As the country's big wars on the Eurasian continent wind down, American war-making and war preparations fly ever more regularly under the radar. There has, for instance, been much discussion about the Obama administration's policy "pivot" to Asia -- the only warlike act in the region so far has, however, been a little noted drone strike in
the Philippines.
At the same time, remarkably little attention has been paid to a massive build-up of U.S. forces in
the Persian Gulf, and -- though both seem to be underway (and connected) -- who talks about the "pivot" to the Western Indian Ocean or the "pivot" to Africa?
For those keeping a careful eye out, U.S. drone (and air) bases in the region have been proliferating -- in the
Seychelles Islands, in
Ethiopia, and at an unidentified site on the
Arabian peninsula, among other places.
Recently, however,
Wired's Danger Room website
reported that an
Italian blogger had put the pieces together and offered impressive evidence of a larger war-making effort in the region, involving not only drones but F-15E fighter jets, possibly being used to bomb Yemen. Meanwhile, there are U.S. drone strikes in Yemen almost daily and at least
20 special forces operatives are reportedly now on the ground there, helping direct some of the fighting and even
taking casualties.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Africa Command (
Africom), set up in 2007, has been gaining clout. In 2011, 100 special operations troops, mainly
Green Berets, were
moved into Central Africa, officially to aid in the hunting down of Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.
Comment: For more information on Osama Bin Laden's death, please read:
New Sott Report: US Government Psy-Ops - The 'Killing' of Osama Bin Laden
Bin Laden died of natural causes: Former CIA agent