Austin Bay wrote a great column for Real Clear Politics about a reasonably new U.S. initiative in Africa, called AFRICOM. For decades, Africa was the “neglected continent” (words used by former U.S. diplomats active in Africa). That changed under George W. Bush’s leadership, however, with increasingly more attention and focus on Africa, and attempts at limiting the damage done by HIV Aids and other diseases, and by preventing African Muslim countries from becoming terrorist safe havens.

The new approach to Africa became especially important to the White House after 9/11/2001, when the United States were attacked by terrorists supported by the government of third world country, Afghanistan. 

Although Afghanistan is not located in Africa, obviously, Washington understood what happened in Afghanistan could also happen in Africa, meaning that many more terrorist safe havens would be created, from which Muslim extremists could carry out attacks against Western targets.

So, a tremendous effort was put into action, in the end resulting in AFRICOM:

With the establishment of the Pentagon’s new regional command for Africa, AFRICOM, addressing the complex political and social challenges of the African continent moves from diplomatic afterthought to shrewd long-term effort. The new theater command became operational Oct. 1.

AFRICOM is far more than a U.S. military bastion in Africa:

The headquarters’ mission statement emphasizes interagency cooperation. AFRICOM “in concert with other U.S. government agencies and international partners, conducts sustained security engagement … to promote a stable and secure African environment in support of U.S. foreign policy.” Interagency cooperation — particularly State Department integration — is absolutely essential. That’s why AFRICOM’s deputy commander is a career Foreign Service officer.

People understand the role of soldiers in warfare, but in 21st century struggles where economic and political development are determinative, an arborist at the Department of Agriculture and a Commerce Department trade consultant can be powerful contributors to “Unified Action.”

“Unified Action” is a rather dry term for a very important concept — coordinating and synchronizing every “tool of power” America possesses (not just military power) to achieve a political end like winning a war against terrorists who hijack economically and politically fragile nations.

The main focus of AFRICOM is not militarily, as in fighting wars. Rather, it is to prevent bloodshed. Instead of waiting for extremists to take over entire countries, or even regions of countries, the U.S. uses AFRICOM to give Africans an alternative. Most Africans who turned to extremism in recent years did so because they considered their situation to be hopeless. The main concern of the U.S., then, is to show them and other Africans (most of whom haven’t radicalized of course) that an alternative does not only exist, but that the U.S. is actually trying hard to improve their conditions, their lives.

It is yet another Bush legacy that has often been ignored by critics in the media and outside it, but one worth pointing out. U.S. policy towards Africa has changed for the better, and considerably so, under the man nicknamed Bush 43.