The United States also spent nearly a billion dollars to expand its operations in Djibouti (northeast Africa). The U.S. has one official military base in Africa: Djibouti. France and U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) have stationed special operations forces (commandos and special aircraft) at Camp Lemonnier, next to the main airport outside Djibouti City, since 2002. The U.S. recently agreed to a ten-year lease for Camp Lemonnier, with annual rent increasing from $38 million to $63 million.

Several satellite camps surround Lemonnier, including one on the coast for training Somali Coast Guard personnel. Most details of the new construction and refurbishment of existing facilities are classified. Much of it (via cell phone photos taken by anyone passing by) involves basic infrastructure like roads, airstrips, and buildings, as well as training areas. But a lot of new equipment is coming in and being installed discreetly.

Djibouti is next to northern Somalia. France had commandos there until the 1990s, when they left and abandoned Camp Lemonnier. The U.S. moved in after September 11, 2001, and French commandos soon joined them. But you don't hear much about this corner of the War on Terror, despite the numerous terror groups in the region (especially Yemen and Somalia). Why is that? Well, it's complicated.

France has been building up its special operations capability in Djibouti since 2006, anticipating problems in Eritrea and Somalia, both of which dispute Ethiopia’s hold on various territories. The Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)-Djibouti railroad is lucrative for Djibouti and France because it is Ethiopia's main outlet to the sea, and fighting between Ethiopia and either neighbor could disrupt it. American and French Special Forces facilities in Camp Lemonnier are easy to spot on Google Earth. Less obvious is that France and SOCOM also have access to one or more Ethiopian air bases. American UAVs operate from Ethiopia and Djibouti, while U-28 SOCOM air transports are seen at many other airports in the region (Kenya and Uganda). The UAVs are sometimes armed with missiles. Some of these armed UAVs are believed to have also operated out of Yemen air bases. When not attacking al Qaeda targets in Yemen, these UAVs are sometimes seen across the Gulf of Aden in Somalia.

U.S. forces in Djibouti were increased after resistance collapsed in Iraq in 2008 and are now the command post for a network of American operations through the region. That includes a drone facility on the Seychelles Islands (1,500 kilometers to the east) and permission to move troops and aircraft through countries like Kenya and Uganda. The CIA also runs a small, unofficial base in Mogadishu, Somalia's traditional capital. The CIA and similar outfits from other nations also operate from Djibouti. Most of the effort, though, is directed at monitoring what is going on in the region (mainly Somalia and Yemen but also Eritrea, Nigeria, Mali, Libya, Kenya, and Ethiopia), not at interfering with the local terrorists. Not much, anyway. The Djibouti base also supports operations throughout the Sahel (the semi-desert strip between the North African desert and the Central African jungles, which stretches from the Atlantic to Somalia).

And now, late to the party, the Chinese arrive with loads of electronic and SIGINT) Signals Intelligence equipment to keep an ear and eye on all the naval and commercial traffic passing by. Most of those commercial ships were built in China. The Chinese Navy has long sought a base in this part of the world but was regularly told it wasn't needed. It certainly isn’t, but there it is, and Chinese admirals could not be more pleased with themselves.

James F Dunnigan