TRBNDS IN iJS IMPERIALISM 21 by an unrepentant urge on the part of the State Department to defend and promote capitalist system all over the world. The U S involvement in Africa stems from the same basic urge. However, while pursuing its objectives in Africa, the U S has to take congnizance of West European allies and their interests on two counts. First, apart from offering substantial aid to the West Eurpean countries through Marshall aid programme (1948) it has spread a very extensive network of commercial and trade ties with them. What is more, most of the West European countries are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) which has crowned the U S the most powerful member of the NATO, with a responsibility of safeguarding the interests of its allies. Thus by the sheer magnitude of involvement, the defence of West European capitalism is a central concern of the U S policies, while regions like Africa, which were colonised by its West European allies fall within the periphery of the American priorities. Second, some of the West European countries, particularly France, are determined to promote neo-colonial policies in Africa even after the alleged decolonisation.3 Thus, theoretically, apart from extending its own sphere of influence in Africa, the U S is obliged to defend the interests of its European allies in Africa. There has, of course, been a clash of interests between the West European countries and the U S when the latter tried to penetrate in any traditional sphere of influence of an erstwhile metropolitan power. However, due to the persistent threat of the Soviets or the radical regimes and movements backed by the Cubans and the Soviets, such clashes have never escalated into acquiring alarming proportions. More often, they have been resolved, largely, in the long term interest of defending the global capitalist system and its expansionist ventures. It is quite evident from these two factors that any measurement of U S imperialism in Africa may not be possible by applying only quantifiable economic variables like the nature of U S investments, trade, aid and loans to the African countries. For, from the standpoint of a giant economy like the U S, such investments (private or public) or aid may appear marginal. That is why it would be necessary to study, in addition to the economic factors, the long term politico-strategic and military dimensions for protraying an integral picture of the U S-Ied imperilism. Even a cursory glane at American policies towards Africa raises a number of pertinent questions. For example, what have been the economic and politico-strategic factors that have set the overall Afro-American interdependence, however unequal it may be, on rails? What has been the U S attitude towards national liberation struggles in Africa? What are the compulsions which promt the U S to adopt a soft line towards the system of apartheid in the racist Republic of South Africa? An attempt can be made to go into some of these questions by spelling out a few broad themes and trends in Afro-American relations.