Project , the alleged blueprint for President Trump, focuses only one African country: Djibouti. Smaller than West Virginia, Djibouti has a population of one million people and few natural resources. Djibouti is critical because of its location.
Situated near the Gulf of Aden, around one third of ship traffic passes by on its way to the Suez Canal. Until recently, Djibouti-American relations were good.
But when Djibouti refused to let the United States attack the Houthis from their territory, the foreign policy establishment lost its temper and blamed Chinese influence. As long as these bases are used against non-state pariahs like pirates and terrorists like al-Qaida, there is no issue. But any force against states or quasi-state actors like the Houthis is strictly prohibited. Rather than create unnecessary tensions with China, the United States should focus on its shared interest of protecting maritime traffic.
Doing so will enhance security and diffuse tensions between these great powers. Why Djibouti matters As the Somali civil war dragged on, chaos reigned and poverty increased. To secure their livelihood, many Somalis resorted to piracy starting in The capture of American ships and the September 11 attacks led the United States to step up military operations in the Horn of Africa.
They were soon joined by others: Germany established a military presence at the French base in , Japan established its only foreign military base in and Italy opened its first foreign military base in There were no issues with any of these military bases, until China opened its first foreign military base in In fact, before opening its base, the United States lobbied China to provide more assistance in the region.
