Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

On African Liberation Day Biden’s Troop Deployment to Somalia Confirms Africa is Not Free
Black Alliance For Peace
25 May 2022
On African Liberation Day Biden’s Troop Deployment to Somalia Confirms Africa is Not Free
President Biden and Rep. Gregory Meeks (Photo: Twitter @GregoryMeeks)

The Black Alliance for Peace marks African Liberation Day with a statement condemning the latest US troop deployment to Somalia.

This statement was originally published in Black Alliance for Peace.

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:

[email protected]

(202) 643-1136

May 25, 2022 - The Biden Administration's recent decision to return  U.S. troops to Somalia represents another effort on the part of the U.S. to deny agency and independence to African people. On the 59th commemoration of African Liberation Day, the Black Alliance for Peace expresses its unequivocal opposition to this redeployment. The 500 U.S. troops sent to Somalia are the latest to violate that nation’s sovereignty. As is the case with all U.S. interventions, the underlying reasons are not only depraved but also indifferent to the constant suffering of African people caused by western-induced militarism and war.

The reintroduction of the U.S. military (AFRICOM) on the ground is related to a dispute between Somalia and the U.S. oil company, Coastline Exploration Ltd, over the validity of an oil exploration agreement. It is also a signal that the U.S. wants to both reassert its presence in the oil-rich and strategic region, and to directly target its long-time foe, Eritrea.

Netfa Freeman, BAP’s African Team Co-Coordinator states that this decision is “emblematic of the U.S. insistence on keeping Africa in perpetual turmoil and has nothing to do with enabling a more effective fight against al-Shabaab.” Biden’s advisors are certainly aware of various reports exposing that the billions Washington spends on counterterrorism programs, from Somalia to Nigeria, ostensibly to enhance security in Africa, is having the opposite effect.

While the U.S. continues its 30-year long series of interventions against Somalia, H.R. 7311 the “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act” passed with the unanimous approval of every Democrat in Congress.

H.R. 7311 was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member Gregory Meeks and passed in the House on April 28, 2022. The bill calls for assessments of Russia’s influence on the African continent and states that the U.S. will “hold accountable” Russia and African governments who are “complicit in aiding such malign influence.” This is reminiscent of the era of the George W Bush administration that declared that any country not with the U.S. is against the U.S.

Margaret Kimberley, BAP Africa Team Co-Coordinator said, “This bill is a racist affront to the right to self-determination of African people.” 

H.R. 7311 is a reaction to African nations that refrained from condemning Russia’s military operation in Ukraine; and as a deterrent against African nations acting as Mali has done, by ending the French military presence and turning toward Russian private military company Wagner for assistance. On May 16th the Mali government announced that Wagner played a role in thwarting a failed coup attempt allegedly carried out by a group of local soldiers, foreign mercenaries, and units from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries.

Rep. Meeks and the rest of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) - the “Black misleadership class” -  are fully aligned with the Biden administration and Democratic Party leadership, defending every imperialist effort to exercise U.S. dominance in Africa. The U.S. bombed Somalia on February 22, two days before the Russian Federation began its military operations in Ukraine. Yet Somalia has not become a focus of concern of Meeks and the rest of the Black misleaders, despite years of constant drone bombings by the U.S. having caused an estimated 250,000 deaths and the displacement of 3 million people. Meanwhile, these same CBC members won’t address domestic problems, but will lob billions to wage a proxy war against Russia and to support Nazi groups in Ukraine. The U.S. Black misleadership class demonstrates over and over that they do not care about African people - neither on the continent nor at home.

BAP is firm in its anti-imperialist stance and again says, “U.S. Out of Africa!” “Shut Down AFRICOM!”

No Compromise! No Retreat!

Somalia
Congressional Black Caucus
African Liberation Day
Black Alliance For Peace

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Power Shift in the Horn of Africa: Somalia Recognizes SSC-Khaatumo
23 April 2025
Somalia’s recognition of SSC-Khaatumo as its sixth Federa
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor , Dr. Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad
Somaliland Pins Hopes of Recognition on Trump
12 February 2025
Somaliland is pinning its hopes of recognition as an independen
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
A Discussion with Ajamu Baraka on People(s)-Centered Human Rights, a Framework Born of Struggle and Crisis
11 December 2024
The Black Alliance for Peace just launched its North-South Project for People(s)-Centered Human Rights.
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
How the US Destabilized the Horn of Africa
02 October 2024
In 2018, the leaders of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia signed a
Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report Contributor
Instability in Somalia Endangers the Entire Horn of Africa
11 September 2024
Divisions with breakaway areas further hamper the resolution of broader issues.<
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Ansar Allah Are Not Working with Al-Shabaab - Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad
26 June 2024
US and EU forces have been unable to defeat Ansar Allah and now the US is f
Essam Elkorghli
Africa Liberation Day and the Necessity of Revisiting Our Compass
22 May 2024
African Liberation Day should serve as a time to ground ourselves in the history of our people and take those lessons with us as we continue th
Abayomi Azikiwe
African Liberation Day and the Struggle for Freedom in Palestine
22 May 2024
There is a close connection between the Pan-Africanist Movement and the current struggle to end the genocide in Gaza
Black Alliance For Peace
The Mask is Off: The Hideous Connections Between Zionism, Colonialism, Capitalism and Genocide
15 May 2024
The enemies of humanity are revealing themselves.
Austin Cole
Roberto Sirvent , Austin Cole
Black Liberation and Anti-Imperialism: An Interview with Austin Cole
14 February 2024
Book Forum Editor, Roberto Sirvent, interviews Austin Cole about his community organizing work and political writing.

More Stories


  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 16, 2025
    16 May 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss the modern history of Black politics in the city of Newark, New Jersey, after the death of a long-serving former mayor and the arrest and brief detention of the…
  • Craig Mokhiber
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Craig Mokhiber on the Need to Enforce International Human Rights Law
    16 May 2025
    Our guest is Craig Mokhiber. He is an international human rights lawyer and former director of the New York Office of the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Human Rights. He stepped down from that…
  • Ras Baraka
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Ken Gibson, Sharpe James, Cory Booker, Ras Baraka, and Black Politics in Newark
    16 May 2025
    Lawrence Hamm, of the People’s Organization for Progress (POP), joins us from Newark, New Jersey, to talk about Black politics in that city. The late Sharpe James was mayor for a record-setting 20…
  • Garland Ajamu
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , Garland Nixon
    Ajamu Baraka - Opposing the U.S. Empire in Africa and the Middle East
    15 May 2025
    Ajamu Baraka spoke with Garland Nixon about the need to oppose U.S. foreign policy in Africa and in the Middle East.
  • Trump and Harris
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Corruption, Lies, Biden's Health and Trump's Victory
    14 May 2025
    The same corporate media talking heads who told us to ignore Biden’s failing health are now cashing in with books revealing political cover ups while also covering up their own role in facilitating…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us