But the new frontier is Africa where the phrase has already been used to justify American military intervention.
The U.S. needs oil. And Africa has it. Lots of it. It's in this context that the Bush administration has announced a new central command for its military presence in Africa called AFRICA COMMAND (AFRICOM).

But you won't hear talk about Africa's energy resources. Instead boots on the ground will be all about the threat posed by terrorists in "ungoverned spaces." That was the precisely the rationale used when U.S. special forces helped Ethiopia invade Somalia late last year.

To talk more about the doctrine and its wider implications for Africa , Avi is joined by Salim Lone, a 21-year veteran of the UN system. His last post was as head of Communications for the UN Mission in Iraq.



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Aired on June 28, 2007

We've been focused tonight on the rising U.S. military presence in Africa, where the rhetoric of the War on Terror and the reality of America's thirst for oil are leading to new boots on the ground. And they're landing in the wake of the U.S.-backed invasion of Somalia by Ethiopian troops late last year. It was world news, briefly, but quickly fell right off the map.
Not so for people in Somalia, where vicious fighting and civilian casualties continue. Avi talks to UN veteran Salim Lone on the implications of this under-reported conflict.

Please note: The BBC film on Somalia is not available online because of rights issues.