In this reading, the pursuit of African oil has 'taken on the character of a gold rush', and the US in particular is positioning itself in order to—at some point in the future—use 'military force to make sure that African oil continues to flow to the United States

"This is especially true with regard to the two 'oil giants' in the region, Nigeria and Angola. Together, these states hold almost 90 per cent of the region's proven oil reserves, and are responsible for around 80 per cent of production." "In this reading, the pursuit of African oil has 'taken on the character of a gold rush', and the US in particular is positioning itself in order to—at some point in the future—use 'military force to make sure that African oil continues to flow to the United States'."