U.S. Security in Africa

Part of the:

The Africa Program assesses how the United States can utilize the newly created U.S. Africa Command in combination with its other civilian agencies to address the complex security challenges in Africa.

U.S. Security in Africa: The CSIS Africa Program continues to examine U.S. security interests in Africa and U.S. and international security initiatives on the African continent. The CSIS Africa and International Security Programs have closely tracked the development of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) by interviewing key U.S. government officials, consulting expert opinion in the United States and internationally, and canvassing views from Africa. The program visited in late September 2007 with the AFRICOM transition team in Stuttgart, Germany, and has sustained a regular dialogue in Washington with visiting AFRICOM officials, other relevant administration and congressional players, and African experts. Our research also focuses on rising maritime security interests with particular emphasis on the Gulf of Guinea.

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WEST AFRICA’S INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRADE
Nov 6, 2009
By Stephen Ellis

Two years have gone by since the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) sounded an alarm about West Africa's role in the international drug trade. In 2007, the UNODC published a report identifying the Portuguese-speaking state of Guinea-Bissau in particular as an emerging narco-state that provided a convenient halfway stop for Latin American drug traders exporting to Europe.