The U.S. Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, outlined by President Obama in 2012, “highlights that Africa is more important than ever, in U.S. perspective, to the security and prosperity of the international community,” says Amanda Dory, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs.
Ms. Dory was speaking to an audience of 60 midlevel African military and civilian leaders during the Next Generation of African Security Sector Leaders program on November 4, 2013, in Alexandria, Virginia.
“The Department of Defense supports the overall U.S. Government strategy vis-à-vis Africa by empowering African partners to take a greater role in providing their own security, and by doing so in a way that seeks to strengthen emerging pockets of political, economic, and democratic vitality,” Ms. Dory remarked. Preventing security threats is a major priority, she said, adding that the U.S. policy goal to bring stability and development to the continent is consistent with both U.S. and African interests.
The three-week Africa Center program was designed to provide a forum for participants to study and analyze Africa’s current security environment and discuss effective strategies to bring security and development to the continent. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), is the pre-eminent Department of Defense (DOD) institution for strategic security studies, research and outreach in Africa. The Africa Center engages African partner states and institutions through rigorous academic and outreach programs that build strategic capacity and foster long-term, collaborative relationships. Over the past 14 years, more than 6,000 African and international leaders have participated in over 200 ACSS programs.
