Lily Pads

The Congressional Research Service this month penned a new assessment of the Defense Department's newest combatant command, U.S. Africa Command. The report includes a neat overview of what countries on the continent have signed up to provide the Pentagon with access to so-called "cooperative security locations." According to the document, they are: Algeria, Botswana, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia.

U.S. military officials generally pursue a low profile on the continent. They have continued to stress the command's emphasis on diplomacy and aid. But officials are also aware of the continent's vastness, which could make it difficult to stage forces if a conflict were to break out that required American intervention.

The CSLs, plus AFRICOM's Adaptive Logistics Network, are supposed to guarantee that the Pentagon has access to critical transportation nodes during crises.