Nato military operations in Afghanistan and Libya were the prelude to discussions of a “Global Nato,” a project to use the Nato military alliance beyond its own charter obligations from the South China Sea to the Caribbean Sea. Nato’s war in Libya was its first major military operation in Africa, but it was not the first European military footprint on the continent. This allowed for the creation of Western military bases in Africa and gave Western firms freedom to exploit the continent’s natural resources. Certainly, no constellation of states should think that they can recreate hegemony over Africa.”But this is precisely what the Nato states began to imagine. They “[welcomed] the robust military commitment of allies in the Sahel-Sahara region.” To deepen this commitment, Nato set up an African Standby Force and began the process of training officers in African military forces.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 03, 2022 07:03 UTC