US Navy to patrol the Gulf of Guinea

Came across this today:

For the first time ever, the U.S. Navy will deploy an aircraft carrier strike group — the USS Harry S. Truman — for exercises in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa. The deployment, that will take place this summer, is a clear indication of Africa’s growing strategic importance. As Tim Butcher wrote in the Telegraph, energy security is the main reason for such a move:
America has described the oilfields off the west coast of Africa as its fastest growing source of oil and gas and has already invested heavily in production from Angola, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. With turbulence in Iraq keeping crude oil above $40 a barrel, America has a key strategic interest in finding an alternative to the Middle East as a source for oil. … If America continues to develop its oil interests in West Africa it would consider the need for a military base, similar […]

You can see the rest here.

June 6, 2004 | Filed Under Uncategorized

 

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