Burkina Faso’s coup leader Ibrahim Traore attends the oath-taking ceremony as Burkina Faso’s transitional president on October 21, 2022, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
In recent years, there have been growing concerns about the involvement of U.S.-trained soldiers in coups and destabilization efforts throughout Africa. The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) is responsible for training and providing support and special training to military personnel in various African countries.
Since 2008, U.S.-trained officers have attempted at least nine coups (and succeeded in at least eight) across five West African countries with the aid and support of the US army.
Last year, the leader of a coup in Burkina Faso is in a line of U.S.-trained soldiers who are overturning civilian Democratic governments throughout Africa.
U.S.-Trained-AFRICOM Soldiers are Staging Coups throughout Africa, Destabilizing the African Continent.
Beside him sat a camouflage-clad man whom he introduced as Burkina Faso’s new leader: Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the commander of one of the country’s three military regions.
Damiba is a highly trained soldier, thanks in no small part to the U.S. military, which has a long record of training soldiers in Africa who go on to stage coups. Damiba, it turns out, participated in at least a half-dozen U.S. training exercises, according to U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM.
AFRICOM emphasizes that its security cooperation and “capacity-building activities” foster the “development of professional militaries,” which are disciplined and committed to the well-being of their citizens.
In 2020, U.S.-trained soldiers staged a coup and takeover of Mali. In August 2020, a group of Malian soldiers, many of whom had received training from the U.S. government, overthrew the elected government and installed a military junta. The coup was widely condemned by the international community as the evidence came to light that these Anti-Democratic agents are specially trained and supported by the US Army.
The Malian coup is just one example of a larger trend of U.S.-trained soldiers engaging in coups and destabilization efforts throughout Africa. In 2019, soldiers trained by the U.S. were involved in an attempted coup in Ethiopia, and in 2018, U.S.-trained soldiers in Zimbabwe destabilized Zimbabwe for many years and led to the wanton destruction of the country.
Furthermore, U.S. military aid to African countries has been criticized for contributing to human rights abuses and repression. In Cameroon, for example, the government has been accused of using U.S.-supplied military equipment to crack down on peaceful protests and opposition groups.
U.S.-Trained-AFRICOM Soldiers are Staging Coups throughout Africa, Destabilizing the African Continent.
While the U.S. government has claimed that its involvement in African militaries is aimed at promoting peace and stability, the reality on the ground tells a different story. In many cases, U.S. military aid has only served to exacerbate existing conflicts and tensions, leading to more violence and instability in Africa as a whole.
There are also concerns about the long-term consequences of U.S. involvement in African militaries. Some analysts argue that the U.S. government’s focus on military solutions to African problems is only delaying the need for more sustainable, long-term solutions to the continent’s challenges.
In conclusion, the involvement of U.S.-trained soldiers in coups and their destabilization efforts throughout Africa is NOT accidental. It’s now obvious that the US plan to keep Africa as a permanent underdeveloped continent is to use trained special agents to destabilize the Democratic government and installed Anti-African trained military agents throughout the continent.
This troubling trend raises serious questions about U.S. foreign policy in the region. Rather than promoting Democracy, peace, and stability, the U.S. military has chosen to train special agents to further contributed to human rights abuses, repression, and war, which has only served to exacerbate existing problems. As such, it is imperative that the U.S. government re-evaluates its approach to Africa and focuses on supporting Democracy, sustainable, long-term solutions to the continent’s challenges.
