RABAT, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Unites States has not decided yet where to locate the headquarters of U.S. Defense Department Africa Command (AFRICOM), though it now has three candidate host nations, said a U.S. defense official here on Monday.

    The visiting Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Ryan Henry said the purpose of his visit was to "listen to the opinions of his Moroccan colleagues and exchange views with them "before the official operation of AFRICOM.

    The United States will send experts on diplomacy, the economy and development to the command instead of military forces, Henry said in a statement issued by the U.S. embassy in Morocco.

    Henry, at the start of an African tour that will also take him to Libya, Egypt, Djibouti and Ethiopia, reiterated that the command would not involve sending more American armed forces to Africa.

    President George W. Bush announced in February he had given approval for the AFRICOM, which will be based initially in Stuttgart, Germany, but later move to Africa.

    The creation of the new command, which is intended to start up by September 2008, has heightened concerns among African countries and in the U.S. government over the militarization of U.S. foreign policy.