When the United States Africa Command – AFRICOM – was created in 2007 and was formally activated the following year, many considered it to be the epitome of “smart power” – a carefully blended mix of hard and soft powder.  Like other U.S. military commands, it would possess formidable combat capability, but its signature ingredient was a soft power component. 

The dedication of one new school building and three renovated buildings was attended by students and community members, as well as members of the Kenyan Ministry of Education, the U.S. Embassy and Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa.

As this laundry list of objectives indicates, it appears that the US is approaching terrorism in Africa from many different perspectives. Mirroring America’s foreign policy, however, the TSCTP places too much emphasis on hard rather than soft power.

Building bridges is not only work done by engineers. During the bilateral, multinational Natural Fire 11 exercise in Zanzibar, Tanzania, September 11-22, 2011, U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso Lenhart expressed the importance of religious leaders in Africa

What's sad here: AFRICOM was supposed to be different - the whole "3D" approach of diplomacy, development and defense, and in first few years it was. Now, word from everyone familiar with the command is this: AFRICOM's focus is all kinetics and kills, with the soft stuff going by the wayside....All hard and no soft makes AFRICOM a nasty boy.

The war in Libya and the activities of three Africa-based Islamist groups have raised questions about whether Africom may be shifting from its initial posture of projecting soft power to one of managing a hot theater. However...while Africom's public affairs posture may now be in flux, the command's core mission of growing African capabilities to meet African security challenges has not changed.

Declining U.S. military budgets not only would affect AFRICOM’s military-to-military activities but also could result in the command having to shed many of its support contractors. No specific orders to cut workers or contractors have yet been received, but are anticipated, Ham says.

That ran counter to early efforts by the Pentagon to dispel the notion that Africom's establishment was intended as an American power grab on the continent. American diplomats and military commanders painted Africom's mission as one to advise and assist African militaries and work to build partnerships.