AFRIKA KORPS REVISITED ?

[tocqueville]

Rumsfeld favors U.S. military command for Africa

By Will Dunham
2 hours, 42 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday he favors creating a new U.S. military command responsible for Africa, as the Pentagon aims to guard against potential threats to U.S. security arising from the continent.

Rumsfeld said he and Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have pressed the military for six months for a proposal on setting up a command focused solely on Africa. Pace said Rumsfeld is due to receive a formal recommendation within a couple weeks.

"Pete and I are for it," Rumsfeld said during a question-and-answer session with Pentagon employees.

The U.S. military assigns responsibility for specific parts of the world to regional commands such as Central Command, which handles the Middle East, Central Asia and Horn of Africa and currently oversees operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060922/wl_nm/arms_usa_africa_dc_2