No takers for U.S. base in Africa

RABAT, Morocco, June 24 (UPI) -- The Pentagon is having a difficult time finding a home for a new U.S. military base in North Africa, it was reported Sunday.

A U.S. delegation got a chilly reception this month, meeting opposition even in countries that enjoy friendly relations with the Pentagon, The Washington Post reported.

Algeria and Libya rejected the Pentagon's Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, and said they opposed their neighbors hosting the base, the Post reported. Morocco's foreign ministry strongly denied claims by opposition forces that the kingdom had already offered to host AFRICOM.

Rachid Tlemcani, a professor at the University of Algiers, said the response reflects opposition to U.S. policies in the predominantly Muslim region.

"People on the street assume their governments have already had too many dealings with the U.S. in the war on terror at the expense of the rule of law," said Tlemcani.

Currently, responsibility for U.S. military operations in Africa is divided between the Central Command, based in Florida, and the European Command, based in Germany.