Horace Campbell is Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. He is the author of Rasta and Resistance From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney; Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation; and Pan Africanism, Pan Africanists and African Liberation in the 21st century. His most recent book is Barack Obama and 21st Century Politics: A Revolutionary Moment in the USA. www.horacecampbell.net/
In all the sound and fury emanating from mainstream media, not much has been heard about AFRICOM. Libyan and other African nations that experienced brutal colonial empires are wary of this quasi-military expeditionary force. We are very fortunate today to welcome Professor Horace Campbell , professor of African American studies & Political Science at Syracuse University. Campbell is currently working on a book delving into the United States Africa Command’s secrets and lies. Here’s Campbell on AFRICOM: "U.S. involvement in the Libyan bombing is being turned into a public relations ploy for AFRICOM. AFRICOM is fundamentally a front for U.S. military contractors like Dyncorp, MPRI and KBR operating in Africa. U.S. military planners who benefit from the revolving door of privatization of warfare are delighted by the opportunity to give AFRICOM credibility under the facade of the Libyan intervention. No African country has agreed to let AFRICOM onto the continent. It has 1,500 people operating out of Stuttgart, Germany. If Libya is indeed partitioned, that new state could provide a base for AFRICOM. AFRICOM has been rejected by African governments, scholars, and human rights champions. AFRICOM’s lead role in the assault on Libya will breed greater anti-Americanism while draining much needed monies and threatening civilian lives, with each bomb dropped.
And Victory over the pipeline: Palomar, down in flames, up in smoke and out the door.
Palomar has unilaterally withdrawn its application to FERC. Palomar cites the defeat of Bradwood Landing LNG as the reason why the market for its project dried up. Our opposition to Bradwood LNG paid off in a big way, effectively "chopping the head off the snake" that was the Palomar pipeline.www.columbiariverkeeper.org/, www.bark-out.org/
This is an incredible victory for thousands of families who have fought for years to protect their farms, forests, rivers, and homes. Landowners along the Palomar pipeline no longer have to worry about this project using eminent domain on their land. While Palomar indicates that they may seek to re-apply for the eastern part of the pipeline in the future, they also admit that the current market does not support the project.
- KBOO