The Empire in East Africa

https://theintercept.com/2017/09/13/nsa-ethiopia-surveillance-human-rights/

The Intercept ran this story on Ethiopia and its relationship with the NSA. While it fails to expand on the wider context of the US-Ethiopian relationship it nevertheless provides some useful information in understanding the nature of the US footprint with the Horn of Africa. There is a great game afoot as the US seeks to control the region and do what it can to check Chinese economic influence.

Several nations in Africa have been brought solidly into the US orbit. One thinks of Uganda and Rwanda in particular as longstanding US allies and even proxies. The US laboured to create the nation of South Sudan but it has been a source of instability and trouble. To the east, Kenya and Ethiopia have become essential US allies, especially in its now generation-long war to subdue Somalia. That conflict has proved frustrating for Washington and has taken many twists and turns but the utilisation of Kenya and Ethiopia has greatly aided the United States. These nations are reaping a harvest of benefits and rewards but they have also become targets of militant groups like al Shabaab.

The story of these little outposts and bases which are scattered across the globe is pretty fascinating. It grants a great deal of insight into the nature of US power and how it gathers and uses information. The present Drone Era (if we might dub it that) would not be possible without this global nexus of intelligence.

Most Americans fail to grasp the significance of such bases. The fact that sovereign nations allow them to operate on their soil says a lot about the power of the United States. The American public (if they think about these things at all,) views them as altruistic expressions of a US desire to protect other countries. Others think it's a swindle. They very erroneously think the US has been 'tricked' into 'policing' the globe and paying for it. That's not what's happening at all.

Rather the US is commanding a global empire, one both unprecedented in its scope and in its structure. It is thoroughly modern, multi-faceted and sophisticated. Its footprint is light, scattered and attempts to remain invisible. Overtly it exerts so-called Soft Power through economic and cultural influence. The military aspect is vast and generally not understood by the American public. Even many (if not most) members of the military fail to grasp its significance and influence. Apart from those who venture out from the bases and travel, most members of the military live in isolation and often resort-like seclusion. Uninterested in the world outside they function within the Little America colonies that make up the culture of US bases and diplomatic compounds.

It's all rather brilliant and largely succeeds in obscuring the true nature of American power and its relationships with other nations. This story reveals but one small facet. To borrow a cliché' it is but the tip of an iceberg that almost no one has actually seen in its entirety.

If you bother to read the article, at the very least reflect on the fact that this story could be told dozens and hundreds of times over in other parts of the world. And even this is but one small aspect of the myriad of US projects going on right at this very moment... all around the world.

If you can take that in... it's certainly something to reflect on.

Then if you want to take it a step further, reflect on the nature of the US Church and its involvement around the world, its missions and various organisations. Put yourself in the shoes of other people and think about how US influence works and how the role of the Church often functions in parallel or even symbiotically.

The American Church is thoroughly compromised and wed to the values and ideals of its host culture. It is worldly in that it is all but inseparable from its Americanism. In this sense the Church is functioning (all too often) as an agent of US Imperialism and that's why in many cases the US state is all too happy to assist and even collaborate with churches on various levels.

In terms of worldly wisdom this move by the state is simply logical. But what has it done to the testimony of the Church? What can we say about the American Church as it, riding on the back of Empire as it were, exercises a tremendous influence around the world?

These are all things to reflect on though I must confess such ruminations while necessary are something less than satisfying, let alone a source of encouragement.

See also:

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2017/09/kony-kagame-and-africom.html