The United States won't use its military presence in Africa to gain control of the continent's natural resources, the region's top U.S. military officer says.

There is no hidden agenda, said Gen. William Ward, the head of the new unified U.S. military command for Africa, commonly referred to as Africom. It is about working with the African nations to help them build their capacity.

Ward told the BBC assertions the United States intends to build large military bases in Africa are myth and absolutely not the case. Liberia has offered to host Africom, which has its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The United States forces will only be in Africa to provide training in partnership with our African friends," he said.

Africom, initiated in February 2007 by the Bush administration as a way to focus on security issues on the continent, became fully operational Wednesday. Previously, responsibilities for Africa were split among various commands.

Mauro De-Lorenzo, a resident fellow for foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Voice of America he sees Africom as a positive development.

Africom is simply going to take over the programs and objectives that were previously carried out by three separate U.S military commands. And most governments won't notice much of a difference, he said. The content of what they are engaging in with the United States is not going to change very much right now. And certainly citizens will not see anything new or surprising as a result of this. (c) UPI