Bluntly put: colonial aims in Africa

""In 2007, J. Peter Pham, a State Department advisor who has been a permanent member of the advisory board of AFRICOM since its creation, testified as to the core mission of the new Pentagon command, which he spelled out in fairly blunt terms. It involved, he said, "protecting access to hydrocarbons and other strategic resources which Africa has in abundance, a task which includes ensuring against the vulnerability of those natural riches and ensuring that no other interested third parties, such as China, India, Japan, or Russia, obtain monopolies or preferential treatment." "" (thanks Amir)