U.S. to Militarize Africa?

Above: Mr. Bush Jr

There are concerns running about that the Unites States is moving to build military bases in Africa. President Bush tried suppressing those claims by calling it “baloney.”

A Tanzanian newspaper had a headline declaring that Bush came to “militarize” Africa.

“The purpose of this (visit) is not to add military bases,” Bush said in a press conference. “I know there’s rumors in Ghana: ‘All Bush is coming to do is try to convince you to put a big military base here.’ That’s baloney. Or as we say in Texas, that’s bull.”

World War II

Abovee: Map of World War II

In the aftermath of World War I, the United States attempted to disengage itself from European affairs. The U.S. Senate rejected American membership in the LEAGUE OF NATIONS, and in the 1920s American involvement in European diplomatic life was limited to economic affairs.

Moreover, the United States dramatically reduced the size of its military in the postwar years, a measure widely supported by a public increasingly opposed to war. Events in Europe and Asia in the 1930s and early 1940s, however, made it impossible for the United States to maintain a position of neutrality in global affairs.

Second Italo - Abyssinian War 1935-1936

Above: A map during Italo - Abyssinian War, showing Italian attack plans in invading Ethiopia

In 1935 there broke out a war between Italy and Ethiopia the outcome of which was Abyssinia or Ethiopia’s acceptance of Italian rule. This incident was not a minor one and has been regarded by history to be one of the thorns that led to the outbreak of World War II. It showed how ineffective the League of Nations was when the great powers chose to disregard it to suit their own interests.

Above: Italian troops deployed in Ethiopia and strengthening front line defense