The Sahel From The Perspective Of The U.s. Energy Security: Securitization Of Oil In The Gulf Of Guinea

The African Sahel region became the new battlefield in the American global campaign of the war against terrorism after September 11th, 2001. But the U.S. counterterrorism strategy in the region was initially meant to protect the oil flow from the Gulf of Guinea, which has emerged as a vital interest for the American Security Energy. In this context, this article will address the US. strategic interests in the Gulf of Guinea, highlighting the relationship between terrorism in the Sahel and the oil supplies coming from the West coast of Africa, through the recommendations of ‘‘the African Oil Policy Initiative Group’’, which recommended the ‘‘W. Bush Administration’’ the militarization of its relations with the African continent, in order to protect this vital resource.