U.S. Africa command: a new strategic paradigm?

Military Review, Jan-Feb, 2008 by Sean McFate

Forging particular interagency modalities will be a gradual process with few shortcuts. The effort was initiated by a decision to staff AFRICOM heavily with interagency civilians, many of them in key decision-making positions and not just traditional liaison roles. In fact, AFRICOM will be the most civilian-heavy unified command in history. In an unprecedented break from tradition, one of two deputy commanders will be a civilian, most likely an ambassador. (49) That DOD sees AFRICOM as becoming a "combatant command plus," with the plus being the exceptionally high number of civilians from other agencies, indicates the department's commitment to addressing security challenges on the continent in a thoroughly interagency manner. (50) But again, this process will take time. As Theresa Whelan confirms, "The command will continue to evolve over time, and will ultimately be an iterative process. It will not become a static organization in October 2008, but will continue to be a dynamic organization, as circumstances merit." (51)

Security Sector Reform

Moving beyond a strategy of conflict prevention and post-conflict transition, the best tactic for narrowing the African security-development gap is SSR. Security sector reform is the essence of "security cooperation," as it builds indigenous capacity and professionalizes the security sector so that African governments can effect development for themselves. As a senior USAID official and member of the AFRICOM transition team with extensive experience in Africa explains, "Security sector reform could contribute to a security architecture that ensures that citizens are provided with effective, legitimate, and democratically accountable external and internal security. What is needed is security sector reform that professionalizes forces for the protection of civilians and enables development. This would be a significant contribution." (52)

SSR is the complex task of transforming organizations and institutions that deal directly with security threats to the state and its citizens. SSR's ultimate objective is to create a security sector that is effective, legitimate, and accountable to the citizens it is sworn to protect. This objective is the essence of "cooperative security," as it can only be achieved in partnership with the host nation, civil society, and other indigenous stakeholders. SSR programs can range from building the capacity of a single military unit, such as a joint-combined exchange training mission, to the total reconstitution of a country's armed forces and ministry of defense, as in the Joint U.S.-Liberia Security Sector Reform Program. S SR is crosscutting transformation, requiring a multidisciplinary, "whole-of-government" approach by the U.S. Government.

DOD's role in SSR is essential but not all-inclusive. Building security-sector capacity and professionalizing actors requires many kinds of expertise, which fundamentally dictates an interagency effort. For example, DOD is not the best agency to train border control forces or set up criminal courts, two parts of the security sector. Rather, the Department of Homeland Security is best suited to train customs and immigration agencies, while the Department of Justice can assist with criminal justice reform. DOD's strong suit is transforming the military sector, which goes far beyond current train-and-equip programs and may entail a comprehensive, soup-to-nuts approach, especially in failed states.